metro Activist Of The Year (And Forever) Cred it: John Harw ic k A conversation with Marcy Feldman. Vivian Henoch Special to the Jewish News I n downtown Birmingham, four doors south of the Birmingham Theatre, it's easy to miss the address 235 — the jewel box of a store, Heartwear Designs. Drop in for a visit and you'll find pro- prietors Marcy and Michael Feldman "at home" with their standard offer of hos- pitality: "Can we make you a cup of tea, would you like some cookies, can we clean your rings while you're here?" If it feels like you've just entered the Feldman's liv- ing room, that's by design in the sunlit and elegantly appointed space where Marcy's signature silver and gold jewelry is show- cased and handcrafted. More than a jewelry store, Heartwear Designs is clearly a labor of love. Lifelong community activists, married 45 years, partners in business and avid supporters of dozens of organizations and causes, Marcy and Michael hold the distinc- tion of being the first couple to receive Federation's Frank A. Wetsman and Sylvia Simon Greenberg Young Leadership Awards in the same year (1985). Busy Years Recollecting those busy years — having children, building their jewelry business, building community, studying with the Wexner Heritage Foundation — a tire- less volunteer and fundraiser on behalf of Federation, the Jewish Community Center, Jewish Family Service, the Detroit Resettlement Service, the UJA Young Womens' Leadership Cabinet, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, Yad Ezra, the Scleroderma Foundation — and topping it all as founder and president of the Pasteur Elementary School Alumni Foundation, dedicated to the children of Detroit — Marcy Feldman concludes, All those things that I've been involved in are all worthy, all wonderful causes:' Over a cup of tea, a conversation with Feldman about her activism in Jewish Detroit easily turns to reminiscing about her mother, Vivian, married to Lou Berry, both fervent community activists of blessed memory. "There's no question that my mother 20 May 21 • 2015 lommt Marcy Feldman was a role model. She was strong, widowed when I was 23 months old, raised us alone until I was 16 when she married Lou. Friends will always remember her for her sharp sense of humor, but I'll never forget one of the first lessons she taught me was tikkun olam [repairing the world]," she said. "I must have been around 9, in the fourth grade at Pasteur Elementary School, when I mentioned to my mother that there was a little girl in my class who wore the same clothes every day and she was so thin. So, next thing I know, my mother packed up some of my clothes and took me in hand to deliver them to the girl's house one evening. "I remember standing on her porch in the dark, aghast to find the girl home alone with her brother. It was then that I realized that there were people who had less than we did. My mother was a widow with three little girls:' Feldman continued. "She worked at Congregation Shaarey Zedek as the administrator of the schools, came home every night to make us dinner, invited people for Shabbat. I don't know how she did it all and made it fun:' Asked about those things that make her most proud, Feldman is quick to answer, "My kids, of course:' There's Ronit, an editor at Random House, married to attorney Eric Wagman in New Jersey (soon to make the Feldmans proud grandparents); Noah, an audio engi- neer in San Diego, and Joanna, an actress/ comedian with the Second City in Chicago. Upon further reflection, Feldman turns to a favorite topic: her elementary school and the kids for whom she established the Pasteur Elementary School Foundation nearly 19 years ago. members who pay $30 annually, $250 for a life membership or $500 for a scholar- ship life membership. Many others have donated funds over the years, and through Feldman's leadership and perseverance, the Foundation has provided books, school supplies, scholarships, field trips, summer camp and many other special programs and cultural experiences for the children of Pasteur Elementary and their families. Listing other highlights in her long career as a community leader and volun- teer, Feldman adds meeting a planeload of Jewish Russian immigrants at midnight at Metro airport when she was president of Resettlement Service; campaigning for 16 years with Janet Levine to get a pool built at the Oak Park JCC; and leading a few national missions with Michael to Israel and Prague. Time well spent! How many people can recount a life of higher service and reward? What's next? Feldman's thoughts turn back to the Detroit schools and the potential to do more. "I think in Pasteur Elementary we have a model, a blueprint for action. I've started a list, finding out where people went to school and now have a database of what I call 'City Kids: ready to connect alumni to their former schools in Detroit neighborhoods where they once lived. I would love to help people replicate this idea for their schools:' Ask Feldman — a woman who defines the very term activist — what activism means to her and get a simple answer, straight from the heart: "Doesn't everyone want to be an activist in some way and make the world a better place? If not for us, then for our kids, their future. Tikkun olam. It's all about repair- ing the world. I take that literally:" ❑ The Power Of Saying Yes "I can say that I'm proudest of the fact that there are so many people across the country (alumni, friends and generous supporters) who said yes to us — because they realized it's all about children in our city who don't have the advantages that we had when we were growing up in Detroit:' she said. Today, the Pasteur Elementary School Alumni Foundation has a database of 1,500 alumni, with more than 270 current Marcy Feldman will receive the Jewish Community Relations Council's 2015 Activist Award at a dessert reception 7 p.m. Monday, June 1, at Adat Shalom Synagogue in Farmington Hills. $18. Higher trib- ute and pre-glow dinner opportuni- ties are available. Visit detroitjcrc. org or call (248) 642-5393.