Mazel Toy!

Sharing Warmth

Mitzvah project comforts tiny babies.

Leonard Poger
Copy Editor

lie Sucher is helping
warm the hearts of
premature infants and
their parents.-
The 13-year-old Farmington
Hills girl has been quilting col-
orful blankets that are initially
used in incubators in neo-natal
intensive care units. When the
infants are sent home, their
blankets go with them.
In creating the quilts, Allie
satisfied two needs. One is
maintaining her love of sewing,
which began about five years
ago. The other is a meaningful
activity for her bat mitzvah'proj-
ect.
Allie, daughter of Linda and

A

David Sucher, celebrated her bat
mitzvah Jan. 13 at Temple Israel
in West Bloomfield.
She feels good about creating
the blankets because it "helps
make a difference in the lives" of
the infants and their parents.
Her first infant blanket was
made a year ago. Another will be
completed this year for Rabbi - -
Marla Hornsten of Temple
Israel, who just had a baby boy.
So far, Allie has made three
quilts and helped finish a
fourth: Each one takes about 20
hours to make.
The seventh-grader at Warner
Middle School in_Farmington
Hills had plenty of help in_ her
sewing and quilting activities
from mentor Lynn Aleman of
Farmington Hills, a long-time

Feb. 15
Rabbi Chanoch and Tamar Hadar of
Huntington Woods announce the birth of
their son, Yosef Yitzchak. Excited big sis-
ter is Zahava Chana, 20 months.
•
Grandparents are Yoram Hadar of
Johannesburg, South Africa, Dr. and Mrs.
Aharon (Jeffrey) Meer of Oak Park. Great-
grandparents are Ed and Gloria Meer of
Bloomfield Hills and Fay Isackson of
Farmington Hills; Freeda Hadar of Tel
Aviv and Lily'Rothschild of Tel Aviv. He is
named in memory of Yosef Hadar, his
father's paternal grandfather and Yitzchak
Rothschild, his father's maternal great-
grandfather.

family friend.
In recent years, Allie would
buy materials and then be driv-
en to the Aleman home for
instruction. The Alernan family
gave Allie a sewing machine as a
bat mitzvah gift.
Lynn Aleman started sewing
about 30 years ago. She later
joined several quilting organiza-
tions, including the Great Lakes
Heritage Quilters Guild. That
group directs Tiny Miracles,
which distributes blankets for
premature babies to 10 hospitals
in the tri-county area.
Lynn became friends with
Allie's mother, Linda, about eight
years ago through parent com-
mittees at Kenbrook Elementary
School in Farmington Hills. •
In her bat mitzvah remarks,

AIIie.Sucher shows off her latest blanket.

Allie linked her blanket project
to that morning's Torah reading,
which describes Jacob putting
his hand over his grandsons'
heads and blessing them. "The
incubator cover represents an
extension of Jacob's hand, bless-
ing these preemies to stay warm
and helping them to fight for

announce the birth of Nov. 22
--Debbie Appel-Berke and Kevin Berke
their daughter,
• announce the adoption of their daughter,
Rebekah Lauren
Jordyn Leah (Fraidel-Idala). Proud
(Peliah Eliana). Very
grandparents are Midge and Jerry Appel
proud grandparents
of Bloomfield Hills and Nadine and Ken
are Marlene and Dr.
Berke of Phoenix,
Elliotte Moss of
Ariz. Proud great-
Farmington Hills and
Schwartz
grandmother is
Carole and Judge
Henrietta (Toots)
Michael David Schwartz of Clinton
Appleton of
Township. Thrilled great-grandmother is
Southfield. Jordyn
Anneliese Selig of West Bloomfield.
Leah is lovingly
Rebekah is named in loving memory of
named after Debbie's
her maternal great-grandfather Berthold
Berke
late
birth mother,
Selig and her uncle Lawrence Evan
Lesley
Appel. Jordyn's
Schwartz.
Hebrew name is in honor of her maternal
great-grandmother Frieda Zabell and her
Nov. 23
paternal great-grandmother Idaline
Jennifer
Berke.
(Kirschenbaum) and
Matthew Shane of
Nov. 17
Birmingham are
Jason and Lisa (Rives) Collens of State
thrilled to announce
College, Pa., announce
the birth of their
the birth of their twin
Shane
daughter, Ella
son and daughter.
Sophia. Proud first-
.
Asher Joseph is
time grandparents are Janice and Dr.
named in memory of
Stuart Kirschenbaum of Franklin, Gary
his maternal grandfa-
and Carole Lazar of Los Angeles and Paul
ther Alvin McDonald
Shane of Los Angeles. Ella was named in
and his paternal great-
memory of her great-nana Eleanor
great-grandfather
Asher
Kirschenbaum.

,

Jan. 17
Helene (Golden) and Stephen Greenwald
of Huntington Woods welcome with love
their son, Noah Benjamin (Noah Ben
Zion). Maternal grandparents are Joan
Golden of Farmington Hills and Harvey
Golden of Deerfield Beach, Fla. Paternal
grandparents are Myra Greenwald of West
Bloomfield and the late Benjamin (Buddy)
Greenwald. Also sharing in their joy is
great-grandmother Betty Banner.

Jan. 10
Stacey (Moss) and Mark Kelley Schwartz
•
of West Bloomfield are pleased to

their lives," Allie told the congre-
gation:
Lynn said she hopes Allie will
continue her quilting hobby and
later pass the skill down to
someone else. When not sewing,
Allie sings in the Temple Israel
youth choir.

❑

Joseph Siden. Elana
Faye is named in
memory of her pater-
nal great-grandfather
Eugene Tann and her
maternal great-
grandfather Foster
Elana
Rives. Sharing their
joy are grandparents
Dorothy and Arnold Collens of Waterford
and Jean and Charles Rives of Ocala, Fla.
Delighted great-grandmothers are
Dorothy Collens of West Bloomfield and
Bertha Rives of Carlinville, Ill.

.

Oct. 17
Jaime (Cantor) and
Michael Ben of West
Bloomfield are
thrilled to announce
the birth of their
daughter, Caryn
Ben
Rachel (Chaya
Shayna). Ecstatic
first-time grandparents are Sherry and
George Cantor and Barbara and Allan
Ben, all of west Bloomfield. Proud great-
grandparents are Evelyn Cantor, Sylvia
Bershad and Miriam'Blauer. Caryn is
named in loving memory of her maternal
aunt Courtney Lisa Cantor.'

March 9 • 2006

59

