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Friendship House · Boca Raton

Where no one feels alone.

Since 2020, Friendship House has brought children, teens and young adults with special needs together with volunteer friends, every week, right here in Boca Raton. Nearly every program is free for families.

Find a programBecome a volunteer
A young woman and a volunteer in matching blue shirts hugging and smilingA young man laughing at a Young Adult Club dinnerFriends, every week
A mother and father smiling with their toddler at a Chanukah gathering
For familiesFind your place
  • Programs by age
  • How joining works
  • Register an existing family
Start here
A girl holding a birthday gift between two smiling teen volunteers
For volunteersBe someone's friend
  • Teens, grades 8–12
  • Adults 18+
  • Community service hours
Join as a volunteer
Riders in pink Tour de Friendship jerseys smiling together before the ride
For supportersMake it possible
  • Give once or monthly
  • Sponsor a friend for a year
  • Sponsor an event
Give
Friends are not a luxury. They're a necessity.

Why we exist

For many children and young adults with special needs, the loneliest moments are the ordinary ones: after school, on the weekend, at a birthday no one comes to, when everyone else has plans.

Friendship House changes that. We pair participants with volunteer friends, build programs around what they love, and give families a community that understands. We believe everyone deserves friendship, and everyone can be a friend.

2020Founded in Boca Raton
75+Families served
80Volunteers a year
60+Programs and events a year
$0Cost to families for nearly every program
Read our 2025 Impact Report

Programs

Something to look forward to, all year

Each program is built around friendship first: same faces, real interests, and volunteers who keep coming back. Nearly all of them are free.

A teen volunteer and her friend playing a drum together outdoors

Sunday Circle

Ages 5+Sundays1½-hour drop-off

Art, music, dance and sports with a one-on-one volunteer buddy, while parents get a well-earned break.

Learn more
Young adults in We All Belong shirts around a restaurant table, smiling at the camera

Young Adult Club

Ages 18+Twice a month, Tuesdays

Dinners out, outings and nights together with peers and young adult volunteers.

Learn more
A coach and a teen volunteer smiling with a participant wearing ear defenders at Sports Circle

Sports Circle

Ages 5+Wednesdays, 4:30–5:30 pm

Soccer and team games with an experienced coach and a one-on-one volunteer.

Learn more
A child in a purple helmet riding a horse with a volunteer beside her

Equine Connection

Ages 5+Monthly, Sundays 10–11 am

Grooming, leading and riding gentle horses with guides.

Learn more
Four teen volunteers sitting on the floor with a young girl and her birthday gift bag

Brighter Birthdays

All agesOn your child’s birthday

Volunteers visit your home with a personalized gift, so every child feels celebrated.

Learn more
Parents with their two young children at a holiday celebration

Family & Holiday Events

Whole familyThrough the year

Celebrations where siblings and parents join in.

Learn more
Two smiling volunteers sitting beside a participant in a baseball cap at a Sunday Circle table
One-on-onea volunteer friend
for every child

Volunteers

Every friendship here has two people in it

Our volunteers aren't helpers on the side. They are the friends. Teens and adults show up week after week, and many say they get as much as they give.

"I truly cherish our time together."

Kim Waltuch, Young Adult Club volunteer

Teen volunteersGrades 8–12. Community service hours, volunteer-only events, and a friend for life.Teen registration →
Adult volunteersAges 18+: college students, working adults and retirees. Programs, events and drivers.Adult registration →

Signature events

Ride with us. Walk with us.

Two days a year when the whole community shows up for friendship, and raises what keeps our programs open to every family.

Four riders in pink Tour de Friendship jerseys riding toward the camera, arms out
Nov
15
2026

2nd annual charity ride

Tour de Friendship

30 & 60 mile routesFully supportedFinish-line celebration
Ride or sponsor
Two friends in Walk4Friendship shirts at the 2026 walk
Mar
7
2027

5th annual community walk

Walk4Friendship

New: 5K run, 8:30 amCommunity walkTeams welcome
Register a teamVolunteer at the walk

Voices

In their words

"Avi feels like he is an important part of the community, and that means so much to us."
GK
Golda Kaplan
Her brother Avi attends the Young Adult Club
"He looks forward to the amazing program every week and the friends he has made there."
P
Parent of Jojo
Sports Circle family
"I love all the smiles and friendships that are made from this wonderful experience!"
V
Sunday Circle volunteer
Volunteer
A teen and his mother hugging and smiling at Walk4Friendship

Make it possible

What your gift does

Nearly every program is free for families because people like you make it so.

$36Snacks for one Sunday Circle
$180Sports Circle for 5 kids
$1,200Sponsors one child for a full year
$3,600A family event for our special needs community
Give a gift