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Lauren, 12, Jessica, 11, and Ross Kepes, 8, of Bloomfield Hills place stickers during
the book drive.
Book Drive Aids Schools
Children placed commemorative
"Spottie's Club" stickers in books at a
pre-holiday Children's Book Drive
held at the Orchard Mall in West
Bloomfield on Nov. 26.
Spottie's Club is named for Lindsey
Ann Shapiro, a Farmington Hills
North High School graduate and
Michigan State University student who
collected children's books as a hobby
until a fatal car accident took her life
in November 2000. Lindsey was nick-
named "Spottie Dottie" after a charac-
ter in the "Hello Kitty" children's toy
series.
Since its launch in July 2001,
Spottie's Club has collected and dis-
tributed 6,500 books to metro Detroit
schools and community programs.
Many students have also assisted in
the effort as a mitzvah project, said
Terri Rossman, Lindsey's mother.
"Lindsey's devotion to collecting
children's books, and the inspiration of
their loving spirit will continue
through Spottie's Club, to make the
`fun of books' happen for children who
might otherwise miss that opportuni-
ty," she said.
To donate books or to help with
processing, call Terri Rossman, (248)
204-6066.
Honors For Volunteers
Merle Schwartz, Kadima president, of Farmington Hills and Sissi Lapides, a
Kadima vice president, of West Bloomfield were recognized as distinguished vol-
unteers at the Southfield-based organization's National Philanthropy Day.
MELTDOWN from page 31
the two largest JCCs, Hebraica and
Hacoaj, already have done so. Diego
Freedman, the department's director,
projects savings of $250,000 a year just
from this one consolidation.
The future sale of buildings that the
community no longer needs will gener-
ate endowment money for new and
expanded services. The cost of being
Jewish is expensive and many can no
longer afford either the dues or the
tuition for day schools.
A bright spot in the situation is the
development of Hillels in both Buenos
Aires and Montevideo, Uruguay.
Reaching out to more than 20,000
students from 25 colleges and universi-
ties in the region, the programming at
these Hillels will be geared to help these
young people stay connected to the
Jewish community, as well as to prepare
12/20
2002
32
them for a future in another country
should they decide to emigrate.
The Hillel professionals, like those
who provide all the other services, are
committed to providing the best possible
programming to all students, from first-
rate English classes to tzedakah projects,
to dances. This mission is ambitious, but
the Hillel leadership has no doubt it will
be achieved. Gabriel Trajtenberg, the
Buenos Aires Hillel director, refers to
them as places of hope, not misery.
Argentina's Jewish community cur-
rently is being sustained in large part by
the generosity of the American Jewish
community (whose dollar is now almost
4 times stronger than before the crisis)
and other private donors from Argentina
and around the world.
Sustaining this vibrant community's
future lies in greater commitment â
that every Jew will help every other. â
Cemetery Revisited
The Jewish Historical Society of Michigan's bus tour of old Jewish Detroit
included a special stop at Beth Olam Cemetery, located within the secured walls
of the General Motors Plant in Hamtramck and the area's oldest Jewish ceme-
tery. Shown are Chuck Domstein; Harriet Siden, programming vice president;
Adele Staller, bus narrator and a past president; and Jim Grey, a past president.