Metro ON THE COVER Maccabi from page All Housing And Volunteer Orientation Times Every host family and volunteer is required to attend one orientation session before the start of the Games. (If you are both a host and a volunteer, you must attend one of each orientation). Sessions are 45 minutes each. If you have not already signed up to be a volunteer or host, you may do so at any of the orienta- tion sessions. D. Dan & Betty Kahn Building, West Bloomfield. Jimmy Prentis Morris Building, Oak Park 40 Getting Games Spirit Housing teens "involves all the excitement of the Games;' says Alan Jay Kaufman of Bloomfield Hills. Seeing those same athletes Orientation Day Date Time Location compete at events makes it all the Volunteers Sunday June 22 9 a.m. JPM more fun; "you really get into the Host families Sunday event," he says. June 22 9:45 a.m. JPM It also means recalling great Volunteers Wednesday June 25 7 p.m. Kahn experiences of your own. As a boy, Host families Wednesday June 25 7:45 Kahn Kaufman loved playing basketball Volunteers Sunday July 13 7 p.m. JPM and attended out-of-town sport- Host families Sunday July 13 7:45 p.m. JPM ing events where he was hosted Volunteers Thursday July 17 7 p.m. Kahn by families; and it was always an Host families Thursday July 17 7:45 p.m. Kahn exceptional experience, he says. Volunteers Tuesday July 22 10 a.m. Kahn "You go to the Games and you Host families Tuesday July 22 10:45 a.m. Kahn cheer the kids on and 24 hours Volunteers Sunday July 27 9 a.m. Kahn before you didn't even know Host families Sunday July 27 9:45 a.m. Kahn them': adds Cheryl Kirsch who, with Sandi Matz, serves as co- chair of the 2008 JCC Maccabi Please RSVP for your session(s) to maccabi@jccdet.org or call (248) 432-5500. Games Housing Committee. "When you see them at the open- secrets, who loves you no matter what, with whom you are for- ing ceremony, it makes your heart skip a beat" ever bound. This year will be especially memorable for Kirsch. "I'm Laura attended Hillel Day School of Metropolitan Detroit, lived Hungarian:' she says, noting that for the first time in history, the in West Bloomfield, had a comfortable, familiar group of friends. 2008 Games will include a contingent from Hungary. Other than Suddenly, in tumbled a group of teens from such different Kirsch's grandmother, virtually every one of her ancestors was backgrounds, and yet "we realized we had so much in common:' murdered by the Nazis. After Maccabi, Laura and some of the athletes began e-mailing So when her friend Sandi asked Cheryl to serve on the hous- and talking on the phone, often visiting each other. Today, both ing committee, how could she say no? Laura and Rachel live in New York, and Roy will return to the Officially known as the Be a Sport, House an Athlete city next year. Committee, the group finds thousands of athletes places to stay. f C hronoarcaph .nRisteel. On Your Mark, Get Set ... Volunteer! "Power Tool for the Boardroom" Most people think "sports" when they hear "Maccabi," but Donna Sklar says that's not the point. Maccabi is, instead, a gathering of thousands of teens "in a totally Jewish experience. This is not a program about sports. The purpose is to create strength through unity — to identify as Jews." Sklar of Farmington Hills is chairman of the 2008 JCC Maccabi Games Volunteer Committee. Maccabi and vounteering are a way of life for the Sklar women. "My mother was 90, and plenty of groups were still asking her to volunteer," Sklar says. Daughter Karen Gordon is director of the 2008 Games. So perhaps you want to support the Games but can't house athletes? Don't worry. Sklar has a job for you. Volunteers can be as young as 10 and as old as 135. Whatever your interests, skills, capabilities, "We have something for everyone," Sklar says. Some possibilities: •Input computer data •Register athletes •File •Make phone calls •Help with the Day of Caring and Sharing, which brings athletes to volunteer at 11 different venues, including scfiViiiorr JEWELLERS / GEMOLOGISTS across Coolidge from the Somerset Collection 3001 West Big Beaver, Suite 112 Troy, Michigan 48084 248.649.1122 / 800.SCHUBOT schubot.com MEMBER AMERICAN GEM SOCIETY' 1399930 Al2 June 12 • 2008 Who would have thought, she says, that in just a matter of days she would meet friends who would "shape my life?" N aid for Darfur, Gleaners Community Food Bank, work- ing with children with special needs or with seniors, making care packages for Israeli soldiers • Supervise "hang time" at the JCC, which gives ath- letes a chance to relax and be with friends • Be a scorekeeper or a linesman during the athletic competitions •Serve food • Prepare hospitality bags • Welcome athletes as they arrive at the airport • Physicians and nurses are needed at every event • Be "eyes and ears" to make sure everything moves according to plan • Direct traffic at sporting events • Be certain there's plenty of water at all the competitions • Help post scores online "We've got 5,109 shifts for volunteers," Sklar says. How to make a match? "We'll talk," Sklar says. "By the time we've come to choosing your job, we're already old friends." Note: All volunteers must register. For information on volunteering or to register, go to www.2008detroit.org . Applications also are at the JCC in Oak Park and West Bloomfield, or contact the Maccabi office, (248) 432- 5500 or maccabi@jccdet.org.