Books
Galore
Bloomfield Hills Schools "Make A Difference"
for young people at the Detroit Public Library.
Joanna Loney
Teen2Teen Staff Writer
0
n the morning of Saturday, Oct.
22, from about 8:30-11:30 a.m.,
anyone entering Bloomfield Hills
Middle School would have found books.
Lots and lots of books. Enough books that
the boxes lining three walls of the school
gym were overflowing.
They also would have found about 175
students and parents of the Bloomfield Hills
School District working diligently for the
community as part of USA Weekend maga-
zine's national program, Make A Difference
Day. The Bloomfield Hills schools participate
in this program annually, selecting a differ-
ent charity each year with whom they can
coordinate a project involving both collecting
donations and providing a community ser-
vice opportunity for kids.
This year, the beneficiary chosen was
the Detroit Public Library, specifically the
Children and HYPE/Teen Centers of the
main branch. These newly renovated cen-
ters were in need of books as well as col-
orful rugs and furniture. The Bloomfield
Hills Schools PTO Council teamed up with
the library to ensure that the children of
Detroit have access to a safe and positive
environment for reading.
For most of October, students, under
the guidance of their teachers and student
leaders, collected and donated new or
used books in droves. The Book Beat, an
independent book store in Oak Park spe-
cializing in art, photography and children's
books since 1982, supported the project
by offering a 20 percent discount on chil-
dren and young adult books purchased
by Bloomfield Hills Schools families in
October.
While emphasis was placed on the chil-
dren and teen centers, books of all genres
and for all age groups were accepted. By
the time Make A Difference Day arrived,
nearly 18,000 books had been collected.
Students also brought in items such as
large stuffed animals, colorful posters and
child-sized furniture for decorative use in
the children's library. Monetary donations
were also encouraged, and the schools
raised more than $3,000.
Saturday morning was spent sorting
and packing the donated books. Books
were first separated by genre and age
group, and
then sent
Joanna Loney, junior, and Mlle Silberman, sophomore, both at Andover
to the cor- High School, and Ben Kaufman, seventh-grader, West Hills Middle
responding School
stations,
where they were alphabetized and packed
into boxes for transportation to the library.
The system, while mostly a smooth pro-
cess, was at times overwhelmed by the
multitude of books flowing through it.
In categories such as picture books,
where the piles of books were literally
pouring off of tables onto the ground, the
alphabetizing process had to be eliminated
in order to finish the project on schedule.
But stay on schedule it did, mainly thanks
to the hard work and incredible organiza-
tional skills of the Make A Difference Day
parent coordinators.
PTO Council Community Service
Chairman Sarah Saltzman, who helped
Josh Balan, third-grader at Lone Pine
orchestrate the entire event, felt very
Elementary, makes bookmarks.
moved by the efforts put in by the schools,
parents and student volunteers to make
"This is a wonderful community that I'm
the day a success.
proud to be a part of?' I I
"The generosity and involvement
of Bloomfield Hills students and their
Joanna Loney is a Junior at Bloomfield Hills
families continues to amaze me',' she said.
Andover High School.
Israeli actress Naomi Ackerman speaks
to a group of BBYO girls about domestic
abuse.
Israeli actress-educator teaches
BBYO girls there are options.
Lauren Yellen
Teen2Teen Staff Writer
I
attended the teen workshop on domes-
tic abuse awareness led by Israeli
actress and educator Naomi Ackerman
on Oct. 26. This program was presented
by the National Council of Jewish Women,
Greater Detroit Section and co-sponsored
by BBYO and Temple Israel Sisterhood.
46 November 24 a 2011
Instantly, we were on our feet jumping,
dancing and following what our peers
were doing to create a comfortable atmo-
sphere for all. We then started talking
about relationships and how they affected
our lives. We tossed a ball to the person to
our right as we stated the first thing that
came to our mind when Naomi prompted
us with a word relating to relationships,
love and boys. Naomi made it very clear
that every single person in the room
deserved to be in a good relationship.
Naomi is an actress — a good one at
impersonating different things and emo-
tions. She asked two eager volunteers to
come up and act out the girl's side of the
story and another two girls to translate
what they were saying to the audience.
Watching hand gestures and facial expres-
sions, the audience and "translators" could
tell what they were trying to say. It was a
very neat way to see how body language
affected a conversation.
After acting out the girl's side of the story,
it was time to play the male side of a rela-
tionship. During this presentation, Naomi
gave us two large phones. We pretended we
were talking with friends who attended a
party the night before. It was interesting to
see some of my friends display the way they
thought boys would act on the phone.
Our closing role-play was the most
memorable! Naomi tossed wigs all over
the floor, and we were all split into three
groups. One of the groups was a girl-
friend and a boyfriend, who where in the
hallways of a school. The girl acted very
rudely to her boyfriend, making him carry
her books and do everything for her. They
had two endings to the story. One where
the boyfriend broke up with the girl after
some advice from friends, and the other
where the girl had seduced him into not
doing anything about the little scene in
the school. With this role-play example, we
saw firsthand what we should do to if we
were in this situation.
The next group had a skit dealing with
a girl who dyed her hair and her boyfriend
didn't like it, so they argued. She had to
decide what to do. The story ended with her
dying her hair to its original color. The sec-
ond ended with her breaking up with her
boyfriend because he wanted her to change.
The third and final group had two girls
playing basketball. Two other girls wanted to
play. After a bit of teasing, the original girls
stole the basketball. The second time around,
a girl playing by herself jumped in and
advised that they should all play together.
I am so glad I had the chance to attend
this program, and feel both my peers and I
gained a lot of new knowledge and skills. II
Lauren Yellen, 15, is a sophomore at North
Farmington High School. National Council
of Jewish Women, BBYO and Temple Israel
Sisterhood sponsored Naomi Ackerman Oct.
27 in her one-woman show, "Flowers Aren't
Enough," a program about domestic abuse.