Winning $100,000 is no small thing, especially when you place fourth out of 100,000 other nominations. For The Friendship Circle, this isn’t a fantasy, it’s a reality. Although they might not have won the million dollars, first place prize, they did win a substantial amount of donation money for the improvement of facilities and new materials.
The Friendship Circle Senior Katherine Sherbin was ecstatic when she found out the news.
“We were really excited,” Sherbin said. “But it would’ve been nice to win the million because it would’ve helped out a lot.”
The Friendship Circle was nominated along with other charities that added up to 100,000 charities. From there, the number was reduced to 100 charities. People could vote for the group they thought deserved the donation the most.
After all the voting, out of the 100,000 charities nominated, the Friendship Circle ended up in fourth place.
On January 22, they found out they had won $100,000 towards their charity donated by Chase Community Bank.
According to Sherbin, the money is going towards repairs and new materials for the kids
“It makes a difference,” Sherbin said.
The Friendship Circle has multiple buildings that act as facilities. The Friendship Circle provides activities for kids with special needs. The kids get the attention they need while forming lasting friendships.
The program is divided into two boards, the boys’ board and the girls’ board.
“They hold programs and events for kids to go to,” Sherbin said. “They have volunteers to provide friendship with these kids instead of working with them.”
According to The Friendship Circle’s website, more than 150 schools and 44 districts participate in the program, including Derby Middle School, Beverly Elementary School, West Maple Elementary School, and Covington from the Birmingham Public Schools District. Although Seaholm may not be officially on the list of participating schools, there are a few who are a part of the program such as Katherine Sherbin and former senior Brad Verona. You can also see the purple logo bumper sticker on the backs of many cars around town.
The Friendship Circle is hosting a number of upcoming events, including Wake-a-Thon, where attendees can play paintball, watch a hypnosis show, eat food and win prizes. If you’re interested in helping out children you can go to The Friendship Circle website at http://www.friendshipcircle.org/, or call them at 248-788-7878.
