Tag Archives: Circle of Friends

Roundup: Staples Hoops, Leaf Blowers, PJ Romano Field …

Posted on March 19, 2023 | 26 comments

Today is the big day.

Staples High School’s boys basketball team plays in its first state tournament final in — are you sitting down? — 86 years.

Tipoff is 6:15 p.m. (Sunday), at the Mohegan Sun arena. The Wreckers — seeded 7th in Division II — face #1 St. Bernard’s-Uncasville.

The game can be heard on WWPT-FM (90.3) and wwptfm.org. The expert announcing team includes seniors Jack Ginsburg and Colin Menninger.

You can watch it on the proprietary Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) website, but must subscribe ($11.99 a month; cancel anytime); click here for details.

Staples got to the finals with an astonishing 18-point, 4th-quarter comeback in the semifinals against Fairfield Warde.

The winning basket came after sophomore Adam Udell stole an inbounds pass, then calmly finished a layup.

Here’s a remarkable photo. It shows Udell scoring; a Warde player on the ground, after falling trying for the pass — and the scoreboard showing both the tied score, and the time left: 13.5 seconds.

(Photo/Michelle Garrity)

Meanwhile, I could not find a photo of the state championship 1937 team. But here’s one from the next winter (1938).

Legendary coach Roland Wachob is in the middle. The squad included George “Nooky” Powers, considered one of the greatest Staples athletes of all time.

1938 Staples High School basketball team. (Photo courtesy of “Staples High School: 120 Years of A+ Education,” by Dan Woog)

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Townwide restriction on gas-powered leaf blowers begin May 15, and run through October 15.

The devices can only be used weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.,  Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3.m., and not at all on Sundays or holidays. (Longer hours are allowed for homeowners doing their own yard work.)

Wakeman Town Farm wants to make Westporters (and their landscapers) aware.

To make some noise, they’re raffling off a state-of-the-art EGO electric leaf blower.

Tickets are $20 each. Proceeds benefit WTF’s educational and sustainability programs. Click here to purchase, and for more information.

The winner will be announced on (of course) Earth Day: April 22.

EGO electric leaf blower.

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A frustrated “06880” reader writes:

“I brought this topic a year and a half ago. I was told it would be an easy repair — and it had already been approved in the town budget.

“It never happened. So I’m asking again:

“Please repair PJ Romano Field.”

She sent along this message, from “a group of concerned moms”:

“The field — managed by Parks & Rec — should be a safe place for children. But it’s not. There are at least 19 cracks they can trip over.

One of the many large cracks at PJ Romano Field.

“Located between Kings Highway and Saugatuck Elementary Schools, it’s a great place for sports.

“Elementary school children love to ride scooters and bicycles. But they end up with scraped and bloody knees, hands and elbows, because of deep, big cracks. There’s a bigger accident waiting to happen.

“Spring is arriving. Kids will be coming out again. Please make it safe.”

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Today’s “Westport … What’s Happening” podcast is part 1 of a 2-part interview with Department of Human Services director Elaine Daignault.

She explains many important services provided to Westport residents. There’s a lot you may already know — but plenty more to learn.

The podcast is presented by the Y’s Men of Westport and Weston. Click below to listen:

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Turnout was great at last night’s MoCA Westport opening reception. The new “Rainbow in the Dark”  exhibition features 20 works of German contemporary artist Anselm Reyle, including a neon exhibition.

His works also include foil and strip paintings, and sculptures. Remnants of consumer society, discarded materials, symbols of urbanity, and industrial change are key.

“Rainbow in the Dark” is on view through May 28. Docent-led tours are held Thursdays at 1 p.m. Drop-in docent-led tours are available every Saturday and Sunday, including a Sunday drop-in interactive tour for families.

To learn more about the exhibition, click here.

From left: L to R): Artist Anselm Reyle, MoCA executive director Ruth Mannes, curator Emann Odufu, MoCA director of exhibitions Liz Leggett,

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Kids love Percy Jackson books.

And “The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson” is wholesome family entertainment.

The Coleytown Company production opens March 31 (7 p.m., Coleytown Middle School). Additional shows are April 1 (1 and 7 p.m.), and April 2 (1 p.m.).  Click here for tickets.

