Final Blog/Reflection

Wow, these past three weeks have been amazing! I am so grateful that Ellie proposed the idea of doing our senior project at Friendship Circle and to see the work she has been doing almost every day after school for the past four years. Friendship Circle is a nationwide organization and charity that establishes relationships between Jewish teenagers and children with developmental disabilities. Friendship Circle of Cleveland was founded in 2003, and since then has continued to enable kids of all abilities to grow and develop the confidence they need to maximize their skills and talents. Ellie and I were inspired to do this project because we both have a love for working with youth and an interest in how non-profit organizations function. Furthermore, because Ellie and I plan to major in communications in college, one of our main objectives for this project was to put an emphasis on marketing, advertisement, and design. Overall, Ellie and I had an incredible experience learning from our mentors and becoming acquainted with the internal operations of a non-profit organization. We have gained so much knowledge and many useful skills over the past three weeks. 

Friendship Circle holds a gala each year that honors the teen friend-makers and teen volunteers who have devoted up to hundreds of hours at the organization. In preparation for the gala, Ellie and I customized the honoree gifts and created gift bags that included personalized speakers, a certificate (whether it was signed by the mayor, the senate, or the president), and a pair of FC socks. We spent the morning at Beachwood High School completing last-minute preparations and decorations for the gala, which turned out to be an amazing night. In terms of community outreach, we concentrated on making posters using Canva to create volunteer sentiments to post on social media. We also filmed and edited a promotional video for the FC gala, and drove around Cleveland to deliver flyers to local establishments about volunteer opportunities. Our last main project emphasis was on the annual summer camp program, which offers youth with special needs a normal summer camp experience with tons of field trips and fun activities. Ellie and I created flyers encouraging prospective teen volunteers to sign up for the program and cleaned and sorted the supplies that will be used over the summer. 

Although I learned a lot during the course of the project, teamwork was the one crucial lesson that really resonated with me. I worked as a team with Ellie and Yosef to emphasize the value of communication. The three of us sat down each morning and made a list of tasks for the day with deadlines. In order for us to connect, ask questions, and seek assistance, Yosef set up a text-based group chat. This was really helpful in ensuring that we stick to our task list and guarantee that we can do everything as quickly as possible with the best outcomes. These meetings and group chats allowed me to get to know Yosef better on a personal level, and we developed a close friendship over the weeks. 

My advice to rising juniors/seniors is to choose a project that you are genuinely interested in. Pick a project that is related to your personal interests and aspirations rather than something you worry you could get bored with. Have fun working on your project as well! Cherish what you are doing since it will be something that your prospective mentor will be doing for the rest of their life; it will show in your final product.