im

Howard and Sharon Eisenshtadt of Bloomfield Hills and
Stephan Huber of Birmingham

M

ore than 300 people
passed through the
majestic grand foyer of
the Wabeek Manor in Bloomfield Hills
to "rub-a-dub" and raise money for the
Detroit chapter of American ORT.
Enid and Gary Goodman
ROBIN SCHWARTZ
opened their historic, 23,000-
COLUMNIST
square-foot home to host the 22nd
annual dinner and auction, which is the organization's pre-
mier fund-raising and "friend raising" event.
"I've always been a member of ORT," said hostess
Enid Goodman. "The turnout is fantastic," she said.
Outside the manor, partygoers mingled under large
tents, gathered around the outdoor pool and looked over
silent and live auction items, including a Cartier watch,
trips to New York City and Los Angeles, and tickets to the
2006 Super Bowl in Detroit. This year's theme was a play
on words: "New ORT, New ORT." The party was decorat-
ed with a nod to the Big Apple with street signs that read
"Fifth Avenue" and a replica of the Statue of Liberty.
The "Rub-A-Dub" event got its name, and its start, in
the Bingham Farms garage of the late philanthropist and
ambassador to Norway David Hermelin, a past president
of ORT's Detroit chapter, and his wife, Doreen. A group
of friends gathered at the Hermelins' home with hundreds
of instant lottery tickets to rub off the silver foil and see if
they had any winners. After "rub-a-dubbing," any money
they won was donated to ORT. The event later evolved to

Mark Lichterman of Huntington Woods
and Ben Wallace of Cleveland

A -

David Gans of Franklin; Brian Hermelin of Bingham Farms; Craig Singer and Rob
Colburn, both of Bloomfield Hills; and Randy Wertheimer of West Bloomfield

Jeffrey Schuman of Northville, Brian Hermelin of Bingham Farms and Dr. Larry
Miller of Bloomfield Hills

include a silent and live auction to raise money that helps
educate children around the world.
This year, participants were given an instant lotto ticket
as they arrived. "We're going back to the basics," said Brad
"Bubba" Urdan of West Bloomfield, one of the event's
co-chairs.
"ORT is about education," said Robert Colburn of
Bloomfield Hills, chapter president and the event's other
co-chair.

"It's teaching people to be self sufficient through voca-
tional and educational training," he said.
The nonprofit, non-governmental group helps 300,000
students in 60 countries, including at the Hermelin ORT
Resource Center at the Jewish Community Center in West
Bloomfield. Doreen Hermelin was among the partygoers
who helped raise $275,000 this year.
Also spotted in the crowd at the Aug. 18 event were:
Daniel Stern of Birmingham; Jason and Rachel Zimmerman
of Huntington Woods; 48th District Court Judge Mark Barron
and his wife Lori, Gary Sakwa, Rob and Meredith Colburn,
all of Bloomfield Hills; and Marla Tapper, Marty and Melissa
Hortnick and Adam and Jodi Becker, all of 'West Bloomfield.
Irma Friedman, the national campaign director for
American ORT, traveled from New York City to attend.
"Detroit is a very good town for American ORT, and the
Hermelin family has been very supportive along with a lot of
other people in the community," Friedman said.
At a time when fund-raising can be challenging, ORT is
trying to raise awareness about what they do.
"We have to make people understand our cause a little bit
better because there are so many worthy organizations to
choose from," said Colburn.
In November, the group will present the David B.
Hermelin Award for Outstanding Accomplishments in
Government, Business, Humanities or the Arts to Bloomfield
Hills resident Irving Nusbaum, one of the founding fathers
of the local ORT chapter and a leader in the local business
and philanthropic communities. ❑

:•<••,•-•

V

Ericka Beletskiy and Lisa Butler, both of West
Bloomfield

JNPLATINUM • SIiPTEN113G R 2005

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