Jessie Rosenfeld
Staff writer
The Sketchers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk puts smiles on the faces of those with special needs and raise money for the beach cities school district all in one day.
At the Manhattan Beach Pier on Oct. 27 thousands of people gathered to walk and raise money for the Friendship Circle organization and Sketchers foundation. The walk went from the Manhattan Beach pier to the Hermosa Pier and back to raise money for the Beach Cities school districts and the Friendship Circle.
“It is great for kids in the South Bay, great for so many charities, and brings the community together,” Anne Kent said.
Friendship Circle is a non profit organization whose mission is make a difference in those with special needs and their families through recreational programs and peer mentoring. Mira Costa has Friendship Circle club at school that meets Tuesdays and Thursdays in room 114 and has activities outside of school with the special needs children.
“As a whole it is a great organization because it gives back to the community in a direct way,” Friendship Circle member Priyah Chatwani said. “You can see it actually influencing the kids how they are more social, feel more comfortable around more people, and their able to talk more.”
Costa students in Friend Friendship Circle helped prepare for the walk by stuffing bags and making medals that were handed out at the end of the walk. Some students at Costa are also members of Friendship Circle’s Teen advisory board, who reached out to students to get them to sign up for the walk.
“I was on stage on the day of the walk and the Teen Advisory Board went early to talk to all the people as a little reward for all of our hard work over the past month,” Mira Costa Friendship Circle President senior Lia Sepanek said.
People could sign up in teams to walk and raise money with; students at Costa raised $2,500 for team Mira Costa. The people that raise money for team Mira Costa got to choose if they wanted it to go towards Manhattan Beach Education Foundation or Community Friendship Circle. The Community Friendship Circle uses the money donated to fund activities that club members participate in with the special needs children.
“I think it is a really good cause and I definitely know that the activities they do really help the kids feel more accepted,” Chatwani said. “They would not usually get the opportunity to do the activities Friendship Circle supplies, so its a cool way for them to make new friends and do other things.”
The Sketchers Friendship walk attracted thousands, including actress Brooke Burke, fitness instructor Denise Austin, and special guest talk show host Jimmy Kimmel. According to Sepanek he special needs children feel proud of themselves and rewarded after the walk.
“They love being there and knowing all of these people are there for them and that gives them a sense of accomplishment that they are the reason these people are here,” Sepanek said. “They get really excited about it so its really cool to see them get excited about something and be a part of something bigger.”
The goal of the walk was to raise one million dollars. When the day began they had only raised $937,000 through signups and early donations, but by the end of the day the walk was able to reach their goal.
“These kids really benefit from it because all the money we raise that goes towards the Friendship Circle goes towards all the fun activities we do with the kids, so the more we can raise for them the more fun stuff we can do to enhance their childhood,” Sepanek said.
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