PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Nearly one hundred families with children with special needs spent Sunday morning at a fun event for the whole family.
Friendship House, based in Boca Raton, held its second annual Walk4Friendship on Sunday morning at South County Regional Park west of Boca Raton.
It’s an event to raise funds and awareness for children with special needs living in the area, according to Rabbi Sholom Kessler, who organized the event and is the executive director for the organization.
He said they also dedicated the event to two children with special needs killed in the Oct. 7 attack in Israel.
"As a rabbi, it's important that we as community members, bring into our world more acceptance, more love, and it's important that we make our world brighter for everyone, more accepting for everyone," he said.
They had a walk around the park, followed by a carnival filled with activities for the whole family, including snacks, music and an acrobatic show.
Jacob Farkash, who has special needs, spoke at the opening ceremony. He told WPTV reporter Victor Jorges the organization is a way for him to connect with friends.
"Friendship House means a lot to me because Friendship House allows me to be myself and have fun with all the fun activities and hang out with all my friends," he said. "And without it, I wouldn't be able to be myself or hang out with my friends or enjoy many fun activities."
A teacher at Sunday’s event, Karina Constantine said sometimes people isolate people with special needs because they are unaware or uneducated about what it's like to live with special needs. She said coming to events like Sunday’s is a good way to bridge that gap and not isolate people with special needs.
"They're amazing … they're little angels, you know and they deserve … that's what equity is about and inclusion. They deserve what every other child gets."