• Are you battling with your child over food? • Is your child sneaking food? • Is your child gaining too much weight? • Do weight problems run in your family? CC WM Center for Childhood Weight Management Let the professional staff of The Center for Childhood Weight Management help you and your child. For more information about classes and locations, call: (248) 661.6625 "Healthy Kids Are Happy Kids" TENDE 271 WEST MAPLE DOWNTOWN BIRMINGHAM 248.258.0212 * * * * STAIRWAY LIFTS* * * * * THE CAREFREE WAY TO CLIMB STAIRS When you're disabled, or just not able to move around as freely as you once could, stairs can be a real prob- lem. But there is a simple answer. The powered stairway lift. Easily installed to fit curved or straight stairs. They give you back the ability to move around your own home. Folds back-gets in nobody's way. CALL OR STOP BY FOR A FREE DEMONSTRATION I love my Stairway Lift! It takes me up and down the stairs with the push of a but- ton. Call for details! ACTON RENTAL & SALES LARRY ARONOFF Jewish Reconstructionists Strong On Construction They may not have laid the founda- tion or raised the roof, but a group of Jewish workers from Congregation T'chiyah, working under the supervi- sion of Habitat for Humanity of South Oakland County, recently helped a Royal Oak Township woman achieve her dream of a new home. Nineteen members of the syna- gogue based in Royal Oak and Detroit worked all day alongside the new homeowner, Kimberly Harris. The volunteers graded and cleared all the yards and put in topsoil and fence posts for the new home. Said T'chiyah member Marsha Goldsmith Kamin of Huntington Woods, who worked with daughter Shira, 14, and husband Mark Kamin: "It was a wonderful experience — it made it more personal to have the new owner there." Harris, who is .a customer service representative with Blue Cross/Blue Shield, hopes to be able to move into the house with her two young children by Christmas. She has completed 250 hours of volunteer work on this house and others built by Habitat, as is required by the organi- zation. Site supervisor Dennis Pike explained that the organization charges the new owner the cost of the home (between $40-$50,000) at zero interest, to be paid off over a period of 30 years. The payments go into a fund that Habitat uses to acquire more lots to build homes for qualifying families. Pike said when a project begins, the people are asked, "'Who's framed a house before?' Usually none of the volunteers has. So we ask, 'Who's watched it on TV?' When a handgoes up, we say, 'Great — you're in (313) 891-6500 (248) 540-5550 DAVID ROSENMAN'S AUTO Ak om■ PlUIRCHASERS NEW & USED CAR BROKER Sales • Leasing • Buying (248) 851-CARS (248) 851-2277 rhw 0 A. 11/26 1999 48 Batch the best ---? Music Reviews in Entertainment _ - Habitat volunteers shown here are Mary Ellen Gurewitz, Sheila Kohn, Benjamin Ben-Baruch, Sheldon Kohn and Frank Castronova. charge.'" Kidding aside, Pike said, vol- unteers are greatly appreciated and seem to enjoy the experience. Habitat for Humanity of South Oakland County is planning to build three to five homes next year. The "Reconstructionist" aspect of Congregation T'chiyah's background has nothing to do with the construc- tion business, said member Hariiet Saperstein of Detroit. Reconstructionism is a branch of Judaism started in the U.S. in the 1920s. It combines a respect for tradi- tional ceremony with a progressive sense of social involvement. For the group working on the Habitat home in Royal Oak Township, the social involvement seemed to leave everyone weary but satisfied. Said member Sheldon Kohn of Huntington Woods, as he tried to straighten his aching back: "I'm just glad I work at a desk a my day, job." Other participating volunteers from T'chiyah included Sandy Hansell and Raina Ernstoff, both of Bloomfield Township; Benjamin Ben-Baruch of Ypsilanti; Michael Steinberg, Frank Castronova and Gaye Tischler, all of Ferndale; Sheila Kohn and Michal Ram, both of Huntington Woods; and Al Saperstein, Carol Dmitruk, Marty Baum, Alan Schenk, Mary Ellen Gurewitz and Barbara Goldman, all of Detroit. Habitat for Humanity of South Oakland County can be reached at (248) 827-4663.