Impact
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13
We can see our impact in every smile on the faces of our special needs friends, their families and caretakers, and each volunteer. Our impact goes beyond this community—we're making an impact in God's Kingdom with every act of love.
2023 Christmas
On December 10th at the Dairy Barn Christmas event, we read the Christmas story, prayed, had a devotion and sang Christmas carols. We provided a holiday meal and gave out 357 goodie bags for our special needs friends. And many photos were taken with Santa! Later in the month we also went on a bus trip with our friends to see the Charlotte Motor Speedway Christmas lights.
River Place Event
On August 27, 2023, we held a big event at the River Place Event Center in Fort Mill, SC, For all our York and Mecklenburg county friends. It included devotion, games, dinner, music and dancing, and of course a whole lot of fun!
Sports Night
March 2023
2022 Easter at the Dairy Barn
On Sunday April 24, 2022, Friends for Special Needs met at the historic Dairy Barn in Fort Mill, SC to celebrate Easter. Over 300 illustrated Bibles were given away to our special needs friends. We had a prayer booth, devotion, Easter egg booth, Joni and Friends booth, photo booth etc. We served hamburgers, hotdogs and all the trimmings. We had a live band let by Jacob Hare and Friends with plenty of dancing. We also had tractor rides and a giant slide. Close to 450 came out on a beautiful day.
2021 Christmas Town Drive Thru
On December 11, 2021, we had a 22-booth Christmas Town Drive thru. We had close to 300 Special Friends attend along with their parents/caregivers to celebrate Christmas and the birth of our Savior. And Santa Claus came by with a Special gift for everyone!
Spring Drive Thru
On May 15th 2021, we had a Drive Thru event at Movement Mortgage with 25 stations. Over 480 special needs, parents/caregivers, and volunteers attended this event. Our thanks to Movement Mortgage!
Christmas Drive Thru
Our “Friends for Special Needs Drive Thru” event was Saturday, December 12, 2020, at Carmel Baptist Church. Everyone who prayed, gave financially and volunteered helped over 230 special needs, their caregivers and their families have a good Christmas. This was an awesome responsibility that God gave us and we took it very seriously.
21 group homes come to our event and 70+ volunteers!
Over 475 Chick-fil-a meals for the Special needs and their families.
120 $50 Target gift cards to individual special needs.
Groceries, toiletries, Christmas snacks, Chick-fil-a gift cards for 113 group homes.
250 light up Christmas necklaces, large Candy Canes, prayer books, and crafts.
Lots of hot chocolate and 325 large cookies.
Live Nativity scene with live animals. Even had a camel named Edgar!
Live band where everyone could sit in their cars and listen to Christmas music!
Christmas Lights
On December 8th, 2019, five chartered buses took Special Friends, their parents, caregivers, and volunteers to the Charlotte Motor Speedway to see the Christmas lights. We had dinner at the Speedway Club, had fun learning about the Christmas story, sang carols, and got a visit from Santa!
Barn Dance
Friends for Special Needs hosted a Dairy Barn Dance Sunday, March 31, 2019 for over 230 attendants. The video captures the smiles on the faces of our Special Friends having a great time. We served hamburgers, hotdogs, and all the trimmings! We talked about the true meaning of Easter, did a cross craft, and played games. We had tractor pull rides, a photo booth and DJ, and plenty of dancing!
Parents Night Out
Sports Night! — On October 12, 2018, we had music & dancing, talent competition, pizza, and more. A good time was had by special needs friends and volunteers alike!
Movie Day
On July 28, 2018 we went to see Incredibles 2. It was a SOLD OUT event! Our Special Friends enjoyed concessions, fellowship, and a great movie!
2022 Prom Night
On Friday October 14, 2022, Friends for Special Needs held an Under the Sea themed Prom Night at the beautiful Ballantyne Hotel in Charlotte, NC. We had a red carpet entrance, devotion, dinner and cake, boutonnieres, tiaras, prizes, photo and more. There was a live band let by Jacob Hare and Friends. It was a magical evening we won’t soon forget. Over 400 attended.
Max Abilities Delivery
On Thursday August 26th, Friends for Special Needs was able to deliver 88 Chick-Fil-A meals to Max Abilities in York, SC. Max Abilities’ mission is to maximize abilities for those individuals with special needs in York County by Teaching, Empowering, Advocating and Mentoring. They also do in-house contract work for businesses, providing job opportunities for the special needs community. They have people who want to work, know how to do a good job and take great pride in what they do. Just some of the work they do: Secure Document Shredding, Bulk Mailing, Packaging, Light Assembly, Lawn Maintenance and Landscaping, Janitorial Services, Floor Services. They were so thankful for their lunch, and we are so very thankful for all of your support.
Visiting Group Homes
Since we’ve not been able to host events due to the corona virus, we have been visiting Group Homes to help fill up their pantries with groceries and toiletry items and to find out any other needs. While we cannot go inside, they will allow a few to come out on the porch to say hi. Friends for Special Needs has made a commitment to try to visit at least one Group Home per week, and so far we’ve visited 16: Easter Seals, Shamrock, Old Bell, Stillwell, Gaynell, Larkhaven, Swans Run, Plaza Rd, Forsynthia, Williams Rd, Holt , Myers Park, Cosby, Nivens, Greywood and Lisa Circle.
Movie Day
February 29, 2020 was Movie Day. We provided the movie tickets and concessions and had over 160 attend! It was a blast!
Fall Dance
On October 5, 2019, we hosted our Special Friends, their parents, caregivers, and volunteers at the Carmel Country Club in Charlotte, NC. We were able to share a great story and tell our friends about Christ. Then we had a good time taking photos, dancing and eating with all our friends.
Christmas Lights
On December 16, 2018, 4 chartered buses took 200+ Special Friends, their parents, caregivers, and volunteers to the Charlotte Motor Speedway to look at the Christmas lights. We had dinner at the Speedway Club, read the Christmas story, and sang Christmas carols; and Santa Claus came by with many presents. It was a lot of fun!
Pizza Night
Friends for Special Needs dropped off pizzas, cookies, drinks, etc to the Old Bell Group home on August 23, 2018. We also supplied toiletries, and they were very appreciative!!
Zoo Excursion
On April 14, 2018 150+ Special Friends and their caregivers left Charlotte for the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, SC, on 3 chartered buses. We had great fun on a beautiful day!
Various Events
