PALs Spotlight

Making a Splash

Ann Marie Quill

Lauren Shyman and her little PAL Lillian relax at the pool party.

Some 15 participants in the JF&CS PAL program — which matches children from single-parent families with an older "buddy" — gathered at the home of a PAL participant to celebrate the end of summer with a pool party.

Boy PALs participate in water games.

Both little and big PALs enjoyed hot dogs, hamburgers and snacks before jumping into the cool water. Though the boys stayed at one end of the pool to play rowdy water games while the girls gathered at the shallow end to simply relax and chat, much fun was had by all.

While participating in the PAL program typically includes the older volunteer PALs spending one-on-one quality time with their younger matches, program director Erika Lang says that in addition to the pool party, the entire group gets together several times a year for a Chanukah bowling party, a Shabbat service at the Jewish Tower and various other field trips.

Steven Blaske, who attended the pool party with his young friend Adam, says that he is a "refugee from the Big Brother/Big Sister program" and that he finds the PAL program rewarding. He says he and Adam have spent a lot of time together this year building a robot, bowling and hanging out at lunch. Blaske says he also plans to watch Adam play in the band at Chamblee High School home football games.

"This is just a great program," he adds.

If you are interested in becoming a PAL or learning more about the program, contact Erika Lang at (770) 677-9310 or erikalang@jfcs-atlanta.org.