Ellie Arber is Charon in Coleytown Company’s “Lightning Thief.”

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The Circle of Friends’ 17th annual fundraising dinner will honor more than 150 local teen volunteers. All share friendships with people with special needs.

The event is April 23 (5:30 p.m., Westport Woman’s Club). There’s entertainment, and a special “Heart of Friendship” video.

The gala will take place Sunday, April 23 at 5:30 PM at the Westport Women’s Club, 44 Imperial Avenue, Westport, CT. Stephen Schwartz, [resident of Westport’s Promark Group, is the guest of honor.

High School seniors from Staples High, Weston, Wilton and Greenwich will receive Fellowship Awards for their combined 4,000 “friendship volunteer hours”.

Circle of Friends is an all-volunteer organization that involves children teens and adults with special needs in a wide range of social programs and weekly play dates. Over 300 families are involved.

For reservations, sponsorship opportunities, ads in the virtual journal or more information, click here, call 203-293-8837 or email cof@circleoffriendsct.org.

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These Compo Beach ducks reminded Molly Alger of a conga line.

They reminded us all of the beauty we see every day. It’s “Westport … Naturally”!

(Photo/Molly Alger)

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And finally … I never heard of Jim Gordon. But his New York Times obituary is fascinating. It says:

Jim Gordon, a talented but troubled drummer who was ubiquitous in the recording studios of the 1960s and ’70s and who, as a member of Eric Clapton’s band Derek and the Dominos, helped write the romantic ballad “Layla” — but who suffered from schizophrenia and spent nearly 40 years in prison, convicted of murdering his mother — died on Monday in a prison medical facility in Vacaville, Calif. He was 77….

When people say that Jim Gordon is the greatest rock ’n’ roll drummer who ever lived,” Mr. Clapton wrote in “Clapton: The Autobiography” (2007), “I think it’s true, beyond anybody.

As a member of the talented “Wrecking Crew” group of Los Angeles studio musicians, he worked on recordings like John Lennon’s “Imagine,” George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass,” and the Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds.” Click here for his full obituary.

(Good luck to the Staples boys basketball team. They’ve already proven themselves champions. You can be a champ too — just click here to contribute to “06880.” Thank you! PS: Go Wreckers!

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Roundup: Michael Bolton, Lynyrd Sykynrd …

Posted on May 11, 2022 | 1 comment

And the winner of “American Song Contest” on NBC is …

… not Michael Bolton.

Connecticut’s (and Westport’s) contestant finished 7th Monday night. After 8 weeks, the title went to AleXa of Oklahoma.

But our guy made the semifinals — the top 10 out of 55, in our national version of Eurovision. And our neighbor is still #1 in our hearts. Click here for the full story.  (Hat tip: Mark Mathias)

Screenshot from the “American Song Contest” website.

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The schedule for paving (and closing) Riverside Avenue from Charles Street to Railroad Place has changed again.

It’s now tomorrow and Friday (May 12 and 13), from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. If you’re dropping off or picking up at the New York-bound platform, take note!

Road paving here soon.

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There are agendas. And then there are agendas.

Here’s what the Downtown Plan Implementation Committee will discuss tomorrow, beginning at 8:30 a.m. (click here for the Zoom link).

I. Opening Remarks – Chair
A. Overall Meeting Goals
I. Approval of Minutes (4/2022 Meeting)
II. Strategic Priority Review
A. Parking Lots Reinvention
1. Downtown Lots Design Master Plan
a) June kickoff meeting with core steering team
b) Planning for public engagement and project timeline
2. Baldwin Lot – completion targeted for end of June
B. Pedestrian Access
1. Streetscape Improvements
a) Bench installs
b) Additional cans for high traffic locations
Strategic Priorities (cont)
Pedestrian Access (cont.)
2. Main Street Improvements
a) Status (bump out and re-pavement)
C. Sustainability
1. Solarization
a) Initial meetings with consultant
2. Alternative Transportation
a) Bird proposal
(1) background
D. Maintenance
1. Special Services District
a) Last Ordinance Draft
b) Cost development – RFQ

If you can’t make the 8:30 start, perhaps you can watch during dinner.

