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Mitzvah Day

Jewish volunteers help
organizations on
Christmas Day.

S

everal hundred volunteers rose
early and rolled up their sleeves
on Dec. 25 to join efforts on
Mitzvah Day, volunteering their time and
bringing smiles at dozens of project sites
throughout Metropolitan Detroit.
Presented to the community by the
Jewish Community Relations Council
and the Jewish Federation, Mitzvah Day
2014 was co-chaired by Janet Berman,
Seth Fisher and Micki Grossman.
For several years running, groups of
Muslim volunteers worked alongside
Jewish volunteers at a few Mitzvah Day
sites. Volunteers delivered toys, served
or delivered meals, ran bingo games and
brought a human touch to some of those
less fortunate among us.
Along with the original purpose —
replacing Christian staff and volunteers
so they can spend the Christmas holiday
at home with their families — the event
has become an event that many Jewish
individuals, families and synagogue
groups look forward to every year.

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Chanukah Fun
u__

Nathan, Michael and Brenda Soverinski,
front, with Elise Kravitz at Jimmy's Kids

The Lash family, right front, with Tony Mendez, Jimmy Tuman, Santa and Bobby
Ramirez of Jimmy's Kids

by, -

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Robert Schwartz, Reva Gornbein, Laura Roth, Linda Schwartz,
Burton Roth, and Stacey Schwartz at Danto Health Care Center

A.i‘war;e14.' —
At the Detroit Area Agency on Aging's Valley Services
Building, John, Sophie and Lauren Hirsch serve lunch.

Downtown Synagogue mixes food, donations and fun for the holiday.

F

ollowing election of officers at its
annual meeting Dec. 21, members and
friends of the Isaac Agree Downtown
Synagogue in Detroit held a Chanukah happen- 6k
ing complete with latkes and other holiday fare,
a Chai Stakes dreidel tournament and, new this
year, an original Chanukah spiel, "Chanukah
Hasmonean Hullabaloo," by Ariel Payne.
Admission was wearable warm-weather
items to donate to Hart 2 Heart, an organiza-
tion that serves homeless people in Downtown
Elijah, 12, and Ravi Appelman, 9,
Detroit.

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of Bloomfield Hills

Nancy Pinegood and Andy Wartenberq of East Rapids, Carole Deroven of St. Helen
and Cindy Starman of West Bloomfield fill their plates at the buffet.

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January 8 • 2015

Amit Weitzer and Jackie Victor,
both of Detroit

Max and Nathan Newman, 4,
of Bloomfield Hills

1
Benny Mattis of Detroit and Lauren
Hoffman of Princeton, N.J.

Joe Lewis of Oak Park narrates the
Chanukah spiel.