AROUND )\NN
Holding Court
JARC supporters pack the Fisher Theatre for Legally Blonde fall fundraiser.
Dan Cherrin of Huntington Woods, Rick Loewenstein of West Bloomfield and
Ben and AJ Falik of Huntington Woods and Julie Marx of Bloomfield Hills
Eric Adelman of Berkley
t's been a year of celebration for JARC, even during these tough economic times.
The Farmington Hills-based human services agency has hosted a series of events
in recent months to mark its 40th anniversary of helping people with disabilities
lead full, dignified lives.
About 2,200 supporters packed Detroit's Fisher Theatre Oct. 27
for the grand finale, JARC's annual fall fundraiser and a perfor-
mance of the bubbly, upbeat musical Legally Blonde. The show
tells the story of sorority girl Elle Woods, who gets into Harvard
Law School with the hope of winning back her college sweet-
heart. The sold-out event raised more than $1.1 million.
"Incredibly, money is still coming in," said Daniel Cherrin of
Huntington Woods. "A lot of the gifts came from first-time donors.
It's a great testament to the organization given the difficult economy"
JARC's chief executive officer Rick Loewenstein of West
Bloomfield thanked the crowd for their support and also recog-
nized staff members for their generosity.
"My first year at JARC has been inspiring in many ways:' he
said. "Without a doubt, the defining moment was the response
by JARC's staff when we broke the news that we had to freeze salaries and make other
budget cuts this year. Their response was, 'What can we do to help?'"
He went on to say more than half of the staff members donated more than $6,000.
Lindsay and Ryan Dembs of Franklin
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November 5 2009
Those funds were matched by a donor, resulting in an additional $18,000 raised to sup-
port JARC's programs and services.
"At JARC, the most important people have always and will continue to be the people
we serve Loewenstein continued. "The next most important are JARC's staff of 250 tal-
ented and caring people for whom I have the utmost respect"
The organization dedicated its 20th group home this year. JARC also recently launched
a fan page on the social networking site Facebook. Before the show, about 250 young
adults gathered at Cloud 9 restaurant inside the Fisher Building, which was transformed
into the "Alibi Lounge" for a special pre-performance cocktail party and strolling supper.
This year's co-chairs were David Carroll of West Bloomfield and Susie Pappas and
Jeff Eisenshtadt, both of Bloomfield Hills. AJ and Ben Falik of Huntington Woods and
Lindsay and Ryan Dembs of Franklin co-chaired the young adult pre-glow.
Spotted in the Legally Blonde crowd were: Shayna and Josh Levine of Huntington
Woods; Stephanie and Josh Freedman, Brad Feldman and Layne Sakwa, and Julie
Marx, all of Bloomfield Hills; liana and Zach Liss, Renee, Sophie and Craig Erlich, and
Scott Werner, all of Birmingham; Marjie and Jordan Field and Dori and Noah Babcock,
all of Berkley; Gene Goodman of Troy; and Jason Miller of Farmington Hills.
For more information about JARC's programs and services, to volunteer or
make a donation, go to www.jarc.org or call (248) 538-6611.
Connie Garofalo of Clarkston and Tami
Rachel Rutherford of Farmington Hills
Randee and Michael Black of Farmington
Carlin of West Bloomfield
and Kaylee Pagan of Flint
Hills