Main Street magic (Photo/June Rose Whittaker)

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The Staples High School boys lacrosse program is adding 4 honorees to their Hall of Fame.

Bill Rexford (Class of 1986), Ryan Kubie (’96), Paul McNulty (Staples ’64, head coach 2009-18) and the 16-0, undefeated regular season 2010 team will be honored at halftime of Saturday’s game against New Canaan. The contest begins at 3 p.m. The Wreckers are currently ranked #2 in the state.

Rexford and Kubie starred in the early days of Staples lacrosse. The ’10 team made history.

McNulty, meanwhile, was one of the keys to the growth of Staples lacrosse into the powerhouse it is today.

He took over a program that had had 3 coaches in 4 years. Within a year, he coached that ’10 squad to its undefeated record. The Wreckers reached 2 state championship games during his tenure.

McNulty returned to his alma mater — where he starred with Laddie Lawrence on the track team — after a hugely successful career coaching Wilton High lacrosse: 3 state championships, 2 state runners-up, and 20 All-Americans, among other achievements.

McNulty is a member of both the US Lacrosse and FCIAC Halls of Fame, and has earned numerous other honors. During his 50-plus-year career, he also coached football, soccer, tennis and track, starting at a segregated Black school in Jacksonville, Florida.

Fun fact: He was a student teacher at Robert E. Lee High School in Florida with Coach Leonard Skinner, who was notorious for sending home boys with long hair. A few of them wanted to form a band, and did not want to get their hair cut.

So they quit school, formed that band, and named it after their coach: Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Paul McNulty

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The Cottage of Westport has named a new chef de cuisine: Danny Oddo.

He was previously executive sous chef at The Simone in New York City. He also worked for Marc Murphy’s restaurant group, which included Landmarc in Tribeca, and was part of the opening team at the Paloma in the Hotel Hendricks.

“Growing up in New Jersey, my love of cooking stemmed from visiting local farms and spending time in the kitchen with my mother and grandmother,” Oddo says.

“I am inspired to have the opportunity to work with Chef Brian Lewis and his entire team to bring my experience and background to our guests, and to work with local farmers and purveyors to offer new flavors, textures and colors on our menu.”

Danny Oddo

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Its name is simple: Circle of Friends.

Its mission is clear: pairing local teens with special needs youngsters. They spend at least one weekend a month together, doing what friends do: bake cookies. Play games. Go bowling.

It’s a wonderful, low-key organization, loved by all who participate in it.

Their annual fundraiser and volunteer recognition is Sunday, May 22 (5:30 p.m., Beth Israel Synagogue, Norwalk). It’s always a warm, welcoming night. This year, special awards (courtesy of Senator Richard Blumenthal) will be presented to teens from Westport, Weston and surrounding towns. Despite the isolating effects of COVID, they’ve provided home visits and programs to their friends.

The evening promises good food, inspiring speeches, prizes and more. Click here for tickets and more information.

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Beechwood Arts’ final event of “UpsideDown at The Westport Library” is this Friday (May 13, 7 p.m.).

There’s a reception for 15 artists (with wine and refreshments). Their art will be projected on the 19-foot screen, and they’ll share stories of reinvention and inspiration over the past couple of years, when “the world turned upside down.”

Click here to register for the free event.

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The Westport Library middle school summer program includes math, literacy and STEAM activities. Each week the immersive experience covers a different topic, over 2 days.

Mondays center around a blend of inquiry, design, research, writing and the arts. The Tuesday class builds on the work from Monday, focusing on math, science and revision, testing and technology, with students creating a physical representation of their learning.

Students work together to solve challenging problems that are authentic, curriculum-based, and interdisciplinary. Click here for details.

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Rach’s Hope is a special organization, with a special mission: It helps families address the many challenges of a child’s critical illness.

Named for Rachel Doran — a 2018 the Staples High School National Merit Commended Scholar, talented Players costume designer, and founder of her own pajama company — the annual fundraiser is special too: a “PJ Gala.”

This year’s event raised nearly $40,000. Donations are still being accepted. Click here to learn more.

