To Life! All-Night Party High school grad leads relay team to combat cancer. L Shelli Liebman Dorfman Staff Writer fizzy Lovinger discovered the perfect way to combine her phi- losophy to not ask for what she doesn't need — with a sincere desire to contribute toward cancer awareness and research. . The merger will result in a unique, 24- hour-long, high school graduation party, to be held during this year's American Cancer Society Relay for Life. "I am privileged to have so much already:' said 18-year-old Lizzy, who will graduate from North Farmington High School on June 4. "Asking my friends to `attend the Relay and make a donation to the cancer society instead of giving me gifts was the perfect opportunity to help get funds to where they are much needed." ay For Life of West Bloomfield Lizzy Lovinger: feels privileged 32 May 25 • 2006 iN Her plan is for guests to attend the 10 a.m. Saturday to 10 a.m. Sunday, June 10- 11, fund-raising event at West Bloomfield High School. The Relay is held'annually as a celebration of survivorship and a memo- rial to those who were lost to cancer. In the midst of a party-like atmosphere with ongoing music and fun, a continu- ous relay — including teams like Lizzy's Relay Raiders who have fund-raised for the opportunity to walk or run the track — keeps moving for the entire 24 hours. As captain of the team, which is a union of the North Farmington High team and Lizzy's party-going friends and family, Lizzy hopes guests will dance and hang out, munching on food in the large tent ordered for the occasion. "My sister is making a cake for me, so there will be a nice little cake cutting;' said Lizzy of Farmington Hills. A Way Of Life Lizzy is no stranger to giving. "At her sweet 16 party, she said she has everything she needs and asked guests to make donations to Magen David Adom," said her mom, Karen. "In addition to being a 4.0 student she has been involved in a lot of charities:' Lizzy's social action involvement — includ- ing volunteering at Congregation Shaarey Zedek's soup kitchen and the Friendship Circle and working as a special-needs inclusion counselor at the Jewish Community Center — helped her attain a com- munity service award from Farmington Youth Assistance. And Lizzy — who will attend the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in the fall — is no novice to raising both funds and awareness for agencies that help others. During a high school semester spent in Israel last year, she participated in a bike ride to benefit Alyn Pediatric Hospital and Rehabilitation Center in Israel. Her work to help children with cancer began when her sister Lauren's friend Alex Graham was diagnosed when Lizzy was just a young child. Alex died in 1999. "Alex is the reason my whole family got started with the Relay:' said Lizzy. "We all really became involved in the Make- A-Wish Foundation of Michigan (MAW) and the American Cancer Society. We were amazed to learn about what they do and the wonderful organizations they are." In Alex's memory, Lizzy's family — includ- ing dad, Allan, and sisters Alyssa Aguilar, 33, Stephanie Lovinger, 29, and Lauren Lovinger, 25 — have also been involved in the MAW Wish-A-Mile 300-mile fund- raising bicycle tour as riders and volun- teers. "Seeing Lizzy want to do so much for others gives me such nachas," said her morn, a member of the Ali-Gators relay team, headed by Graham's mom, Susie. "It's a wonderful thing to watch." Said Lizzy, "Alex is the reason we got started attending the Relay. Now, I want to encourage other people to attend also. It's hardly like asking someone to come to a boring fund-raiser," she said. "When I invited my friends and family it was because I know we can raise funds together and still have a lot of fun at this big celebration of life." For information on the 10 a.m. Saturday to 10 a.m. Sunday, June 10-11, Relay for Life at West Bloomfield High School,. or to make a donation by phone, call the American Cancer Society at (248) 557-5353; to make a donation by mail, send a check to the American Cancer Society, 18505 W.12 Mile, Sduthfield, MI 48076, or to donate online visit: www.kintera.org/faf/home/default . asp?ievent=133425. Type in "Lizzy Lovinger" to make a donation through Lizzy's team. 71111111111111111111111•1 New Board Installed The Women's Campaign and Education Department of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit recently elected and Susie Pappas installed offi- cers and mem- bers of the Women's Board. Completing her two-year term as president, Sandra Schwartz was recognized for outstanding service. Incoming officers are president, Susie Pappas; campaign vice president, Susie Citrin; education vice presidents., Joan Chernoff Epstein, Lori Garon, Amy Schlussel and Leah Trosh; correspond- ing secretary, Cookie Gonik; recording secretary, Mindy Soble; designates to Federation's Board of Governors, Nancy Glass Kanat and Abbe Binder Sherbin. Innovative Synagogue Congregation Kehillat Israel, a Lansing Reconstructionist congregation, has been awarded a $30,000 grant from the Legacy Heritage Foundation to support its Havdalah Candle Initiative, an inter- connected series of programs and activi- ties to foster intergenerational Jewish education and synagogue visioning and development. An'additional award of $5,000 will be given to Rabbi Michael Zimmerman, spiritual leader at Kehillat Israel, who has been designated as educational innovator for the project. These funds will be used for professional development and training. The Legacy Heritage Foundation is a new foundation dedicated to enhanc- ing contemporary Jewish life through funding innovative programs for senior citizens, supporting congregational initia- tives and enabling both young leaders and selected teenage science students to study in Israel. The Legacy Heritage Innovation Grant is being awarded for the first time this year; 28 congregations have been selected. Kehillat Israel's Havdalah Candle Initiative will include a cross-generational oral history project, in-home communi- tywide Shabbat meals with home-based intergenerational learning, monthly cul- tural programs, the creation of an online learning community and a synagogue foster grandparent program. The yearlong initiative will formally begin in early June, after a leadership seminar in New York.