metro

Dialogue begins
when it's based
on facts.

Gutsy and Glamorous

Annual JVS Trade Secrets event
helps women overcome challenges.

There's only one nation in the Middle East
that protects human rights.

Israel.

Trade Secrets co-chairs: Shayna
Silverman, Mindi Fynke and Cheryl

There's only one nation in the Middle East
that protects freedom of worship for all
its citizens.

Israel.

There's only one nation in the Middle East
that protects the legal rights, safety &
freedom of the LGBT communities.

Israel.

There's only one nation in the Middle East
that protects and encourages freedom of
the press.

Israel.

Dialogue begins when
it's based on facts.

Israel is by far the most democratic state in the entire
Middle East. It supports civil rights for all its citizens
regardless of religion, creed, race, gender & sexual
orientation.

Ravitz Foundation Confronting Anti-Semitism Program

www.adl.org/michigan • 248.353.7553 detroit@adl.org
www.adl.org/adlumoncampus

A

night filled with glamour and
stories of courageous women,
the sixth annual JVS Trade
Secrets dinner on March 12 broke
records for attendance and donations.
The event at Knollwood Country
Club in West Bloomfield raised more
than $170,000 for the JVS Women to
Work Program, which helps women
overcome challenges and flourish in the
face of devastating life changes.
Keynote speaker Sandra Pierce, vice
chairman of FirstMerit Corporation
and chairman and CEO of FirstMerit
Michigan, charmed more than 400
attendees with anecdotes about her
career in the male-dominated banking
industry.
"Do not let anyone else convince
you that you are not good enough, not
skilled enough, not schooled enough to
achieve what you feel you are capable
or she said.
"Sometimes it is difficult to be real-
istic about what stands in your way.
Sometimes you are afraid to ask for
help. Sometimes we can be our own
greatest obstacle, usually because fear
of failure drives a lot of our decision
making ... You do have the power to
make decisions that are going to sup-
port your own success:'
Funds raised at Trade Secrets provide
career counseling, job search training
and skills assessment to women of all
educational backgrounds and experi-

Women to Work Program
Kicks Off April 24

The JVS Women to Work program
has helped thousands of women
during its 30-year history. The
program's next information meet-
ing will be held 9-11 a.m., Thursday,

Anti-Defamation Leagues

1907260

24 ril 10 • 2014

Margolis.

Judy Richmond, coordinator of
JVS Women to Work Program, and
Myriam Cohen, recipient of the 2014
Women to Work Award

ence levels after their world has been
turned upside down following a divorce
or the unexpected death, layoff or ill-
ness of their spouse.
"Trade Secrets allows JVS to continue
helping women and families going
through a difficult time said Hadas
Bernard, JVS chair of the board and a
founding chair of Trade Secrets.
"A wonderful aspect of the program
is that participants come from diverse
backgrounds and they become friends
and advocates for one another
Myriam Cohen, a past participant
of the Women to Work Program, was
honored at the event for her amazing
success story.
When her 24-year marriage ended,
Cohen worried about how she and her
two sons would manage. She had a col-
lege degree in early childhood educa-
tion, but she hadn't worked outside the
home in nearly 20 years.
A friend recommended the JVS
Women to Work Program, which
launched Cohen on a path to self-dis-
covery. After completing the program,
Cohen began volunteering at a Jewish
Senior Life apartment complex and
discovered she loved working with the
elderly. Today, she is program coor-
dinator at Meer Apartments in West
Bloomfield.
Trade Secrets was co-chaired by
Mindi Fynke, Cheryl Margolis and
Shayna Silverman.

❑

April 24, followed by 10 group
sessions two days a week for
three hours each at JVS, 29699
Southfield Road in Southfield. For
more information, visit www.jvsdet.
org/women.