Despite the rain, community members gathered for Friendship Circle’s eighth annual Walk, Run and Community Day on Sept. 22 at Luther Burbank Park.

The event celebrated and supported children and families with special needs. After the walk/run, the event included a family carnival and entertainment, music, food and prizes. This year, King County nonprofit organizations that work with the special needs population were available with information for families and children.

The Katz family, who participated in the annual walk said the Walk, Run and Community Day event brings all families together in the community to show that all “children deserve to be loved, happy and to feel a part of our world.”

Friendship Circle is a nonprofit organization, based on Mercer Island, with a mission to create an inclusive community that embraces families and children with special needs. The nonprofit brings together children with special needs and teen volunteers to forge a bond that lasts a lifetime.

To learn more about the Friendship Circle of Washington go online to www.friendshipcirclewa.org.

Photo by Stephanie Quiroz/staff photo The Friendship Circle hosted their eighth annual Walk, Run, and Community Day at Luther Burbank Park on Sept. 22. Participants gathered for the event, despite the rain.

Photo by Stephanie Quiroz/staff photo The Friendship Circle hosted their eighth annual Walk, Run, and Community Day at Luther Burbank Park on Sept. 22. Participants gathered for the event, despite the rain.

Mercer Island’s Sparks Squad led participants in a pre-walk hype at Luther Bank Park on Sept. 22. Stephanie Quiroz/staff photo

The annual walk/run is a celebration of disability inclusion and brings hundreds of families with special needs children. Stephanie Quiroz/staff photo

The Friendship Circle’s mission is to create an inclusive community that embraces families and children with special needs. Stephanie Quiroz/staff photo