Friendship Walk Draws Hundreds to Agoura Hills

Chabad of the Conejo hosted the sixth annual Friendship Walk on Sunday in Agoura Hills, raising money for programs for special-needs children.

Hundreds of participants walked from Yerba Buena School at the top of Reyes Adobe Road to Willow School at Laro Drive and Kanan Road, where they enjoyed an afternoon of food, music and entertainment.

Rabbi Eli Laber from Chabad of the Conejo said the event raises awareness about the Friendship Circle, a nonprofit organization that serves about 200 families with special-needs children in the Conejo Valley and the west San Fernando Valley. The money raised, expected to be between $150,000 and $200,000, will be used to fund the organization’s activities, he said.

“It’s amazing the turnout we’ve had and everyone reaching out to their family and friends about it,” said Laber.

The Friendship Circle encourages teen volunteers to befriend children with autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, attention deficit disorder and other emotional and physical challenges, and engage them in sports, fitness programs and Sunday meetings.

Allison Johnson’s 10-year-old son, Nathan, has autism, and two Sundays a month they drive from their home in Ventura to Agoura Hills, where Nathan attends a Friendship Circle meeting at Yerba Buena School

“He loves to go and he asks about it all the time,” she said as she waited with Nathan for the start of the 5K walk. “They do crafts and music and play outside, and all the kids are assigned a buddy.”

“We’re not able to participate in all the other stuff they do, because it’s too far a drive, but twice a month we’re able to manage it,” she said. “It gives him an outlet to do something with other kids where he’s not judged, and also when he was younger, it gave me a chance to take a break and do something for myself.”

Eiean Shemuelian, 15, of Calabasas took part in the walk for the first time. He started helping out with activities for special-needs children a few months ago.

“When you see them smile and when they start having fun, you really start having fun, too, and you get a lot out of it,” he said.

It was the first time that Tracy Costanzo of Thousand Oaks participated in the event. “My daughter has special needs and she attends Westlake High School and the Friendship Circle has just started a lunch group at the school and they’re walking and we’re walking to support them,” she said.

Costanzo said the lunch group gives her daughter, Samantha, who has cerebral palsy and learning difficulties, the chance to socialize and interact with other kids. “She needs that kind of interaction and so I am thrilled. It’s a wonderful program and I’m excited by the walk today,” she said.

Anastasia Bechera, 18, helping out with the walk on Sunday, is one of several students from El Camino High School in Woodland Hills who volunteer with Friendship Circle.

“I think I learn more from them than I can ever teach them,” she said of the children, “and just to know I can influence their lives by spending time with them, I think it’s one of the most incredible things I’ve ever done.”