To Life!

ON THE COVER

Eli Scherr leads the seder for
Cynthia S., Mary K., Maxine
L., JARC Grand home manager
Lisa Green and Ruben D.

A Seat For Everyone

On Passover, JARC assures clients a place at the seder table.

She'll Liebman Dorfman
Staff writer

Armando Riot
Staff photographer

T

his year I read
Mah nishtana
halayla hazeh? in
the Haggadah," said Ruben D.
"I used to go to seders at my
cousin's house in Oak Park. Now
we have one at my house."
As a client of JARC, Ruben's
house is the Evelyn and Salman
Grand home, one of 20 JARC
group homes in south Oakland
County serving 96 adults with
developmehtal disabilities.
"The seder is such an impor-
tant part of how we at JARC
strive to create an inclusive

30

April 20 • 2006

environment:' said Eli Scherr of
Farmington Hills, a past JARC
board member who led the
Grand home seder. "Being able to
have a group who participated at
a level that was meaningful for
them was a great feeling."
So, in the hours before con-
ducting an April 12 Passover
seder in his own home, Scherr
led 23 JARC clients — who gath-
ered from three other area group
homes — in a specially prepared,
interactive, musical, educational
and fun seder.
Involved with the Farmington
Hills-based JARC for 20 years,
Scherr began to volunteer in
various capacities after doing a
search for an agency with mean-
ingful direction.
The volunteering part came

JN

naturally. "Most every board
member is also involved in
some sort of volunteer opportu-
nity," he said. He's been leading
seders in JARC homes for eight
years — five of them at the
Grand home.
"A lot of the folks recognize
me from year to year:' Scherr
said. "We can talk about their
families or their work. It's more
like a family situation than a
group of strangers. And I think
that's why this year, for the first
time, Ruben volunteered to ask
the Four Questions."
Hardly the youngest partici-
pant at 82 years old, Ruben said,
"I went to Hebrew school in the
'30s and I've been to a lot of
seders."
Scherr led the group in both

Hebrew and English blessings
and some familiar songs. "I took
the Haggadah and highlighted
what I thought would be impor-
tant to include and I explained
the background of the holiday
and what we were doing:' he said.
"And I think we had a pretty
good time."
Grand home resident Alan B.
agreed. "It seemed like people
were having fun',' he said. "We
sang songs and the seder was
very nice."
Days before the seder, the
men who live at the Grand home
prepared for the holiday. "They
brought all the dishes upstairs
and helped me rearrange all the
furniture and make room for the
tables:' said Lisa Green, Grand
home manager.

"They put out the grape juice
and matzah and put the candles
in the candlesticks. They really
enjoy being hosts and really
enjoy having company. It makes
holidays more meaningful to
celebrate with others?"
The group also celebrates
other Jewish holidays like Purim;
Chanukah, the High Holidays
and Tu b'Shevat, with the help of
Karen Rosenstein, JARC's Judaic
services coordinator.
Rosenstein provides education
about holidays and Jewish liv-
ing to JARC clients as well as its
mostly non-Jewish direct service
staff. She also regularly attends
Shabbat dinners at the homes,
coordinates other religious pro-
gramming and helps non-Jews
served by JARC meet their reli-

