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Girls Empowered
Program helps develop strong Jewish women in the community.
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n March 2, 27 girls and 22
moms experienced the Girls
Empowered program with a
Jewish twist. For this Congregation B'nai
Moshe event, the popular Birmingham-
based girls' program referenced the
Jewish American Girl Doll book,
Candlelight for Rebecca, to open up dis-
cussions led by Girls Empowered facilita-
tor Kimber Yankee.
The group focused on strengthening
each child's self-confidence, fostered
an open dialogue centered on positive
self-esteem and role modeling, and also
encouraged a positive self-image.
The girls and moms created mini
books about their lives, highlighting why
each person is special, what their dreams
are, what their challenges are and some
ideas on how to deal with those chal-
lenges. The moms and daughters talked
about dealing with friends who say
mean things as well as different ways to
address bullies. All of the girls created
pillows with a special message of encour-
agement inside.
Noa, Jennifer and Maia Ostroff
Lori and Lilli Semel work on their special pillow.
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Amy and Sydney Ingber
Insider's Tour
Jennifer and Emily Schneider
Jody and Hannah Isser
Historical Society looks at the Jewish influences on the Detroit Public Library.
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n Friday, March 21, the Jewish
Historical Society of Michigan, togeth-
er with the Detroit Public Library
Friends Foundation, held a tour of the "Art &
Architecture of the Detroit Public Library ...
with a Jewish Twist:'
Nearly 60 people attended this first-ever tour
created by DPL Friends member Barbara Cohn.
This stunning building, built in 1921 by
architect Cass Gilbert, has a rich and full Jewish
history. David Heineman, for example, was a
state legislator and Detroit City Council presi-
dent, and is credited with ensuring the land
for the library became available for that pur-
pose and then secured a $750,000 grant from
Andrew Carnegie to construct the building.
Heineman is also the creator of the flag of the
city of Detroit.
Henry Meyers (1895-1952), whose list of
community contributions is long, made sig-
nificant donations to the library, including his
service as a commissioner and the donation of
several rare and valuable books, two of which
were shown on the tour.
The full history of the Detroit Public Library
and its Jewish connections will be published in
the 2014 edition of Michigan Jewish History, due
out in October. For more information on tours
and programs offered by the Jewish Historical
Society of Michigan, call (248) 432-5517. ❑
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April 10 • 2014
Barbara Cohn, DPL Friends
member and creator of the
"Art & Architectural" tour
Joan Jampel of Bloomfield Hills, the daughter
of Henry Meyers, stands behind a rare
copy of the 13th Amendment to the United
States Constitution. Meyers, who served as
a president of the Library Commission, had
first donated the document anonymously. His
valuable donation became known after his
untimely death at age 57.
Beverly Siegel of West Bloomfield
and daughter Beth Sills of Bloomfield
Township stand in front of a sculpture
of Liszt.
Donna Pereira and
Merle Band, both of
West Bloomfield