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22

November 20 • 2014

Intern

The families will receive a 10-pound
turkey, stuffing, assorted fruits and veg-
etables, drinks, cooking equipment, din-
nerware and dessert. Support from estab-
lished nonprofits, large corporations and
caring individuals made Higher Hopes
possible.
Originally, it started as a solo project,
but soon grew into a seven-person task
force: Birndorf, Karen Sherbin, Dr. Mel
Rubenfire, David Lubin, Carolyn Gray,
Warren Crockett and Carly Sugar.
In a JN story last summer, Birndorf
shared his career journey as a merchan-
dise broker and briefly discussed Higher
Hopes. His business relationships proved
very valuable for his nonprofit endeavor. A
manufacturer Birndorf represents donated
$20,000 to the cause. Pam Turkin, owner
of Just Baked, read the JN story and con-
tacted Birndorf to donate 14,400 gourmet
cupcakes.
Higher Hopes has grown tremendously
in support and volunteers since the sum-
mer.
"We currently have 20 corporate
donors," Birndorf said. "Plus we raised
$3,000 in the first two days on our
GoFundMe.com page. We now have
$9,000 from 72 donors:'
Birndorf's wife, Holly, contacted Karen
Sherbin, director of Project Healthy
Community (PHC) in Detroit, knowing
that Sherbin's network could be of great
help.
PHC was inspired by Rabbi Josh
Bennett of Temple Israel in West
Bloomfield. PHC is a nonprofit focused on
social missions for all ages in communities
with needs. Its programs include a mobile
pantry, adult educational classes and after-
school activities for elementary and high
school students.
"Judaism demands that we reach out
and proclaim justice in the world:' Bennett
says. "To become active and socially help
those in need is our responsibility"
Sherbin said, "Within two years, we've
established many connections with col-
leges and schools. PHC operates many
programs for hundreds of families. This
includes a mobile pantry providing 20,000
pounds of food monthly"
The mobile pantry is stocked by
Gleaners Food Bank of Southeastern
Michigan. This relationship with Gleaners
helped Higher Hopes fill in its logistical
gaps.
Birndorf and Sherbin met David Duey,

mobile pantry coordinator, for a tour at
Gleaners, which specializes in food stor-
age, packaging and shipping — areas of
major concern for Higher Hopes.
"We now had all the ingredients that
were missing — we had a location for
packaging and a way to transfer the pack-
ages to our four distributing centers in
Detroit:' Birndorf said. "We purchased
nearly $20,000 worth of food from
Gleaners, too:'
Anne Schenk, Gleaners vice president of
advancement, said, "Come holiday season
we get many requests from charity organi-
zations. We are happy to help our partner
agencies, like Project Healthy Community,
with aiding the families in Detroit:'
For family selections, Birndorf contact-
ed Carolyn Gray, director at the Fisherman
Ministry in Detroit, to find ideal fami-
lies. She selected those who come from
Head Start and the Great Start Readiness
Program.
"Bill is a joy to work with," Gray said.
"I was very excited when I heard about
the project. Getting a complete meal with
cooking utensils and dessert is not com-
mon. Usually you would expect just a
turkey. This meal may last a few days for
some of these families:'
Birndorf refers to others who contribut-
ed significantly as "Higher Hope Heroes:'
"Thanksgiving night we will be feeding
between 10,000-12,000 people Birndorf
said. "That's half the first-base section at
Comerica Park
"We started with a goal, an objective to
reach; you think it's going to run a straight
line, but it doesn't:' Birndorf added. "There
are little curves and turns along the way.
So, one thing leads to another, but we
always moved forward and never took a
step backward:'
Birndorf lives with his family in West
Bloomfield and is a longtime member of
Adat Shalom Synagogue in Farmington
Hills.
Regarding Thanksgiving aid within the
Jewish community, another philanthro-
pist, Nate Goldberg, founder of Equity
Planning Group in West Bloomfield, and
his family have been providing more than
100 Jewish Family Service clients with
complete kosher Thanksgiving baskets
since 1978.

❑

Higher Hopes welcomes volunteers to par-
ticipate with distribution on Monday, Nov.

24, from 2-5 p.m. For details or to become a
"Higher Hopes Hero," call Karen Sherbin at

(248) 892-4585.

