Family. Friends. Faith.
Perhaps those three words above all others can be used to describe Voorhees resident Marissa Hacker.
It was nearly five years ago that Hacker’s love of family truly shined through, when one day she came upon her autistic twin brother Matthew crying, because he said he didn’t have any friends.
Then and there Hacker first got the idea for “Fantastic Friends,” a pressure-free social group where young people, neuro-typical and special needs alike, could simply meet and hang out with one another to have fun.
It was during those following months that Hacker’s friends came to her aid, helping make her idea a reality.
Hacker and her friends created a now monthly social group in which teens and tweens do typical teenage things, such as meeting up, grabbing a bite to eat, going bowling, holding field days, participating in walkathons and even attending an annual prom event.
And it was all through these past years that Hacker’s Jewish faith, and belief in Tikkun olam, a Hebrew phrase meaning “repairing the world,” drove her on.
Her attempts at “repairing the world” resulted in her constant efforts to grow her Fantastic Friends group, which has about 70 to 90 people attending its monthly meetings and has impacted some 500 people and their families.
Now Hacker’s tireless belief in Tikkun olam has done more than just help her create Fantastic Friends, as that belief and Hacker’s efforts were recently honored when Hacker, now 19, was awarded $36,000 as one of this year’s 15 recipients nationwide of the 2015 Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards.
The annual award, supported by the Helen Diller Family Foundation, honors the volunteer service and social good of Jewish teens by awarding money to be used in support of a social project or to further their education.
Over the past nine years, the awards have totaled more than $2.5 million given to 70 Jewish teens across the nation.
Hacker, who is majoring in speech pathology at Stockton University with an internship this summer in New York City with Autism Speaks, said the award would allow her to carry on that Jewish tradition of “repairing the world” and inspiring others to make a difference.
“That was really the driving force to help me start this group along with my brother,” Hacker said. “I always wanted to help people in a large way, and faith has really helped me do that.”
Hacker said she was blessed to receive the award, and said she would use money for her college education and to help support the expansion of Fantastic Friends.
Hacker has already started a chapter at Stockton to educate students about those with special needs, and she hopes to use some of the money from her award to create more chapters across the country.
“I’m going to make booklets on how to start up a Fantastic Friends chapter, and I’m already in contact with several people across the United States,” Hacker said.
As for Hacker’s brother, the inspiration for the group, Hacker said he now has “tons of friends,” and the group has given him the confidence he needs to more freely interact with those around him.
“It’s helped him make friends and it’s given him a lot of confidence in himself, and he knows he can talk to people now, and whether it’s at a Fantastic Friends event or outside of one, he knows that if he ever needs to talk to someone he can,” Hacker said.
Hacker said the group is always looking for more supporters, volunteers and members, so those interested can visit the Fantastic Friends Facebook page at www.facebook.com/fantasticfriendsgroup or email fantasticfriendssocialgroup@gmail.com.
“I think the reason we’re so successful is all the volunteers are so welcoming and so warm and they create a very accepting environment for our members with special needs. There’s always a loving, warm feeling when people come to our events,” Hacker said. “I always described it as being a part of a large family, and everyone is welcomed and loved.”
