Commitment, friendship and dedication to the residents of JARC
that's what Brian and David Ostreicher are made of.
Michael Herman, Brian Ostreicher and Ruben Domnitch.
"It was so fun," David
said.
Soon, David, Brian and a
couple others were busily
swapping favorite memories
of last year's trip.
"Remember when we were
on the roller coaster, and
Chris' hat flew off," David
said. "Seth caught it in mid-
air."
Seth didn't remember for a
minute, but then a grin
broke across his features.
"I caught it like this," he
said, making a full fist.
Bonnie Cohn, JARC's vol-
unteer service coordinator,
said there are other young
volunteers at JARC, but few
like the Ostreicher boys.
"They've reached a unique
comfort level with these
men," Mrs. Cohn said.
"They never showed any
fear. Even from the very
beginning."
More than 280 families are
awaiting placement in a
JARC residential program,
according to Joyce Keller,
the association's executive
direcfor. JARC operates 13
Haverim homes throughout
southern Oakland County.
"We just tell everyone to
treat our clients like they
would any other adult," Ms.
Keller said. "But these two
defy every stereotype we
have about young kids only
being interested in their own
lives and friends. They've
been at it for three years,
and still show no signs of
slowing down.
Mrs. Cohn joked that
David and Brian are so in
tune with JARC's system
and way of conducting busi-
ness that they instinctively
sent back birthday cards
JARC sent them so they
could be used again for
others.
"They come into the office
and help us stuff envelopes
or Xerox," she said. "These
boys give in every aspect of
the word."
Ms. Keller said she sees
David and Brian as hopeful
signs for the future.
"Any change we're going
to see is probably not going
to come from the adult
generation," Ms. Keller said.
"The future is with -the kids
like David and Brian. They
have energy, spontaneity
and creativity that our
clients can't help but re-
spond to." 0
•
Michael Herman,
Brian Ostreicher and
Ruben Domnitch.