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Hillel sixth-grader Matthew Chayet played bingo with Julian Nusbaum as
part of a get-to-know-you session.
National Council of Jewish Women
Greater Detroit Section
Presents
Old , Young Together
Love, Loss 11
aria
W
ore
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-
I
a t
an intimate collection at stories
Soto.. Delia
Bphron BP1V011.
directed by Yolanda Fleischer
PURCHASE A MESSAGE
TO HONOR A CAST MEMBER!
$18 per message for the "Playbook" Choose from:
1. Break a LEG!
2. Hats off to the STAR!
3. Wish you the BEST!
DEADLINE MAY 13
Starring Loca ►
CornMun ► tV
Me mbers!
CAST
Shirley Benyas • Annette Berson •
Amy Cutler •
Denny Camiener • Jennifer Cherry
Joanna Edelson • Arlene Frank •
Fern Katz • Carol Kay • Mollene Levin • Henrietta
Jennifer LoPa • Sh
Diana Lieberman
Joyce Sherman tin • Sara Manson • Sandi Matz •
ayna Silverman •
Janet Moses
Ceci Stone • Mary Lou Zieve
Suzanne Simon • Ellie Slovis
Proceeds to benefit Advocacy for
Women's Rights and other NCJW community service projects
FOR RESERVATIONS • INFORMATION
248-355-3300 ext. 0 • www.ncjwgds.org
mail checks payable to: NCJW /Greater Detroit
26400 Lahser Rd, Suite 306, Southfield, MI 48033-2675
1833300
18
May 2 • 2013
JSL, Hillel Day School pair seniors
and children to share experiences.
Allison Batdorff
Special to the Jewish News
F
or more than 20 years, Jewish
Senior Life and Hillel Day
School have partnered to
build relationships and understanding
between older adults and children.
This year marks a milestone in
the program that has grown every
year since its founding. Known as
Dor L'Dor (Hebrew for generation to
generation), this intergenerational
program builds understanding and
connection for the various situations
both populations experience.
"Growing older is not an easy pro-
cess:' says Carol Rosenberg, director,
JSL Foundation, whose more than
30-year career in serving older adults
has sensitized her to the importance
of cross-generational connections.
"When children can connect in a
sensory manner with what another
person is going through, they are
more compassionate, better able to
relate and have a unique understand-
ing for an older adult; Rosenberg
says. "These are powerful life lessons:'
Steve Freedman, head of school at
Hillel, says, "Any opportunity to bring
real-world learning into the curricu-
lum is powerful. This program with
Jewish Senior Life opens our sixth-
graders' eyes and expands their empa-
thy at a crucial age, as they are prepar-
ing to reach the milestone of their bar
and bat mitzvahs. This coming-of-age
in the Jewish community is a perfect
time to lay the groundwork for help-
ing others:'
This semester-long program brings
seniors and students together in a
variety of meaningful ways. There is
sensitivity training, so children can
experience what it feels like to have
impaired mobility or lack of sensory
function. Older adults volunteer to par-
ticipate in the program, with as many
as 40 volunteers for each session.
Thus far in the current school
year, students and seniors mixed
and mingled through a get-to-know-
you session at JSL's locations on
the Eugene and Marcia Applebaum
Jewish Community Campus in West
Bloomfield and, at a later session,
made cards for Jewish older adults in
non-Jewish facilities as well as bak-
ing dog biscuits for a no-kill animal
shelter.
At the first session, a shared fond-
ness for sweets drew Paul Siegel
Nadav to an 83-year-old gentleman
named Saul. "We shared a Snickers
bar, and he was funny," Nadav said.
Margery Jablin, Hillel's sixth-grade
language arts and social studies teach-
er, is guiding 50 kids this year through
the remaining sessions in May and
June.
In May, the older adults will go
"back to school" with a visit to Hillel
during the school day. In June, every-
one will gather for a wild animal show
presentation.
Jablin's 93-year-old father has been
a Dor L'Dor volunteer for years and
loves sharing his insight with young
people, she says.
Through this program, "most chil-
dren come away with an understand-
ing of what it's like to get older, and all
are surprised by how much older peo-
ple know and do and how enriched
the children and older adults are hav-
ing met one another; Jablin says.
These connections with one another
deepen community bonds and expand
the horizons of friendship. They also
build empathy for individuals at dif-
ferent life stages.
New Friendships
When she was a Hillel sixth-grader
engaging in Dor CDor, Leia Serlin
cozied up to Dena Greenberg, a
resident of Fleischman Residence/
Blumberg Plaza, who had a bag of
knitting material beside her.