About us

The Highland Friendship Club was organized in 2002 to give teens and young adults with disabilities the chance to connect with friends - with and without disabilities - and create a typical social life. The Highland Friendship Club is about personal development and choice. It's about doing what you want to do - not what someone else has decided you should do.

The Highland Friendship Club isn't a program. It's a club where members get together to watch movies, attend sporting events, explore music, art and outdoor adventures and, sometimes, just plain hang out with friends. The Highland Friendship Club gives you a chance to explore your creativity, build the skills you need to be more independent and work with others to make a difference in your community - and have fun in the process!

To understand what the Highland Friendship Club is, it helps to understand what it is not.

The Highland Friendship Club IS NOT:

The Highland Friendship Club IS:

Our Promises to Our Members

The Highland Friendship Club makes five important promises to its members.

Promise #1: Fun, Friends and Futures

The Highland Friendship Club was started to provide opportunities for teens and young adults with disabilities to make friends, have fun and create connections for the future to help them create full, multi-faceted lives. Those three elements continue to be the foundation of our decision-making and the basis of the events and activities we organize.

Promise #2: Independence

Most teens and young adults will admit - eventually! - that the road to adulthood and independence isn't smooth or direct. For teens and young adults with disabilities, that road can be even rockier and more complicated because of their physical and mental challenges, communications difficulties and need for ongoing support. The Highland Friendship Club is committed to helping members become more independent and confident in their ability to: advocate for themselves, make healthy choices and build personal relationships. One way we do this is by allowing members to choose the activities they want to participate in and the friends they want to spend their time with, as well as their level of participation.

Promise #3: Age-Appropriate Activities

The Highland Friendship Club is for teens and young adults with disabilities. We promise that the events and activities we organize will be of interest to all teens and young adults. That's why music, art projects and classes, sporting events, movies and community service activities dominate our Calendar of Events. Opportunities to participate in adult activities are an important part of an independent adult life.

Promise #4: Personal Choice

Opportunities to choose what you want to do, who you want to be with and where to go are crucial to independence. Yet, teens and young adults with disabilities have few opportunities to make these simple decisions. In fact, the social lives of most teens and young adults with disabilities depend on their family members. At the Highland Friendship Club, we turn this upside-down by creating a range of social opportunities that members can choose from - they decide which ones interest them and which don't. Family members can hang around if they want, but most Club events and activities are designed for members.

Promise #5: Safety and Respect

Physical and emotional safety and personal respect are among your most important, basic rights. Highland Friendship Club staff members and volunteers are committed to making sure that our activities and events are accessible, safe and welcoming to every person - regardless of ability. Our staff members are trained to work with people with disabilities and have been thoroughly checked out to help ensure that Highland Friendship Club activities are both safe and fun. Mutual respect is an important part of achieving that goal. We are committed to creating and maintaining a friendly, inclusive, "people-first" environment that respects your unique gifts, talents, abilities.

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