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The Scene
.
First Dance?
A local _pair hopes the First Official Unattached and Unmatched Ball
is one of many charity events they host for the community.
JILL DAVIDSON SKLAR
Special to The Jewish News
•
ill
irst, there was the Matza
Ball. Then there was the
Break the Fast Dance.
Then there was a slew
of one-time singles events, nearly all
of which earned the reputation of
being geek magnets or barely post-
high school functions.
At least that's the perspective
Mike Gold and Bob Friedman have
on the history of Detroit's Jewish
singles gatherings. And they want to
do something about it.
"That is why we came up with
this idea," Friedman said. "All of the
Jewish parities attract the geeky kids
or the college kids. We wanted to do
something that was classy and fun.
At 7 p.m. Sunday, April 25, the
pair will greet the attendees of the
First Official Unattached and
Unmatched Ball at Adat Shalom
Synagogue. The event, costing $45
per ticket ahead of time and $55 at
the door, will feature music and
dancing by Joe Cornell, internation-
al kosher food stations by Jeffrey
Rosenberg Kosher Catering, an open
bar and a separate martini bar and
door prizes from Tapper's Diamonds
and Fine Jewelry. A portion of the
proceeds will benefit JARC.
The dance is the first Jewish chari-
ty event the pair have put together.
They have lived in the community all
of their lives, have known each other
for 20 years and have been partners
for the past three years in their busi-
nesS, Celebrity Placement Services in
Farmington Hills.
It is also the first time Gold or
Friedman, who is the uncle of a child
with Down syndrome, has done a
benefit for JARC.
The idea for the event came from
complaints of Gold's and Friedman's
friends, who say there are few chances
to meet other Jewish singles. Many of
those friends entered into interfaith
relationships, a fact that saddened
both Gold, who is single, and
Friedman, who is married.
"I want the Jews with Jews instead
0
"
Above:
Bob Friedman
and Mike Gold
"
4/23
1999
Detroit Jewish News
swayed by the possibility of finding
someone for himself.
"I do fine on my own," he said.
And neither they nor their business
will take any of the proceeds for them-
selves, they say, even though they have
donated many hours to the project.
Instead, the net proceeds of the
event — the amount left after the cost
of the food, drinks, publicity and
entertainment have been subtracted
— will be donated to JARC, the orga-
nization that provides residential care
or professional services to the develop-
mentally disabled and their families.
"We are successful in our business
so we want to give back to the com-
munity," Friedman said. "JARC is a
good cause.
Gold agreed. "I feel very strongly
toward special needs kids," he said.
"You know when you've had a bad day
and then you spend a little bit of time
with these kids, you forget your prob-
lems. You feel bad for what they are
going through."
The promise of the donation took
Rena Friedberg, director of develop-
ment, by surprise.
"We hadn't heard of either of them
before," she said. "We are thrilled that
they chose JARC for this event."
The community is hoping the dance
draws the crowd it seeks. Kari Provizer,
director of the Beshert Connection at
Temple Israel, worries because her own
program has been successful because it is
not event driven.
Although her temple has mailed
flyers to its members about the dance,
she is hopeful, not confident, that the
event will be a success.
"People are really hesitant going to
an event where they are labeled as sin-
gle," she said, noting that singles over
50 tend to be less hesitant. "I hope
this dance works."
Gold and Friedman plan to gauge
the success and hopefully offer four or
five other charity entertainment events
to benefit the Jewish community.
They are talking about a Las Vegas
Night or a dance.
"We'll see how it goes," Gold
said. "I hope this is the first of
many." ❑
Right:
Gold and Friedman
have big plans.
of the Jews with the goyim," Gold
said.
In January, the two signed up Jeffrey
Rosenberg for his catering and Joe
Cornell for the entertainment and then
quickly began knocking on the doors of
congregations and Jewish organizations,
requesting mailing lists or distribution
of their flyers. Adat Shalom Synagogue,
Temple Shir Shalom, Temple Israel and
Congregation Shaarey Zedek informed
their members while the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit,
Jewish Professional Singles and the
B'nai B'rith Leadership Network lent
their lists, setting the total distribution
of the invitation at 10,000.
Lauren Dworkin, an Allied Jewish
Campaign associate with Federation,
said Friedman and Gold approached
her with the idea earlier in the year.
"They were concerned that there
weren't enough events in the commu-
nity for singles and, really, there
aren t," she said. "It is a nice thing to
do for the community."
'
That is not to say that zilch is hap-
pening in the world of Jewish singles,
however. The Detroit area is home to
matching services at Temple Israel
and Temple Beth El as well as a num-
ber of solo matchmakers. There is
also Jewish Professional Singles, a
group dedicated to serving the needs
of busy, unattached working individ-
uals. They, along with congregations
and other Jewish organizations, occa-
sionally offer singles parties, singles
Shabbat services and other events.
The Jewish News carries Jewish People
Connector ads and-Internet sites
reach into the local social scene to
make matches.
But still, Gold and Friedman say
there isn't an individual annual event
of any magnitude specifically for sin-
gles that is open to the entire Jewish
community. They hope to attract 300
to 500 Jewish singles who are
between their late 20s and late 50s.
Gold said his motivation for orga-
nizing the event is pure; he is not
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