Lessons In Altruism
Who's Your Tiger?
HMC begins its International Peace
Corps of the Righteous.
Baseball fans show team support
while donating to a worthy cause.
Harry Kirsbaum
schools, civic, religious, business and
labor groups throughout the state.
The'students will start talking to
groups as soon as the second half of
he thought has been per-
the fall semester. Each student ambas-
colating in Rabbi Charles
sador is committed to reaching as
Rosenzveig's mind for years
— use the Holocaust Memorial Center many people in the community as
possible and will lead several sessions
in Farmington Hills as a vehicle of
over the next two aca-
righteousness to train stu-
demic years.
dents to become ambas-
A major lesson, said
sadors who spread the
Stern, is that it is "best
concept of altruism to the
for everyone if people
masses.
act unselfishly, even
"We have developed a
altruistically, in the face
curriculum so you will
of counter-pressures of
all become the ambas-
a political or structural
sadors ... to promote the
nature."
need of righteousness','
Derrick Lopez,
Rabbi Rosenzveig told 40
Berkley's principal,
students from Berkley
said, "We are facing
High School and Lawrence
really difficult times.
Technological University in
Partnering with the
Southfield as they became
Holocaust Memorial
the first members of
Center and Lawrence
HMC's International Peace
Tech University has been
Corps of the Righteous.
good for us because
"It will be the perfect
we've been thinking
countervailing force to
about how to bring
much of the evil we are
those lessons of history
witnessing almost every
into reality. This will be
day. We bank heavily on
8 a life-changing experi-
you, the pioneers who
▪ ence for many of the
— ultimately, we hope
• students."
— will become a national
He said the curricu-
Top to bottom:
movement and beyond to
lum includes three visits
steer this society to create a Melina Weinstein
to the HMC to absorb
wide-ranging consciousness Rabbi Rosenzveig
each of three sections
Derrick Lopez -
of altruism:"
separately "so that we
, The program will be
can sort of contextualize those things
limited at first to students from the
that we are doing in the classroom."
two schools — 15 from Berkley and
Lawrence Tech added an altru-
25 from Lawrence Tech, said Rabbi
ism component to its yearly group of
Rosenzveig; but a list of schools inter-
diversity programs, said Prof. Melinda
ested in joining the Corps is growing.
Weinstein. "Lawrence Tech graduates
Students will follow a curriculum
architects and engineers and business
devised in 18 months by Guy Stern,
people and scientists and writers',' she
HMC's director of the International
said. "I hope that as these students go
Institute of the Righteous, and a com-
out into their careers they are creating
mittee of academics, all under the
wonderful lives for themselves, and
leadership of Rabbi Rosenzveig, HMC
that they will also enrich the lives of
founder and CEO.
other people:' she said.
These students, after intensive
For more information about the
preparation at the HMC and at their
program, contact Rabbi Rosenzveig or
respective schools during the fall
semester, are scheduled to become the Guy Stern of the HMC at (248) 553-
2400 or info@holocaustcenter.org. L
inaugural ambassadors, spreading the
concept of altruistic consciousness to
Staff Writer
T
30
October 12 2006
the idea hit me, I had
to run with it," he
said.
He tried sell-
ing Tiger Tags near
Comerica Park,
where the team plays,
but said, "I realized
everyone is trying to
make a quick buck
there and I was get-
ting lost amongst the
peanut vendors and
tailgaters."
So he came home
and developed a Web
site to sell his prod-
uct.
Blake will donate
10 percent of the
proceeds from sales
of Tiger Tags to
the Make-A-Wish
Foundation of
Michigan, which he
Blake Rochkind wears his customized Tiger Tag.
learned about when
they granted a wish to
his brother, Justin, who died in 2004
Shelli Liebman Dorfman
at age 18.
Staff Writer
"Justin's wish was a full movie the-
ater for our basement," Blake said. "My
lake Rochkind has more
family had always been enthralled
than one reason to root for
with movies. In a way, his wish
the Detroit Tigers baseball
inspired me to take on screenwriting
team.
at school.
Aside from being a diehard fan,
"Once Justin was diagnosed with
Blake knows the longer they keep
cancer, his life as well as my family's
playing, the better chance he has to
life, had many dark points. But Make-
sell Tiger Tags, the labels he designed
A-Wish really brought a sense of joy
to promote the players.
and special-ness to our lives. I know
Blake's creation allows for an inex-
that
with every sale of Tiger Tags, part
pensive, simple way to show support
is
automatically
set aside for Make-A-
for the home team by donning a stick-
Wish." r
er, on which the owner fills in a blank
space left for the name of a Tiger.
Similar to the commonly used
To order Tiger Tags, access the
" stickers,
"HELLO my NAME is
Web site at www.tigertags.org or
."
these say "HELLO, my TIGER is
send
an e-mail message to:
Each container of five tags is packaged
. Cost for
tigertags@gmail.com
with a Sharpie Mini marker — on
five
tags
plus
a
Sharpie
Mini
a keychain — for customizing each
marker
is
$5.
label, which Blake said, "can turn any
Tiger Tags and tigertags.org are not
piece of clothing into fan gear."
associated with MLB, Major League
This is a first in the way of busi-
.
Baseball Properties Inc., the Detroit
ness ventures for Blake, a 17-year-old
Tigers
baseball team or Detroit Tigers
University of Michigan freshman
Inc.
from West Bloomfield. "But I have
loved the Tigers for so long that when
B