On June 5th, friends, supporters of the Stuart I Raskas Friendship Circle, and caring community members gathered together for an Evening of Inspiration.
Doors opened to the classic musical stylings of Albert Fookson on cello and Art Lisker on the piano. Rabbi Zelik and Bassie Moscowitz had the honor of thanking 47 teen volunteers for their unwavering dedication, and presenting 10 of them with the Fellowship Award–recognizing 36 hours of service throughout the school year. We heard from Anna Fookson, a graduating senior at Glenbrook South, who said that her experience with Friendship Circle inspired her to major in special education during her studies at University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana.
Then award-winning athlete, author, and motivational speaker, Lloyd Bachrach, took the stage, to discuss his personal experience of overcoming the odds to accomplish what no one else thought was possible. At Lloyd’s birth, his parents were told he would never walk, and should be institutionalized and forgotten about. He shattered that depressing prediction by not only walking, but running the bases during his time in little league baseball, and growing up to finish 5th in state in pommel horse on his high school’s gymnastics team (against able-bodied gymnasts, no less)! He even treated the audience to a demonstration of these skills. After a brief Q & A session with Lloyd, we rounded out the night with a delicious dessert buffet and Moshe Lodkin on violin–sending everyone home on a sweet note.
The Stuart I Raskas Friendship Circle of Illinois is an affiliate of Lubavitch Chabad of Illinois. To learn more visit www.fcil.org .
