Thinking It
Through

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Some community-minded Jewish guys and a diverse
group of other young leaders rebuild Detroit "block
by block."

LYNNE MEREDITH COHN
Scene Editor

T

bought all Jewish young
adults focused their philan-
thropic efforts in Detroit's
suburbs? Think again. Or,
rather, Think Twice.
Established in 1990, the Think Twice
Foundation is the brainchild of Jim
Bellinson, 37, an attorney who runs the
Arcadia Health Care company. He and
a few buddies who are active in the Jew-
ish community got together to create an
organization that will help rebuild the
city of Detroit, brick by brick
"I love the city of Detroit," says Jim.
"When I was younger, driving through
Detroit, I couldn't understand why it
was the way it was. I always had an
interest in cleaning it up."
Jim, Brian Halprin, Mark Freedman,
Joshua Opperer, Brian Tauber and oth-
ers gathered in Jim's living room and
out came Think Twice.
"We started the group to provide
assistance to existing philanthropic orga-
nizations in the city to help them reno-
vate low-income and transitional hous-
ing," Jim explains. "We helped with
architectural services, legal services, land
development issues, dealing with the
city"
Now, they're even getting into Rent.
The musical, that is.
Think Twice has purchased all the
seats for the Saturday, May 2 evening
performance of the hit Tony Award and
Pulitzer Prize-winning musical at the
Fisher Theater.
It's "the first time that we haven't pro-
duced our own event," to raise funds for
Think Twice, says Mark Freedman, 34,
and Think Twice chairman.
Tickets range from $50 to $500. The
show has been underwritten by corpo-
rate sponsors, so every ticket sold brings
in money for Think Twice programs, he
said.
Mark's story is a little different. In
1991, "my best friend Brian Hords
dragged [me] down to the Think Twice
site ... [I was] handed a mask and ham-

mer, and led down to the street to
knock out walls." Under signs warning
to watch out for asbestos, Mark was
hooked.
Having worked for a developer,
called the Selective Group, he found a
way to provide donated insulation for
the Think Twice building. Mark went
on to become president, and now chair-
man, of the foundation.
In fact, the entrenched suburbanite
moved downtown. He wanted to live in
the city that he is now devoted to
rebuilding.
"There are a lot of young adults
involved, and we certainly could use
more, there's always room, we always
have things going on," says Mark. It's
not, however, a Jewish organization.
While many of the original founders
and current committed volunteers are
Jewish, the organization attracts "people
from all walks of life," he says.
Jim jokes that "when we started, I
really enjoyed working with Sister
Theresa.. She used to call us her 'Jewish
Cardinals.'"
Joshua F. Opperer, a 27-year-old
attorney, says Think Twice is about to
start its own construction company, "to
augment our financing," among other
activities.
"It's another way in which the Jewish
community, specifically myself in this
case, partners with friends and col-
leagues around the state and around the
country, to help improve the standard of
living for all of us," says Joshua. "And in
Detroit, itgives us the ability to take an
active role in redeveloping the city.
Says Mark: Our motto is 'helping to
rebuild Detroit one block at a time.' It's
going to take more than just a few peo-
ple to do that." ❑

For ticket information on the
May 2 showing of Rent, call (248)
353-3550. Some ticket levels
include preglow and afterglow;
the "host level,' which includes an
afterglow, is primarily for young
adults.

en

, for a

Adult Tas
Lion.
Re b 13etzin C
Rabbi DofavBied
;`
Alicia,
talked
°u
Havdalah, the -‘72y
h ritual ending
to Shabbat. "Thet ,rce gave good
explanations of wr
hat
I--1
avcIalah is,"
says Mark Chessi er, of Oak Park. "I
appreciate hearing differing perspec-
tives."
But he liked the social aspect of
the program best. "It was nice get-

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4/24
1998

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