Metro

Hope For The Future

Compound Distress

Stem Cell Foundation raises
$112,000 at opening event.

Mourner warns against
funeral processions.

Photos by Daniel Ernst

ATS has access to cut-
ting-edge research.
"Alan took my simple
idea to create this amaz-
ing organization to raise
money for stem cells so
our children can live in
a better world with bet-
ter medicine Arline
Bittker told the group at
the Science Center in late
April.
"This is overwhelm-
Alan Bittker of Franklin outlines new stem cell
ing," said Alan Bittker of
research discoveries.
Franklin. "We've exceeded
our expectations and
raised $112,000 at this opening event.
Keri Guten Cohen
It's a terrific start.
Story Development Editor
"Stem cells offer great promise he
said. As he talked, the latest informa-
hat better location to talk
tion about stem cells was shown on a
about the potential of
screen behind him. One image showed
stem cell research than
beating cardiac cells grown from stem
at the Detroit Science Center during
cells by Technion researcher Dr. Lior
the exhibit, "Our Body: The Universe
Gepstein.
Within
Following dinner and Bittker's pre-
It was within that context that
sentation, the museum's exhibit was
more than 300 patrons attended
open to participants, many of them
the first major event of the Stem
doctors who discussed anatomy with
Cell Foundation International, a
curious
guests.
joint project of the local B'nai B'rith
Of the money raised by Stem Cell
International and the American
Foundation International, Bittker said
Technion Society organizations.
90 percent goes directly to research
The goal of the foundation is to
at Technion; 10 percent will be used
raise funds and awareness to hasten
for advocacy. The goal locally is to
vital research needed to unleash the
raise $1 million this year. In 2008, the
therapeutic potential of stem cells.
group hopes to expand to other loca-
At an initial organizing meeting ear-
tions.
lier this year, the group heard from
a world-recognized researcher from
For more information or donations,
Israel's Technion-Israel Institute of
Technology, whose researchers in 1998 contact ATS director Jo Strausz Rosen
were among the first group to discover at (248) 737-1990 or mailto.jo@ats.org .
that embryonic stem cells
can become any type of cell
in the body and could multi-
ply endlessly.
Catalyst for the group was
Arline Bittker of Orchard
Lake, whose husband died
of pancreatic cancer a little
more than two years ago.
She enlisted her son, Alan,
who helped transform her
idea into a collaborative
effort between B'nai B'rith
and ATS. It's a natural
Mark Adler of West Bloomfield and Scott
because B'nai B'rith has the
Grodman of Orchard Lake
international outreach and

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Alan Hitsky
Associate Editor

F

ollowing the sadness of his
sister-in-law's funeral May 3,
Aaron Mandelbaum of Oak
Park had another jolt ... literally.
While driving north on Gratiot
Avenue in Roseville in the funeral
procession, another driver, talking on
a cell phone, crossed Gratiot on Martin
and slammed between Mandelbaum's
car and the procession car in front of
him. The airbags in Mandelbaum's car
deployed; he and his wife, Barbara,
suffered minor injuries and his sister,
Dora Kaner, had three broken ribs.
Mandelbaum credits seat belts and the
airbags for minimizing their injuries.
Both cars were destroyed.
"It's the last time I will go in a
funeral procession;' Mandelbaum said.
"I'd heard of several [funeral proces-
sion] accidents lately, and it was a last-
minute decision to join the procession
because the deceased was my sister-
in-law, Alice Mandelbaum."
Mandelbaum believes that cars in
funeral processions should have their
hazard lights on, not just the head-
lights. With many cars today having
daytime running lights, he said, head-
lights alone no longer are associated
exclusively with a funeral procession.
He's also opposed to processions
going on freeways. Before the accident
occurred on Gratiot, Mandelbaum
said, other drivers were cutting
through the procession as it made its
way on 1-696 from Hebrew Memorial
Chapel in Oak Park.
Funeral directors at Kaufman
Chapel in Southfield and Hebrew
Memorial Chapel believe that funeral
processions can often be the safer
option. But Jonathan Dorfman of
Dorfman Chapel in Farmington Hills
has a slightly different view.
David Techner, a co-owner at
Kaufman, says his chapel has a nearly
perfect safety record since it was
established in 1941. "But even one
accident is one too many;' he said.
"Often, the procession is safer than
having people driving separately."
Rabbi Boruch Levin, executive director
at Hebrew Memorial Chapel, agrees.

"Many times, out-of-towners come to
the funeral in rented cars. They are not
as sure of where they are going" and
the procession is safer for them.
"But we listen to the family closely:'
the rabbi said. "If they have any con-
cerns, we suggest that an announce-
ment be made at the end of the funer-
al that the mourners will meet at the
cemetery approximately one half-hour
after the conclusion of the service."
Rabbi Levin has a different view
of the funeral procession on the free-
way. He believes it is much safer, and
quicker, than having a procession
going across town and crossing many
major streets. I-696 has cut the travel
time from Hebrew Memorial Chapel
in Oak Park to Hebrew Memorial Park
in Clinton Township from 50 minutes
to 25.
Both Techner and Rabbi Levin say
they have seen no noticeable change
in recent years in the number of pro-
cessions.

A Family Decision
Dorfman Funeral Direction conducted
funerals at cemeteries exclusively until
2001, when Dorfman Chapel opened
on 12 Mile Road in Farmington Hills.
At the time, Jonathan Dorfman said,
national statistics showed that one
in every six funeral processions had
some kind of fender-bender.
"When we opened the chapel, we
asked families whether they wanted
a procession;' he said. Dorfman esti-
mates that 60 percent of the funerals
conducted at Dorfman Chapel include
processions and 40 percent do not.
"There's no right or wrong. It's a
family decision;' Dorfman said. "But,
when we go out to the east side, I
strongly advise families not to have a
procession."
At no-procession funerals, Dorfman
Chapel posts a sign in its parking lot
and distributes cemetery direction
slips to the mourners.
No matter the statistics or custom,
Aaron Mandelbaum has had enough.
After the May 3 accident, both he
and his wife have added clauses to
their pre-paid funeral arrangements
requesting that there be no funeral
procession.

June 7 • 2007

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