The Friendship Circle of Washington, a nonprofit based in Mercer Island, is hosting its fifth annual 1K/5K Walk With Friendship on Oct. 9 in Luther Burbank Park.

The Friendship Circle’s mission is to create an inclusive community that embraces families and children with special needs. It serves nearly 550 families in the greater Seattle area and has an “army of teen volunteers” who act as mentors to these children.

The annual walk is a huge celebration of disability inclusion and brings hundreds of families with special needs children, local businesses, high schools, and major corporations out to show their support, according to a press release.

Parents of children with special needs are especially touched by the Friendship Circle’s work and are grateful to the teens who commit to regularly mentoring and spending time with their children. Tom Acker — who has both 8- and 12-year-old children with Kleefstra Syndrome — and his wife Anne participated in the Walk with Friendship last year.

“Children who participate in the friendship circle are able to permanently impact a fragile subset of the population whose opportunities to develop friendships are extremely limited,” Acker said in a statement. “Seeing how happy our special children are when they are able to interact with typically developing children means the world to us and our children.”

The annual 1K Walk/5K Run is followed by a family carnival with entertainment, music, food and prizes. It is completely free to the public, and celebrates the culmination of teams raising money to support year-round recreational programs for children and families with special needs.

“Our unique programs pair typical teenage volunteers with special needs children so they can experience important social interactions that help them develop into healthy, happy adults,” said Elazar Bogomilsky, executive director of The Friendship Circle. “By creating these meaningful relationships we cultivate friendship, promote understanding and inclusion, teach our teens the value in befriending individuals of all abilities and giving back to one’s community, and provide siblings and parents with much-needed respite.”

The Friendship Circle of Washington offers 12 different programs for special needs families. They are therapist designed and monitored, and take place with the help of 150 teenage volunteers from 42 different public and private Seattle area schools.

The event is open to community groups, corporate teams and local businesses, and sponsorship and volunteer opportunities are still available. So far, this year’s sponsors include Warm 106.9 FM, Swedish, Providence Health and Services, Seattle Children’s, QFC, Minuteman Press, Kevita, Fun and Function, Otto-Matic Music Maker DJ Service and Photo Booth, Kind, Starbucks, KidsQuest, Einstein Brothers, Trader Joe’s, MOSAIC, Super Jock ‘n Jill, Seattle Magazine and Health Warrior.

Find out more about the event and how to get involved at www.walkwithfriendship.com, and learn more about the Friendship Circle of Washington at www.friendshipcirclewa.org.