Metro
AROUND TOWN
S'Mores Galore
ORT brings area camps together for a day of fun in the sun.
Barbara Blum of Ferndale,
George and Joyce Blum of
Southfield and Ken Long of
Ann Arbor
H
er Bingham Farms property was transformed into the ultimate campground for a
day and ORT International President Doreen Hermelin didn't even get to join
in the fun! Heavy rains from Hurricane Ike forced organizers to reschedule the first
annual Camp Hermelin, a daylong event filled with sports, food and
a host of outdoor camp-style activities for about 400 area campers
of all ages. The new date, Sept. 21, which just happened to be the last
day of summer, turned out to be a day when Hermelin had a prior
ORT commitment in New York City.
"She felt really bad that she couldn't be there said Nicole
Muchnick of West Bloomfield, who helped coordinate the first of
its kind event."But, the weather ended up being perfect and every-
one felt we made the right decision to reschedule.'
While Hermelin was out of town, hundreds of campers from
Tamarack, Tamakwa, Tanuga, Willoway, Seagull, Walden, Maplehurst,
Ramah and the JCC Day Camps romped around her 15-plus acre
property playing soccer, basketball, hockey and Ultimate Frisbee,
• ••••,,,
Henry Moss, 17, of Southfield with sisters Sara and
Veronica Long, 14 and 17, respectively, both of Ann Arbor
doing arts and crafts projects, navigating an obstacle course and slipping down an inflatable
slide. A giant water table and sand box were even specially built for toddlers in attendance.
There was also a big cookout with hamburgers, hot dogs, veggie burgers, chili, watermelon,
popsicles and a huge station for making s'mores.
"All of the activities were so much fun',' said Muchnick."But, a good s'more; a roasted
marshmallow with chocolate, what could be better than that?"
Organizers decided to host the day of family fun as a way of reaching out to the community
and spreading the word about ORT's global network of schools, which educate 300,000 stu-
dents worldwide each year. Tickets were $36; $118 for a family.
"Here in Michigan, we're working to combat the economic downturn through classes at the
Hermelin ORT Resource Center in West Bloomfield," said Karol Friedman of Huntington
Woods, ORT Michigan Region's director of development. "We thought Camp Hermelin would
be a great way to engage the camps and the community at large'
Joyce and Dr. George Blum of Southfield were honored at the event for their years
of support and dedication to ORT and children's causes. Jennifer and Dan Gilbert of
Franklin, and David Gans of Birmingham served as event chairs.
❑
VII
Hannah Klayman, 13, and Aaron Rose, 2, both of
West Bloomfield
Miles, 4, and Greg Hirsch of Commerce
iN
October 2 • 2008
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