Friendship Comes Full Circle

Friendship Circle volunteer
Esti Backman with Kalea.

ALBANY — For Esti Backman, the best part of volunteering with the Friendship Circle is making her 4-year-old buddy, Kalea, smile.
Backman, 13, an eighth-grader at Maimonides Hebrew Day School in Albany, spends an hour a week with Kalea, who has Down syndrome. They read books, play instruments and sing songs together as part of the Friendship Circle's Friends at Home program. The program allows boys and girls with developmental disabilities like autism, Asperger's syndrome, cerebral palsy and emotional challenges to socialize with teenage volunteers.