YOUTH VOICES
A Positive Impact:
My Life with Friendship Circle By Rivka Plotkin, 11th grader at Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE STARTED IN PITTSBURGH THE YEAR I WAS BORN: 2007. Although my older siblings didn’t attend programs there, they were involved with similar programs in other places such as Chicago and Cleveland. In our family, it was almost a given that at some point every kid would participate in programming with kids with disabilities and other forms of volunteer work. I always understood the meaning of it all, but it never seemed to be something I was particularly interested in. For many years, my nursery teacher persistently tried talking me into volunteering at Friendship Circle. I would always listen to what she had to say, but it never really intrigued me. But, during my freshman year of high school, I finally decided to give it a try. I was looking for activities to participate in after school, and I wanted something fun but with a sense of responsibility. I knew that, if it didn’t work out, I would say my sorrows and goodbyes.
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Rivka and friends at Friendship Circle’s bowling night.
