Teen Leadership Board
Friendship Circle Teen Leadership Board is the innovative force behind our growth! Our board brainstorms ideas, critiques past events, plans volunteer training sessions, provides special needs awareness workshops, and plays a big role in spreading the good word of Friendship Circle around town.
Meet our 2021-22 FC Board
Hello my name is
AJ Leshem
, and I LOVE TO SURF! I have been doing Friendship Circle for an amazing four years and this year I am bringing my experience to the teen board. So far, my favorite FC memory has been eating in Blueback Square with my friends Koby and Ben. Besides joining FC to get the AWESOME sweatshirt, the program seemed like a great way to get more involved in Judaism as well as get to hang with my old friend Koby.
P.S. NEWCOMERS! Don’t just lock into a single activity right away as it may take some time for you and your friend to figure out what works best for BOTH of you.
Hi, my name is Ben Reimer and I am from West Hartford, CT. I have been volunteering at Friendship Circle since 2018 and I am so excited to be a member of the student leadership board this year. I enjoy playing tennis. My favorite FC swag is this cool tie dye t-shirt that I believe I got at the 2019 Friendship Circle kickoff. My best Friendship Circle moment would be participating in FC connect, which was a pen pal program that Friendship Circle had during the pandemic. Originally, I joined Friendship Circle because my sister was on the student leadership board and encouraged me to try it out, but I am very glad that I have been able to take part in this amazing organization for the last three years. Finally, some key advice that I would give a new volunteer is to realize that the Friendship Circle events don’t always have to be structured and go perfectly. What that means is that if your friend does not want to do an activity, there are always plenty of alternatives at our friendship circle events, and at the end of the day, our goal at Friendship Circle events is to ensure that we are all having a fun and engaging time.
Hi! I’m Carson Raisner ! One fun fact about me is that both my older sister and older brother were part of Friendship Circle for 5 years. My favorite FC moment was when we made chocolate rugelach on Zoom. The best FC swag I have received is the tye dye T-shirt. I joined FC because both my brother and sister did it and told me I should. If you are a new volunteer, the best advice I can give is to be patient and a good listener with your friend.
Hi Friendship Circle,
My name is
Elle Fingold
, and I am so happy to be on the board of Friendship Circle this year! I am a senior at Hall High School. If I had to pick one fun fact to share with all of you it would be…I have my dual citizenship with Canada. If I had to pick one piece of FC swag it would be my sweatshirt. I love my sweatshirt for so many reasons. One being it provides warmth and comfort in the chilly months. The other reason being, it is great to represent FC wherever I go. All my FC memories have been outstanding, but if I had to pick one it would be getting to participate in cooking circle. It was an amazing way to stay busy while we were all stuck at home. I also loved it because it was very inclusive to everyone. Originally, I joined FC because I knew some really amazing people participating in it already. But then I learned what friendship circle was all about and I fell quickly in love with the program. I am super passionate about helping others especially within our Jewish community. If I could give one piece of advice to a new member I would say be patient and easy going. I am so excited to meet so many of you! Here’s to a great year in Friendship Circle.
Hi! My name is Matt Farber and I’m super excited to be joining the Friendship Circle Board this year! Currently I am a Senior at Hall High School and play Football and Lacrosse for the school. My favorite Friendship Circle experience was definitely my first time at an event. It was amazing to see how smoothly everything ran and the dynamic of it all. My favorite pieces of FC Swag are definitely the sweatshirts. They have very cool designs and are extremely comfortable. My older sister had been a part of Friendship Circle and after watching her do it I wanted to join. She contacted Tammy and it’s all history from there. If I were to give one piece of advice to new volunteers it would be to expect the unexpected. You never know when, if, or how a situation may handle itself so be ready for anything. I look forward to having a great year this year!
Hi;) My name is Molly Lerner and I’m so honored to be part of the Friendship Circle board this year. Here’s a few quick facts about me! A fun fact about me is I love animals and want to become a vet when I grow up. My favorite FC moment hands down was when I finally met my FC Connect partner in person at Music Circle after writing letters to her all year! My favorite fc swag is my cool tie dye sweatshirt I got last year (I wear it a little too much)! Believe it or not this is only my second year at FC! I found out about it when one of my best friends told me how she’s been part of FC for years and the way she talked so highly about it, I knew this is something I would love to do and I’ve never looked back. Finally, my advice for new volunteers is to be yourself. Don’t be nervous. You will not only feel a sense of joy and passion when volunteering but you will find a lifelong best friend you never expected to find! Can’t wait for an amazing year!!!
Hello Everyone! My name is Sam and I am a Junior at Hall High School. I wrestle at Hall High School, and I worked at Ben & Jerry’s over the summer. I love math, and I really enjoy the concept of engineering. One fun fact about me is that I can perform a handstand! I really liked last year’s sweatshirts, they looked incredible! At Friendship Circle, my favorite moments were certainly participating in Tennis Circle, and getting to know Aaron during Friends at Home. I joined Friendship Circle to give back to my community, and joined in my 8th grade year. My advice to new volunteers would be to always keep an open mindset! You will find so many things you never thought you would enjoy!