DAYNA ELCONIN
City: West Bloomfield
Kudos: A Kid For Kids
Dayna Elconin of West Bloomfield start-
ed the first Michigan chapter of Ki ds-
for-Kids, a New Jersey-based organiza-
tion that helps underprivileged children
living in shelters, foster homes and other
residential situations.
Since 1995, Kids-for-Kids has held
nine walk-a-thons, raising more than
$100, 000 for clothing, school supplies,
parties and field trips for needy children
throughout New Jersey.
Dayna started the Kids-for-Kids' West
Bloomfield chapter last fall. The first
project was a sock drive, during which
chapter members collected 850 pairs of
socks for teenage boys living at the St.
Vincent-Sarah Fisher Home in
Farmington Hills.
Dayna, who is 12, is a student at
Berkshire Middle School in Beverly
Hills. She attends religious school at
Temple Shir Shalom in West Bloomfield,
where she will celebrate her bat mitzvah
next May. She lives with her parents,
Dr. Lisa and Joel Elconin, and her sister,
Emily, 9.
"Dayna has been very organized, we're
really proud of her," said Lisa Elconin.
"Emily has been a big asset, too. Doing
something like this helps them realize
how lucky they are."
Cheyenne Stone, Emily Elconin, Zach Kozlow, Dayna Elconin,
Mi a Gordon and Sarah Angileri after they counted all the socks
from the first drive. Also helping were Abby Bice, Chelsea
Rosenbaum and Kate Becker.
Why did you
decide to start
a Kids-for-Kids
chapter in
Michigan?
"I learned
about it from
my cousin in
New Jersey.
She's very
involved with
Kids-for-Kids
there, and she
really enjoys it.
I wanted to do
something on
my own here.
It's part of my
mitzvah project,
but I'm going to
continue it after-
wards. "
How did you feel after completing
your first project?
"We collected more than 850 pairs
of socks at Berkshire Middle School
and West Maple Elementary to give to
the boys at the St. Vincent-Sarah
Fisher Home. When we delivered the
socks, we got a tour of the home and
we saw a video about their program. It
felt really good to help somebody else
who needed it."
What projects are you planning to do
next?
"We're going to work with autistic
students at the Lamphere Center in
Madison Heights. In the spring, we're
doing an art drive, and we want to
start having walk-a-thons like they do
in New Jersey."
—Ronelle Grier
special writer
The Kids-for-Kids West
Bloomfield Chapter is looking for
future projects with local organi-
zations that serve children in
need. For more information, con-
tact Dayna Elconin at
BigDGoBlue@aol.com
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