Enjoying the Rach’s Hope gala.

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In today’s “Westport … Naturally,” Canada goose parents teach their offspring to use the designated crosswalk.

(Photo/Les Dinkin)

Nice! Now if they could only teach it (and themselves) to not poop all over the beach …

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And finally … based on the Paul McNulty story above, you’d have to be brain dead not to know what today’s featured band is, right?

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Posted in Children, Downtown, Library, Local politics, Restaurants, Saugatuck, Teenagers, Transportation

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Roundup: Craig Melvin, Car Show, Circle Of Friends …

Posted on June 8, 2021 | Comments Off on Roundup: Craig Melvin, Car Show, Circle Of Friends …

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Fathers Day is June 20. Which makes a perfect tie-in for Craig Melvin.

The NBC “Today” show anchor — and Westport resident — has just written a new book: Pops: Learning to Be a Son and a Father.

On Thursday, June 17 (7 p.m., in-person and via Zoom) he’ll discuss it — along with fatherhood, addiction and resiliency — in a Westport Library program. He’s got the perfect co-host too: his wife, Lindsay Czarniak. She’s a sportscaster and NFL sideline report for Fox Sports, after 6 years with ESPN.

Melvin calls his book more an investigation than a memoir. It’s an opportunity to better understand his father; to interrogate his family’s legacy of addiction and despair, but also transformation and redemption, and to explore the challenges facing all dads.

Pops also includes tales of the inspiring fathers Melvin has met reporting his “Dads Got This” series on “Today.”

Click here to register, either in-person or via Zoom. Copies of Pops are available for ordering and pickup at the library, or for shipping.

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Speaking of Fathers Day: Here’s a great event for dads (and their kids) (and spouses).

Westport PAL is sponsoring a car show on June 20 (10 a.m. to 2 p.m., railroad station parking lot near Railroad Place and Franklin Street). In addition to cool cars, there’s food and raffle prizes.

Tickets are $15 each. But kids — that is, anyone under 12 — are free. Hey, this is the PAL: Even on Father’s Day, they’re all about the kids.

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Circle of Friends is a great group. Young volunteers join children and adults with special needs in an array of social programs and weekly play dates.

On June 23 (Beth Israel Chabad, Norwalk, 6:30 p.m.), an evening of recognition will honor more than 150 teen volunteers.

Special honors go to Staples and Weston High School seniors Benjamin Clachko, Mushka Stone, Harley Bonn, Rebecca Ronai and Lina Singh, for their combined 3,000 “Friendship Hours.”

Other Westport and Weston teens being feted are Oliver Clachko, Hannah Sharkey, Evan Trock, Alexa Anastasi, Emmy Bassler, Hannah Bitsky, Jacob Bitsky, Elyana Blatt, Michael Blishteyn, Haley Bloch, Katie Rose Blumenfeld, Marley Brown, Caroline Caggiano, Otto Learsy-Cahill, Jacob Ceisler, Jessica Dell’Isola, Abby Epstein, Emily Epstein, Genevieve Frucht, Cailen Geller, Jordan Gladstone, Jordana Greenspan, Siyar Jabarkhyl, Rebecca Kanfer, Dwight Koyner, Jessica Koyner, Max Krug, Ryan Lapatine, Madison Lebowitz, Connor McGeehan, Noah Robison, Alexis Rozen, Skylar Shapiro, Brooke Saporta, Anabell Sollinger,Harrison Solomon, James Dobin Smith, Aidan Spellacy, Alexandra Spencer, Raychel Stark, Leiba Stone, Chelsea Strober, Isabel Tobin, Reese Watkins and Madison Wilson.

For moroe information on Circle of Friends, click here, call 203-293-8837 or email cof@circleoffriendsct.org.

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The past 15 months have not had much to joke about.

As we emerge from COVID though, there’s plenty to smile about.

There’s no better place than at Homes with Hope’s “Stand-up for Comedy” fundraiser. Set for this Saturday (June 12, 8 p.m.), it’s a livestreamed event with 4 fantastic comedians — and for one of the best non-profits in Fairfield County.

See the link below for comedian details. Then click here for tickets.

