Mitzvah Man Allan Wolf
of Bloomfield Hills
beautifies a fence.
Beth Shalom team
strengthens its
congregational
community
one household
project at a time.
Veronica Fiegel
Special to the Jewish News
I
t was the kind of day too nice to turn
on the air conditioning, but too hot
to be comfortable. Keith and Diane
Starr of Oak Park decided to turn on their
attic fan to avoid breaking Diane's "no air
before June 1" rule. There was only one
problem: The attic fan wouldn't start.
The couple had paid an electrician to
fix the broken fan belt days before, but it
turned out to be a temporary fix, and now
the couple was again without a working
attic fan. They called the electrician again,
but he never made time to return to their
home.
Fed up with being unable to use their
attic fan, Diane called the Mitzvah Man.
Allen Wolf came over the same eve-
ning the Starrs called him, ready to work
and armed with his black toolbox. Wolf
crawled into the dark, cramped attic
through a closet ceiling hole. Diane hand-
ed him tools as Wolf worked.
The electrician the Starrs hired had
left a loose wire, which was why it wasn't
working. Wolf reconnected the power
source and tightened the fan belt. The attic
fan was fixed — and all it cost the Starrs
was a donation to Congregation Beth
Shalom of Oak Park.
Mitzvah Man Cary Lieberman of Royal Oak shovels mulch at Beth Shalom.
The Mitzvah Man team works without
charge on most household projects for
synagogue members. Tom Hildebrandt,
another member of the team, jokes,
"Membership has its privileges." The
homeowner pays for any materials
and pledges to make a donation to
Congregation Beth Shalom based on the
value received. If the Mitzvah Man team
can do it, they will — anything from 10
minutes to eight hours of work.
Wolf of Bloomfield Township started
the Mitzvah Man project in January 2011
At first, he worked alone, but as people
heard about the project, the team grew.
The team now includes Wolf;
Hildebrandt of Farmington Hills, a
retired special education specialist;
Cary Lieberman of Royal Oak, a retired
pharmacy technician and former mem-
ber of the U.S. Navy; Dr. Eli Berger of
West Bloomfield, a retired orthodontist;
Richard Racusin of Oak Park, a retired
roofing specialist; Chris Minor of Berkley,
a development mechanic for Chrysler;
and Sarah Reisig of Oak Park. Recently,
they have had two non-member volun-
teers ask to be on the team.
"I spent 30 years doing human
resources work for Ford Motor Co.:' said
Wolf, 57. "My hobby, though, was fixing
things. So now that I'm retired, I like to
spend time on my hobby. When I ran out
of [my own] things to fix, I started fix-
ing things and doing repairs for friends.
When I ran out of those things, I started
the Mitzvah Man project!'
Jobs Big And Small
Since 2011, the Mitzvah Man project has
helped 50 families and raised almost
$9,000 in donations for Beth Shalom.
Many of those helped were repeat clients.
These benevolent handymen have
repaired lots of roof and basement leaks,
fixed screens, caulked windows and
doors, painted exteriors, plastered walls,
repaired electrical problems and installed
lights and light bulbs. They have moved
piles of dirt and cut tree limbs, cleaned
out gutters, stopped leaky faucets and
unplugged drains. They've installed
shelves, repaired steps and even fixed a
doctor's examining room chairs.
"One day I was at my doctor's office
and noticed the armrests of the examina-
tion chair were taped up with electrical
tape Wolf says. "I joked to the doctor
that with all the money I was paying him
he should be able to fix the chair with
something other than electrical tape! He
complained that the service company
wanted to charge $400 to repair the chair.
I told him I would do it for free. He made
a $360 donation to Congregation Beth
Shalom, and he isn't even a member!'
Another Beth Shalom member made
a $36 donation after Wolf picked him up
from Detroit Metro Airport and drove
him home.
The Mitzvah Man team also has used
its talents to help Beth Shalom directly.
They have cleaned pews, built an addi-
tion to the sukkah, worked on the roof
and helped the Gan Shalom preschool
with improvement and maintenance
tasks.
"When Allen and the team come in
to fix things, he always makes sure to
involve the kids:' said Lauren Blitz, direc-
tor of the Gan. "Whenever possible, they
use their projects to teach the children
about tools and how to use them."
The Mitzvah Man team has hung white
boards in the Gan classrooms, replaced
the sand in the sandbox, changed light
bulbs and fixed one of the fences around
the perimeter of the playground.
Mara Starr, office manager at Beth
Shalom, raved about the Mitzvah Man
team, saying that the work they do, espe-
cially in tough economic times, really
helps the synagogue save money on
repairs and improvements.
Additionally, she says, the donations
they receive for their work at private
homes helps Beth Shalom meets its bud-
get.
The Mitzvah Man team strives to build
a sacred community by helping those in
need.
"I look at the work we do as helping
to build the community," said Wolf. "It's
about connecting those who have needs
with people who can help.
"I think giving back to an organization
that has given so much to its members is
a great personal service for the Mitzvah
Man team. We aim to strengthen our
synagogue one mitzvah at a time." ❑
Veronica Feigel is a public relations intern at •
Congregation Beth Shalom.
ay 17
f.
2012
35