WEST BLOOMFIELD, MICHIGAN--Friendship Circle of West Bloomfield is hosting a Baseball Camp for Children With Special Needs on Sunday January 13th from 3pm-5pm. The idea for this camp came about from well known hitting, fielding and pitching instructor Chris Newell of The Players Edge in Auburn Hills. Newell who himself is a former college and professional baseball player as well as a minor league manager heard about all of the good work done by Friendship Circle and decided he wanted to help out and be a part of it. Newell has worked with thousands of aspiring baseball players in the tri-county area and more than 150 have gone on to play high level college baseball and or at the professional level.

Bassie Shemtov, Executive Director of Friendship Circle said, "Chris Newell is such a good man for donating his time to our precious children. These are young people who otherwise would not be exposed to such a great opportunity. Baseball, which is truly America’s game, is for boys and girls of all ages and we are thrilled for this opportunity Chris has presented to us.

Boys and girls who have already signed up for this free event will bring along their own baseball gloves and bats and will be shown the finer points of various baseball skills. Chris Newell (chrisnewellbaseball.com) shared, "I am very fortunate to have a healthy child of my own and I look at this event as a chance to give back to the community and support Friendship Circle which is one of the great organizations in our area.

Friendship Circle is located at 6892 West Maple Road. Broadcast and Print Media are welcome to cover this event.

Friendship Circle has been providing assistance and support for more than 3,000 families of children with special needs since 1994. Most of the Friendship Circle's work takes place at the Ferber Kaufman Life Town building, a 28,000 square foot state of the art facility in West Bloomfield that serves as a therapy/activity center and social meeting place for its network of more than 1,000 volunteers, professional staff and supporters. For more information on Friendship Circle, please visit FriendshipCircle.org

MEDIA CONTACTS: Mort Meisner Associates, Mort Meisner, 248-545-2222 or Wendy Fayne, 248-842-3889