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“Pink is my favorite color,” says Lauri Weiser. So that makes her photo perfect for today’s “Westport … Naturally” feature.

(Photo/Lauri Weiser)

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And finally … Patrick Sky died last month. A folk singing/songwriting contemporary of Dave Van Ronk, Buffy Sainte-Marie and others in the Greenwich Village 1960’s scene, he never achieved their fame. But albums like “Songs That Made America Famous” remain cult classics. Of Irish and Native American ancestry, he mastered the very difficult uilleann pipes late in his career. Click here for his obituary.

 

 

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Special Resources, For Special Kids

Posted on January 23, 2019 | 10 comments

For many Westport parents, kids’ activities — sports, arts, organizations, lessons, you name it — are easy to access. And there are gazillions of them.

For parents with special needs children, it’s not as easy. There are many excellent programs, but they can be hard to find.

And even though the PTAs’ SpED (Special Education) committee spreads the word through an info-filled weekly email — including options outside of school, and resources for parents too — plenty of Westporters don’t even know they can join that list.

Some of the programs — here and in nearby towns — are inclusive. Others are adapted, making them attainable to those who did not think they could participate.

So how can parents learn what’s out there?

Westporter Johanna Kiev has compiled a massive database of material. She’s shared it with “06880” — which is honored to offer it to our readers.

(Johanna has also developed a Facebook resource page — click here to see it).

Thanks, Johanna. And everyone: Feel free to forward this far and wide!

About the Westport SpED Committee

Westport SpED PTA committee representatives work closely with each school’s administration, and the district’s assistant superintendent of pupil services. They meet monthly. Co-chairs are Julie McMahon and Kate Grijns.

Members are parents of children who receive special education services. The committee hosts social events and shares information, such as:

  • Sip ’N Chat – informal parent coffees held monthly at Panera Bread
  • Community Fun Day each November
  • Teen Nights at the Westport Weston Family Y
  • Parent education seminars on topics like “Navigating Your IEP” and “Assistive Technology”
  • Weekly emails with information about local events and activities, plus summer opportunities and post-high school transition options

The committee also works with local agencies like the Parks & Recreation Department and Westport Library, for advocacy and programming.

To be added to the PTA SpED mailing list — or if you would like to add information about a program not listed below, or are a business that can help — email westportspedpta@gmail.com.

Programming Options for Children with Special Needs:

The Westport Weston Family Y sponsors:

Swim Team: The program includes participation in Connecticut Special Olympics summer games. Fee: $100 (September-June)

Basketball: Junior Team (8 -12 years): Saturdays 8:45 to 9:30 p.m.
Senior Team (13+ years): Saturdays 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.
This program includes participation in the CT Unified Sports tournament. Fee: $65 (September-February)

Track & Field: This program includes participation in the Connecticut Special Olympics summer games. Fee: $45 (March-June)

Floor Hockey: This began for the first time last month. Fee: $45 (December-March)

Smiles all around on the Y’s Special Olympics swim team.

Special Needs Swim Lessons: The Y offers private and semi-private swim lessons at a greatly reduced rate for children with special needs. Lessons can be booked at any time, but because the pool can get noisy and distracting, instructors are also available during quieter hours (evenings, Fridays, early Saturday and Sunday morning). Rates: Private 30-minute lesson, $25; 2-person 30-minute lesson, $15 each.

Long Distance Running: This program is for children who are interested in completing a 5k (combination of walking and running). Practice times: Tuesdays, 4-4:45 p.m.; Saturdays, 10:45 to 11:30 a.m.

SPED Teen Fun Nights: Offered on various dates.

For more information or to register for any Westport Weston YMCA special needs activity, click here or call 203-226-8981

Earthplace

Earthplace provides necessary resources to allow children to access and enjoy all programming. For more information or to register, click here or call 203-557-4400.

MusicWorks! Individual Music Therapy Sessions for Children with Special Needs

MusicWorks! (Westport School of Music, 18 Woods Grove Road) sessions employ structured and improvised musical activities including singing, instrument playing, rhythm and movement, songwriting, listening, imaging and relaxation to meet individual needs. Activities are specifically designed for cognitive, emotional, psychological, physical and social concerns. They are facilitated by board-certified music therapist Patricia Ashford, who encourages children and adults to express themselves without judgment and to grow in creativity and self-confidence.

