Singin' Scouts

70 Years Of Healing

Israeli Friendship Caravan performs
in Oak Park and West Bloomfield.

ARMDI to fete Israel's medical/blood
service at gala dinner-dinner.

F

he annual dinner-dance for
American Red Magen David
for Israel (ARMDI) will be
held 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 29, at Adat
Shalom Synagogue in Farmington Hills.
This year will mark the 70th anniver-
sary of ARMDI and will honor dedicated
past honorees.
ARMDI came into being 10 years
after Magen David Adorn (MDA) was
founded by several Israeli doctors in
1930 in the aftermath of the murderous
rampaging and rioting Arabs on Jewish
farmed urban settlements. ARMD1's
goal as the U.S. support network was to
provide first-rate medical assistance and
blood services.
During World War II and Israel's
War of Independence, MDA operated
as the Jewish community's pre-hospi-
tal emergency medical organization.
MDA earned a reputation for its rapid
response and medical excellence during
the Six-Day War, the Yom Kippur War
and more recently during the Lebanon
campaign and Operation Cast Lead
in Gaza. ARMDI was instrumental
in establishing MDAs National Blood
Service Center Services in Ramat Gan.
Today, MDA supplies 97 percent of
Israel's total blood needs and 100 per-
cent of the Israel Defense Force's blood
requirements.
In early 1967, the Shaarit Haplaytah
Organization of Michigan, led by Dr.
John J. Mames, president, and his broth-
er-in-law Larry Brenners, treasurer, initi-
ated the purchase of an ambulance at a
meeting that took place in the basement

or its 50th year, the Tzofim
(Israel Scouts) Friendship
Caravan brought the culture
and sounds of Israel to the United States.
On July 29, 10 scouts of Caravan Eliot
entertained a crowd of about 200 seniors
and families at Rothstein Park on the
A. Alfred Taubman Jewish Community
Campus in Oak Park. The Scouts illu-
minated the stage with Israeli song and
dance that included audience participa-
tion. Each 17-year-old Scout was hand-
picked through an extensive application

and audition process.
The 45-minute show suffered prob-
lems with the sound system, a first for
the Caravan. Scouts sang out extra loud
to account for choppy microphones or
when the sound would stop working
altogether. The performers were unfazed
and continued on.
On Friday, July 30, the group per-
formed for a large crowd at the conclu-
sion of outdoor Shabbat services at
Temple Israel in West Bloomfield.

- Gabriella Ring, Teen2Teen summer intern

Tzofim Friendship Caravan members in action

T

Eat Salad —
Fight ALS

Scout Ariel Levy of Holon dances wtih kids in the audience at Rothstein Park in

Oak Park.

As part of Hiller's Markets Good Deeds
in the Making program to benefit local
charities, the family-owned chain of
seven Metro Detroit grocery stores will
donate 100 percent of the profits from
the sales of its Chopped Fresh Salad to
ALS of Michigan throughout August.
This blend of nine freshly chopped
vegetables combined with sweet and
sour dressing retails for $6.59 per pound
at all Hiller's locations.
Hiller's Good Deeds in the Making
program was created last year as a way
to inspire consumers to high-quality,
ready-to-eat, great-tasting meals while
helping good causes.

of the home of Miriam and Fred Ferber.
This group of Holocaust survivors raised
$4,000 to send an ambulance to help
save lives in Israel.
Inspired by the Jewish state and the
critical need for MDA, Dr. Mames, a
Polish survivor of the Russian labor
camps and a passionate Zionist, under-
stood the imperative for a secure Israel.
In the wake of the Six-Day War, he
reached out to his dental colleagues in
the Detroit area. Dr. Morris Starkman
mobilized the medical community
and together with Shaarit Haplaytah
launched the Michigan Region ARMDI.
From its beginning 43 years ago, the
Dr. John J. Mames Chapter-Michigan
Region has raised $22 million and built
two medical facilities: The Natalie and
Manny Charach Emergency Medical
Center in Ashdod was dedicated two
years ago and the Lillian L. and Allan L.
Waller First Aid Station was gifted by the
Waller family in 1971.
Generous supporters have purchased
230 ambulances, provided funding for
cutting-edge stem-cell research, para-
medic training scholarships, lifesaving
defibrillators, blood shakers for the
blood center, bulletproof vests and scien-
tific equipment.
Lifesaving programs are continued
under the leadership of Manny Charach,
chairman, Michigan Region; Dr Robert
M. Katz, chairman, Medical-Dental
Council; and Eva Mames, president.
For information about the upcoming
dinner, call (248) 353-0434 or (248) 855-
0555. ❑

This months charity, ALS of
Michigan, is dedicated to the fight
against ALS, which is commonly referred
to as Lou Gehrig's Disease.
Hiller's CEO Jim Hiller says: "Having
watched my mother ravished by ALS, I
know the value of an organization like
ALS of Michigan and its executive direc-
tor, Sue Burstein-Kahn:
"During the darkest times, just know-
ing ALS of Michigan was there to help
made all the difference:"
Burstein-Kahn says: "Jim and Hiller's
Markets are a huge supporter of our
cause and they have been extremely
generous. Words cannot express
our gratitude for all they've done for
Michigan's ALS community, supporting
both research and patient services:

August 5 • 2010

23