Full Circle, a new retail shop at the LJCC, offers new work opportunities to young adults with special-needs

Photo by Erin Nelson.
Catherine Naff uses a lint roller to remove excess lint from a sweater to get it ready for pricing as she works at the Levite Jewish Community Center’s Full Circle, a second-hand clothing boutique that employs individuals with special needs to help with skill building and future employment opportunities. Full Circle is open on Sunday from noon to 3 p.m. and is open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the LJCC.
Friendship Circle of Alabama is a local non-profit that seeks to provide programming, recreation, friendships and a warm, inclusive community for people with special needs, especially teenagers and young adults, as well as their families.
Based at the Chabad Center on Overton Road, Friendship Circle was founded in 2012.
It offers all sorts of programs and social activities and seeks to provide parents with respite and support, according to the group’s website.
“We service the greater Birmingham area and try to reach as many families and individuals as we can,” Rabbi Levi Weinbaum — Friendship Circle co-director — told Village Living.
And the work with young people is gratifying, co-director Esther Lipsker said.
“Watching other people be their authentic self and making a space for people to be happy and create friendships is the most meaningful thing you can do for people, and creating a space for people who don’t necessarily feel comfortable doing that is special,” she said.
However, It became clear in recent years that there was another, large unmet need for special-needs young adults.
“When young adults with special needs graduate from high school there is a huge social and productivity void,” Andrea Shapiro said. “When this void is not filled it leads to increased mental health issues like depression, anxiety and social isolation.”

Clothing on display at Full Circle at the LJCC
A Friendship Circle supporter, Shapiro has a special-needs son, Isaac Shapiro, who is 22.
“There are a lot of children who we have worked with at Friendship Circle the last nine years whose parents are looking desperately to find a place for them,” Weinbaum said.
Shapiro is also among the volunteers, family members and special-needs young adults to recently helped Friendship Circle to create a new offshoot — Full Circle.
Full Circle is a second-hand clothing store located at Levite Jewish Community Center on Montclair Road that has been built, managed and operated by young adults with disabilities.
“Our hope is to provide employment and skill-building opportunities for young adults with special needs.” Weinbaum said.
With Full Circle, organizers are trying “to create a new community of supports for these young adults to ease their transition into life after high school,” Shapiro said.
The shop had a soft opening in February, and held a grand opening event outdoors at the LJCC on May 15.
“It’s a project from the heart, and you can feel it when you walk into the store,” Shapiro said.
Weinbaum and the other organizers are optimistic that Full Circle — with its market niche as a place to search for great bargains on carefully curated items and quality brands — will soon grow in popularity and be able to provide new opportunities for special-needs young people.
That was the mission from the time in 2020 that organizers began discussing the project, which Weinbaum conceived originally.
Full Circle was seen as “a project to employ young adults with special needs so they could learn skills that were transferable in today’s work force,” Shapiro said.

Julia Fargason steams a dress as she works.
When special-needs people are in high school, there is a federal requirement to provide a variety of services to help students with disabilities succeed, she said.
“The minute they graduate from school or turn 21, that federal requirement no longer exists,” Shapiro said.
“It is such a hard concept for a parent to grasp, as this transition into adulthood is a time where more supports, not less, is so needed,” she said.
Lipsker has been with Friendship Circle for two years and volunteered for five years with Friendship Circle in Connecticut.
She serves as the coordinator for Full Circle and helped Weinbaum to act on his idea for the new program.
Weinbaum is “the dreamer, and I helped bring that into reality,” Lipsker said.
Lipsker is “the engine that keeps everything operationally moving forward,” Shapiro said.
Weinbaum and Lipsker also “stay engaged with the young adults so they feel a strong sense of ownership and belonging,” Shapiro said.
Organizers put 6-8 months of work into putting Full Circle together, Weinbaum said.
For example, Shapiro, volunteer Natalie Asman and Lipsker came up with ideas for the store name, branding and marketing.
“We contacted people who had done this before,” Lipsker said. “We came up ideas with a huge team.”
Mindi Shapiro-Levine — a photo stylist, interior decorator and Shapiro’s sister — and Brett Levine did the store design and build out with the help of some special-needs adults.
Shapiro-Levine helps to “set the tone and brand of the store,” Shapiro said.
Volunteers Bama Hager, Rachael Fargason and Suzanne Henninger conducted outreach to young adults with disabilities, Shapiro said.
Two young special-needs adults, Julia Fargason and Shapiro’s son Isaac, were “critical” in working to get the store ready to open, Shapiro said.
Shapiro-Levine said that Full Circle is a community effort.
“Apart from the employees, everyone at Full Circle donates their time, effort, and experience to this great cause,” she said.
Full Circle is not just another thrift store, according to organizers. “We call it high-end or upscale women’s clothing and accessories,” Weinbaum said
“We are looking for high-end and brand names,” he said. “People who are coming in there are finding great bargains.”
“The community has been very supportive donating their gorgeous clothing,” Shapiro said.
And the store itself is “a beautiful place,” Shapiro said. “You’ll notice the clean, fresh look of the store and how easy it is to shop.”
Weinbaum is originally from London, England, and came to Birmingham nine years ago to run Friendship Circle.
He has a long interest in people with special needs. “I grew up in my community with children with special needs,” he said.
When he was a student living abroad, he found the Friendship Circle organization, which was started in 1994 by a Michigan rabbi.
The local organization serves more than 30 families, Weinbaum said.
“Anyone who has a special-needs child, the family is totally impacted by it,” he said.
At press time, the staff at Full Circle was still working on a volunteer basis, but that will change, Weinbaum said.
“The goal is that when it is up and running, we will try to hire as many young people with special needs as we can,” he said.
There are currently about five volunteers at Full Circle, and some other organizations bring volunteers to the store weekly, Weinbaum said.
Full Circle is setting up its own non-profit organization and seeks to serve the entire Birmingham area, Weinbaum said.
It also works with some other groups and organization, such as Horizons and Turning Points, a group at Samford University that helps high-school students with special needs.
Lipsker sees a bright future for Full Circle.
“It’s filling a huge gap in the community where young adults are able to come and have a safe space and have jobs, so I think it’s an amazing opportunity,” she said.
Full Circle is open Sunday noon to 2 p.m. and Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
For more information, call 347-678-4878 or go to Instagram @fullcircle.bhm.
For more information about Friendship Circle and its many programs, call 205-637-5132 or go to friendshipcircleal.org.