For more information or to register, call director Sarah Miller: 203-227-4931.

Music Works! is specially designed for children with special needs.

“Break an Egg – The Social Kitchen”: 

Break an Egg – The Social Kitchen” builds the communication skills of people with special needs through the motivating element of food. Each participant in the cooking class prepares a new recipe each week. The fall/winter program includes pumpkin muffins, apple berry salsa with cinnamon chips, garlic and lemon butternut squash noodles, and apple stir fry with whipped cream. Dietary needs can be accommodated.

Classes are taught by licensed speech and language pathologist Shari Goldstein, and Penney Parkes, a food technologist and mom of a special needs young adult.

Classes are held in Fairfield on Tuesdays and Saturdays. They can be held at home kitchens if parents form a group of youngsters to cook together. There are classes for elementary, middle and high school students. A preschool class could be organized too.

For more information or to sign up, email Shari@breakaneggsocialkitchen.com or Penney@breakaneggsocialkitchen.com

The Drew Friedman Foundation: New Arts Program for Kids

The Foundation introduces a pilot youth arts program for children with special needs this month in Westport. The hands-on program, conducted by local artists, includes 10 to 15 children around ages 8 to 16 to work on a mosaic-type project.

For more information, email michellevitulich@gmail.com or call 203-349-0455.

Inclusive Ice Skating : Ages 5 – 13

Saturdays, 11am to 11:45am (through February 9) at the Westport PAL Rink at Longshore.

Individual and group instruction in basic skills is offered at the Westport PAL Rink at Longshore. Parents are encouraged to skate with their children. The program runs Saturdays through February 9 (11 to 11:45 a.m.). To register, click here.

Little League Baseball – Challenger Program

This program pairs young volunteers with children with special needs. Details on the spring season will be available soon; click here.

Hillary Lipper shares a laugh with Coach Scott, during the 2013 Challenger season.

Circle of Friends

Norwalk-based Circle of Friends includes many Westporters. The organization matches special needs children with teenage volunteers for play dates. The group also organizes monthly gatherings for youngsters with special needs. For more information, click here.

The Jewish Community Center of Stamford

The JCC  offers winter programs designed to improve children’s social skills and build positive peer interactions:

  • Music, Movement & Yoga – fun and interactive for all ability levels.
  • Music Mania – provides opportunities for children to explore their creativity, using music to improve skills.
  • Zumba Kids Jr – kid-friendly routines based on original Zumba choreography.
  • Ready, Set, Move – enables children to engage their muscles by moving through an obstacle course and yoga positions.

(Have we missed any programs? Click “Comments” below!)

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Posted in Arts, Children, Organizations, Sports, Teenagers, YMCA

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Crumb Together: Baking Challah, With A Twist

Posted on October 24, 2018 | 6 comments

Of Maimonides’ 8 levels of charity, the highest is giving someone a job. That way, he or she is no longer dependent on others.

The Jewish scholar died nearly 1,000 years ago. But he would be proud of the Crumb Together cafe.

He’d find its food fantastic too.

The newly opened bakery is the latest gift from Circle of Friends. That’s the very active, very cool group of more than 150 teens in Westport, Weston and nearby towns who spend at least one weekend a month with special needs children, teenagers and young adults. 

Together, they do the usual friend activities: Play games. Bowl. Bake cookies.

That last activity is particularly important.

“Baking is always a favorite,” says Circle of Friends founder Freida Hecht.

“It’s a chance to socialize. It’s fun. It’s productive. Once you’ve baked challah or a chocolate chip cookie, you feel a sense of accomplishment and comfort. Plus, it tastes good!”

Challah is a Crumb Together specialty.

For 2 years Hecht, Circle of Friends supporters Bill and Andrea Pecoriello and others worked to open an actual bakery. Westport pastry chef Becca Nissim provided crucial culinary help.

The group found temporary space at Beth Israel synagogue, just over the border on 40 King Street in Norwalk. The not-for-profit bakery opened in April.

