For his February bar mitzvah, Brad Nusbaum of Franklin and his mom, Lori, created centerpieces containing toiletries to be donated to JFS clients. October 1st_4th Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday For event details, how to RSVP & available hotel packages, contact the Beachwood Convention & Visitors Bureau at 216.378.9333 or VisitBeachwoodOhio.com Because We Care Grants help JFS to expand its preteen mitzvah program. I Alr pon/Soti A Stitch in Time: The Cleveland Garment Industry Beachwood at the Beachwood Library lest New England Seafood Clambake at Giovanni's The Art of Tequila at Tres Potrillos Stay-Proof Travel Makeup Tips take Crie KNITTING -MILLS - at The Powder Room-Makeup Oasis & Boutique Welser-Most Conducts Mahler's Third Symphony with The Cleveland Orchestra Stay-Proof Travel Makeup Tips OMNOVM SOLUTIONS at The Powder Room-Makeup Oasis & Boutique 2nd Outdoor Adventure Hike, Picnic & Wine Tasting with NatureVation & Hotel Indigo New England Seafood Clambake at Giovanni's British Beer Dinner at The Pub Welser-Most Conducts Mahler's Third Symphony with The Cleveland Orchestra RANDESIGN wm,Personallabylacom dp Hale Farm & Village 5K at Hale Farm & Village Hale Farm & Village Harvest Festival at Hale Farm & Village Outdoor Adventure Hike, Picnic & Tea Tasting with NatureVation Stay-Proof Travel Makeup Tips at The Powder Room-Makeup Oasis & Boutique Live Dancing Performance & Violins of Hope at the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage In Grand Style: Fashions of the 1870s through the 1920s at the Western Reserve Historical Society Mead Wine & Honey Appetizers Tasting at Valenti's Ristorante Follow the Bourbon Trail at Cedar Creek Grille A Night of Mystery & Murder at Maggiano's Little Italy A Gala Evening with Renee Fleming with The Cleveland Orchestra Bagels, Birding & Historical Bites: Beachwood Historical Society at Beachwood City Park Pavilion Hale Farm & Village Harvest Festival at Hale Farm & Village Feel the Breeze at Bahama Breeze Special Author Event with Jill Bialosky at the Beachwood Library More Details at VisitBeachwoodOhio.com Beachwood Convention Et Visitors Bureau 216.378.9333 12 September 17 • 2015 Stacy Gittleman Contributing Writer ewish Family Service of Metropolitan Detroit (JFS) is kicking off the Jewish New Year with a fresh set of monthly pro- grams aimed at informing the commu- nity's preteens about all the resources it provides, while helping to create mitzvah opportunities that fit into their packed schedules. To expand its existing mitzvah pro- gram, Because We Care (BWC), JFS last spring received a $75,000 grant from the William Davidson Foundation and a $5,500 grant from the Stephen Schulman Millennium Fund for Jewish Youth. One Sunday afternoon a month, Jewish preteens will gather at a syna- gogue, temple or other Jewish agency to practice the Jewish values of tzedakah and tikkun olam. Activities include trekking out to clean up Belle Isle in November, creating gifts for the poor during Chanukah, making chicken soup and collecting warm clothing for seniors in January, and planning a Passover Seder for seniors and Holocaust survivors in the spring. The grant enabled JFS to hire Vicki Sitron to coordinate the program. Sitron said BWC is flexible to fit into a busy preteen's packed schedule and engag- ing enough to create community with their Jewish peers and serve as an entry learning point to all the services JFS provides to the larger community. "We wanted to make our program- ming as engaging and flexible as pos- sible to give these kids the opportunity to do a mitzvah:' Sitron said. "Some of our upcoming programs fit in line with work already being done by organiza- tions such as J-Serve and PeerCorps. As we move into our first year, we are also looking to partner with as many area synagogues, temples and Jewish youth groups as possible. BWC kicks off this month with two community service programs: • Sundaes in the Sukkah, 1-3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 20, at the Jewish Family Services building, 6555 W. Maple, West Bloomfield. Kids are welcome to help decorate the agency's sukkah, learn a bit about the holiday and the value of giving tzedakah from Rabbi Yisrael Pinson, and make their own ice cream sundaes. • Paint the Town Purple, 1-3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 27. On this scavenger hunt-styled activity, teens will solve rid- dles and find clues to take them to their next destination as they ride around on JFS's buses, which provide 30,000 rides each year to deserving clients. At each destination, they will put up purple "Expect Respect" lawn signs at various Jewish agencies around town to raise awareness for Domestic Violence Month in October. They will also learn about the importance of developing healthy relationships starting in ado- lescence and all the way through adult hood. Ellen Yashinsky Chute, JFS chief community outreach officer, said the scavenger hunt program aims to explain "domestic violence" from an adolescent standpoint. "At this program, we will teach kids that when you expect respect in any relationship in your life, it eliminates the chances of abuse and violence Chute said. "Many of us form lifelong relationships starting in middle school and high school. If kids learn about respect at this stage of their lives, it is a lesson that will hopefully stick with them for the rest of their lives:' BWC has been around for a number of years and provides many ideas to area bar and bat mitzvah students about how to put more "mitzvah" into their coming-of-age celebrations. Kids col- lect various items such as art supplies, sneakers, band and athletic equipment, for example, and create centerpieces with them with accompanying litera- ture about JFS, informing guests that they will be distributed to deserving JFS clients following the celebration. To register for programs and for a full list of program dates and descriptions, go to www.jfsdetroitorg/becausewecare or contact Vicki Sitron at (248) 592- 2325 or vsitron@jfsdetroit.org . - ❑