When the Malibu Jewish Center and Synagogue hosts its first Hand in Hand Community Fair on Sunday, it’s with the hope of appealing to not just people with disabilities, but that people of all abilities will join the fun.
Hand in Hand was launched five years ago by Cantor Marcelo Gindlin, and locals Janet Ettenger and Lisa Szilagyi. It is a school inclusion program that aims to pair teens and young adults with developmental disabilities with mainstream high school and college students for fellowship, socialization and community dialogue.
Last spring, Hand in Hand threw a Spring Dance, with many parents seeing their wheelchair-bound children on a dance floor for the first time. The program has been so successful that Gindlin felt it was time to reach out to the community at large with a fall fair.
“I first talked about this idea with Paul Reiser to start Hand in Hand,” Gindlin said. “But I knew it would be best to have more help, so we brought on Janet, who is the queen of social action. Janet and Lisa take care of our Thanksgiving dinner. They are very aware of community needs and how to motivate people with acts of kindness.”
Szilagyi in particular understands the need for programs like Hand in Hand. Her daughter Emily has cognitive impairment but joyfully responds to the social interactions at the Thursday afternoon Hand in Hand meetings. Gindlin arranged for Emily’s Bat Mitzvah in 2010 to be a communal celebration that was both “musical and magical,” Szilagyi said.
The success of that event got all three thinking, “What if kids with disabilities had a program wherein they socialized in fun ways with fully abled kids? How would that affect them all?”
Thursday afternoons at MJC&S were given over to sessions of music, games, “chair” yoga, art activities and learning. As Gindlin said, “Everyone is different somehow. In a sense, we all have special needs.”
Szilagyi taught life skills for special education students at Malibu High School for years and helped develop the concept that such students would benefit by integrating with the fully abled students there.
“The high school community really needed awareness raised,” Szilagyi said. “So, we had wheelchair athletic events. We started the Best Buddies Club, where students without disabilities became mentors and friends with special needs kids. And it totally worked. The special needs students became much more accepted.”
Such inclusiveness is the motivating force behind the Hand in Hand Community Fair on October 19. As Ettenger pointed out, one would be hard-pressed to find public events designed for youngsters who have different sensory capabilities. So the Hand in Hand crew went out to find sponsors.
The Windsong Trust, the City of Malibu, the Malibu Special Education Foundation and the Jewish Federation of L.A. have all provided grants for the Fair, which will offer food trucks, live entertainment and a smorgasbord of activities for people of all abilities.
“The whole idea is that a community of whatever ability can have fun together,” Gindlin said. “We want everyone to participate.”
Accordingly, fair-goers will find art and musical games, adapted bowling (from a sitting position), a petting zoo, sensory wall, chair yoga, a performance by Mallory Lewis and Lambchop, and a special presentation by “Limitless Dance,” a dance company that performs in wheelchairs, paired with ambulatory dancers. Admission is free.
Most of all, Ettenger looks forward to recruiting more young people to work with the Hand in Hand program.
“When we did our peer training, we had new Pepperdine students and returning Malibu High kids,” Ettenger said. “When we talked about communicating with people with special needs, our high school kids knew so much already from the program at the high school. I was really struck by how well they knew strategies to work with kids who don’t necessarily communicate like others.
“This kind of integration helps our kids develop life skills and confidence,” she continued. “When you lose sight of the disabilities and see the person, barriers fall.”
In addition to the festival activities, participants will find a number of booths providing resource information to parents of special needs children, including daycare, after-school programs, summer camps and residential opportunities. The Hand in Hand crew is hoping to see a turnout of the community with no respect to ability.
“I think it’s fear of what is different that keep people of different abilities apart,” Gindlin said. “But ultimately, everyone is just people.”
The Hand in Hand Community Fair takes place Sunday, October 17, at MJC&S from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Entrance is free. For more information or for those interested in volunteering, please contact Janet Ettenger at 310.435.6543.
