Something Extra

Doer Profile

MEREDITH SUMMER

City: Oak Park
Kudos: Teaching Hope

Meredith Summer is a cancer survivor
who does more than survive; she uses her
experience to help other people who face
the same fears and challenges she has
learned to overcome.
"Cancer is a subject that is very near
and dear to me," said Summer, who
teaches social studies and lift skills at
Thompson Middle School in Southfield.
After undergoing chemotherapy treat-
ment for breast cancer four years ago,
Summer, 36, began volunteering with
the "Sharing and Caring" program at
the Breast Cancer Research Center of
William Beaumont Hospital providing
peer support for women who have breast
cancer. Whenever she hears of an old
friend or acquaintance who has been
diagnosed with the disease, she makes a
phone call to offer encouragement and
lend a sympathetic ear.
This year, Summer got her students
inspired to help local children with can-
cer through a series of craft projects.
Summer grew up in Southfield with
her parents, Martin and Madelyn
Summer, who live in Clarkston, and her
two sisters, Stephanie Ostrow of
Huntington Woods and Alison Feiler of
Miami, Fla.

How did your students become
involved in helping young cancer
patients?
"I wanted to incorporate communi-
ty service into my 8th grade Life Skills
class, so I asked the students to come
up with some ideas. They wanted a
project that involved helping children,
and they knew I was a cancer survivor,
so we decided to do something for
kids who were undergoing treatment
for cancer.
"First we held a bake sale, and the
students circulated coffee cans
throughout the school to collect dona-
tions. About $630 was raised, half of
which we gave to the Southfield-
Lathrup Optimist Club for the
Childhood Cancer Campaign.
We still wanted to make something
for the kids at Beaumont that would
make them smile and, by coincidence,
my next-door neighbor, Janet Siegel,
who teaches children with autism in
Birmingham, had a large quantity of
die-cut boxes assembled by her stu-
dents.
"We bought about 200 'pet rocks'
to put into the boxes, and Janet
brought her students to my classroom

to decorate them. Before they came,
we put on a presentation about autism
for the class. All of the kids worked
together, painting faces and gluing on
googly eyes. The rocks were adorable,
and I know my students were very
touched by the experience.
"We also made pillows from scrap
pant legs and fabric I found at a
craft wholesaler in Detroit called
Arts and Scraps. The children deco-
rated them with hearts and stars and
flowers, and they wrote their own
messages, such as 'Get Well Soon,'
`You Can Beat Cancer' and 'We
Love You.'"

What advice would you give to
someone who is diagnosed with
cancer?
"I always tell people that it gets
better. Don't live your life in fear;
always keep going because you never
know where life is going to take
you."

If a genie suddenly popped out of
her bottle and granted you one
wish, what would it be?
"To meet a single Jewish man
with a kind heart."

—

Ronelle Grier, special writer

REPORT A DOER...:Know a Doer — someone of any age doing interesting, meaningful things in their life outside of their job? Share suggestions with Keri Guten Cohen, story devel-
opment editor, at (248) 351-5144 or e-mail: kcohen@thejewishnews.com

Long-Range
Cheering

The Detroit Pistons had more fan
support than they knew during the
NBA finals two weeks ago.
Detroit area Jewish educators on
an 11-day trip to Israel arranged to
watch the live TV broadcast of the
pivotal games 6 and 7 — starting at
4 a.m. Israel time.
Twenty-five members of the 100-
person mission got up to watch the
Pistons beat San Antonio in game 6.
The group was staying in Nazareth
Illit in Detroit's Partnership 2000
region in Central Galilee.
For game 7, 60 viewers watched
the Pistons chase their champi-
onship repeat dream.
In Nazareth Illit, Danny Kochavi,
education director of Congregation
Beth Shalom, helped project the
game onto an old movie screen. The
group also made and sold 215 T-
shirts which said "Go Pistons!" in
Hebrew.
Rabbi Joseph Krakoff of
Congregation Shaarey Zedek said
100 teachers, education directors,

Wearing their T-shirts and cheering on the Pistons (on the screen at right) are, from left, De troiters Margie Benson,
Susan Kamin, Trudy Weiss, Itzi Saar, Iris Jaffe, Dale Rubin, Julie Kochavi, Rabbi Joseph Krakoff; Danny Kochavi and
Davida Robinson.

artists and family educators partici-
pated in the trip as the culmination

of a two-year course sponsored by
the Hermelin-Davidson Center for

Congregational Excellence.

— Alan Hitsky, associate editor

4IN

7/ 7

2005

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