There, Circle of Friends members with special needs bake 3 varieties of challah, chocolate crumble cookies and snickerdoodles. Others help with packaging, sales, marketing and clean-up.

Chef Becca Nissim (left) and her crew.

Job coaches help make Crumb Together a happy, social place. It’s as joyful as its play-on-words name is clever. (The tagline is cute too: “Always Rising.”)

As Crumb Together grows, Hecht hopes to add more bakers. She’s also looking for permanent space, with the dream of opening an actual cafe.

“This is amazing to see,” Hecht says. “These are not ‘special needs’ people. They have regular needs: employment, opportunity, compassion and friendship.”

Maimonides would agree. He’d really love the poppy seed challah too.

(A special ribbon-cutting, with Westport 1st Selectman Jim Marpe, is set for November 1, 11 a.m., at Crumb Together, 40 King Street, Norwalk. Click here for the website.)

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Inside A Large Circle Of Friends

Posted on March 16, 2017 | 9 comments

Freida Hecht is passionate about the power of friendship. With 11 kids of her own, she knows the importance of children laughing, playing and just being kids together.

She also knows that youngsters with special needs often have limited social lives. They may not belong to sports teams or school clubs. They’re seldom included in play dates.

Thirteen years ago Frieda — who teaches adult education, runs a Hebrew school, is a community activist and, oh yeah, has 11 kids of her own — matched Westport 2nd selectman Shelley Kassen’s daughter with a young special needs girl. They planned one afternoon together.

circle-of-friends-logoThe day went well. Both wanted to continue.

Word spread. Freida matched more children with autism and disabilities with teenagers who wanted to be friends. The circle spread.

Today, the group has a very appropriate name: Circle of Friends. More than 150 teens — in Westport, Weston, Wilton, Norwalk, Easton, as far as Ridgefield — spend at least one weekend a month with their special needs friends. Circle of Friends clubs support the effort at Staples and Weston Highs.

Their time together includes the usual things friends do: Baking cookies. Playing games. Bowling.

Friendship means fun.

Friendship means fun.

“Friendship does not need special training,” Freida notes. “Just an open heart.”

Circle of Friends opens many hearts. After the first meeting between one new volunteer and her young friend, Freida called the mother for feedback.

The woman said she peeked in, and saw her daughter laughing loudly.

“I’ve never heard her laugh before,” the mother said.

The connections last beyond weekends. Another woman said her child always sat alone at lunch. Now she eats with the “cool kids.”

The students who join get as much out of the Circle as their friends. “Teenagers want truly meaningful volunteer opportunities,” Freida says. “This builds their self-esteem and confidence too.”

PJ & Jonathan Ross

PJ & Jonathan Ross

On April 2 (the Inn at Longshore, 5 p.m.), Circle of Friends celebrates 13 years — and the current 150 volunteers — with an “Evening of Recognition” fundraiser. Westporters Jonathan and PJ Ross — whose 2 children participate — will be honored.

Three siblings will also speak. Their topic is “the art of friendship: passing the torch.”

In 2008, Jillian Pecoriello was matched with a 3-year-old boy. Three years later, when she graduated from Staples, she asked her brother Scott to continue the tradition.

When he graduated, he made sure his younger brother Justin kept the friendship alive.

During school and summer vacations, Jillian and Scott hang out with their friend. They’ve become part of his family.

Jillian, Scott and Justin Pecioriello, with their young friend.

Jillian, Justin and Scott Pecioriello, with their young friend.

Justin graduates from Staples this year. But he’s already made sure that Ethan Gross — a current freshman — will spend the next 3 years with their friend.

The Pecoriellos’ parents — Andrea and Bill — are past Circle of Friends honorees. Now, they’re spearheading a Circle campaign to create a baker to employ adults with disabilities.

“Their family’s entire foundation is one of giving and sharing. They’re infused with goodness,” Freida says.

She believes that friendship is “a basic necessity of the human condition.”

For 13 years, she’s made sure that Fairfield County’s circle of friends is big, wide, and very loving.

(For more information about the Circle of Friends’ “Evening of Recognition,” click here.)

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