Community
A
Teddy
Bear
Mitzvah
Children learn the joy of giving.
Facing page top: Posing with the
_finished products are (back row)
Kathy and Paul Finkel, founders
of A Small Miracle; Janis
Wetsman, chair of the Single
Jewish Parents Network; Lauren
Henry, 10, of Farmington Hills;
and Linda Orbach-Shear, direc-
tor of the Single Jewish Parents
Network. Seated are Shana
Herty, 7, and sister Mollie, 9, of
Farmington Hills.
Facing page bottom: Jennifer
Boose, 10, of West Bloomfield,
packs a heart inside her bear.
At left: Each child made one
bear to donate to A Small
Miracle and one for personal
love. Holding her two bears is
Jennifer Ruda, 7, of Farmington
Hills.
PHOTOS BY BILL HANSEN
M
embers of the Single
Jewish Parents Network
and their children got
together Dec. 2 to create
individualized teddy bears for them-
selves and for the less fortunate.
The mitzvah project took place at the
Build-A-Bear Workshop at Somerset
Collection North in Troy. Each child
was invited to design and construct two
bears — one to keep and one to give
away. Some of the young participants
were so touched by the idea they decid-
ed to donate both of their bears.
"This is the type of program that pro-
vides single-parent families the opportu-
nity to have fun together, while staying
connected to Jewish values, the Jewish
community and to each other," said
Janis Wetsman, Single Jewish Parents
Network chairperson.
After the bears were brought to life,
each was packed into a "bear condo"
filled with chocolate gelt, dreidels,
Chanukah candles and a Chanukah
handbook.
The donated bears — 35 in all
will be distributed by A Small Miracle,
which provides Chanukah gifts to those
who can't afford them.
The Single Jewish Parents Network, a
division of Jewish Experiences for
Families and the Agency for Jewish
Education is offered to members of the
Jewish community at no charge.
For more information about the
organization, or for referrals or advocacy
services for single parents, call Linda
Orbach-Shear at (248) 645-7860, or by
e-mail at
o-
rbath-thearOaiedeu-oits) rg For
more information about A Small
Miracle, call Kathy or Paul Finkel at
(248) 737-5231.
❑
—Diana Lieberman, copy editor