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Fall Fix Up young adult crew supports
Detroit's Delray community.

BEN FALIK I SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

n Nov. 10, Jewish Family Service and Repair
the World partnered to go where Fall Fix Up
had never gone before.
Thirty Jewish young adults — of the 400
volunteers who participated in JFS' 17th Annual Fall Fix
Up — brought energy, inquiry and a 30-yard dumpster
to one corner of Southwest Detroit. Delray, a Southwest
Detroit neighborhood with a proud immigrant history,
faces a host of environmental problems stemming from
its proximity to, among other things, Detroit Water &
Sewerage, Zug Island and 1-75. The neighborhood is
also the target of persistent illegal dumping, arson and
metal scrapping.
That Sunday, Fall Fix Up volunteers learned about
advocacy efforts aimed at curbing illegal activity,
marshaling public services and leveraging the
forthcoming international bridge for community benefit.
Then they removed truckloads of debris and trimmed
trees with kids from the neighborhood near the Delray
Community Center.
"The community organizers were familiar with the
patterns of dumping in their neighborhood," said
Michael Evers, a Repair the World Fellow now living in
Southwest Detroit. "We strategically cleaned up parts of
the neighborhood and not others on the advice of the
organizers. The way they walked the fine line between
taking direct action and agitating for the city to deliver
municipal services was impressive."
Volunteers got involved through JFS and Federation's
NEXTGen, Birthright Next and the Becker All-Star
Mission. Many live or work in Detroit, but few were
familiar with Delray, a community whose Hungarian
Jewish community dated back to 1900, before
the village was annexed by Detroit. (First Hebrew
Congregation of Delray is now the church known
as "House of God Which is the Church of the Living
God, the Pillar and Ground of the Truth Without
Controversy.")
"Fall Fix Up is a great opportunity for people of
all ages in the community to donate a couple hours
of their time on a Sunday to work side by side" said
Darrien Sherman of Royal Oak. "Fall Fix Up has always
worked to support people in the Jewish community,
and the project with Repair the World gave us
the opportunity to learn about and serve another
community."
For everyone, it was a chance to get warm and dirty,
cleaning up on a cold day. ❑

Fall Fix Up was made possible by sponsors Home
Depot, DTE Energy, Professional Parent Care, Eddy's
Landscaping, Bright Star, Assured Home Nursing
Services, ABA Home Care, Universal Bearing
Company, Quality Kosher Catering and Congregation
Shaarey Zedek.

Young Jewish adults participated together in Fall Fix Up in Detroit's Delray neighborhood.

Sarah Bloomberg
Bloomberg of Birmingham, David Lerner of the

Tovi Snapstailer-Leibovitz with Jessica Hull

JFS board and Alexis Zimberg of Detroit carry garbage of West Bloomfield and Avi Snider of Oak
away from the site.
Park

Sam Schiffer of Birmingham throws some old

Steve Mavashev of Oak Park and Ashley Weisber of

plywood into the back of a truck so it can be
hauled away.

West Bloomfield do some raking.

November 28 • 20i.,

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