I

n January, a committee from Adat 
Shalom Sisterhood discussed 
possible speakers for the group
s 
annual Donor Day. Some names that 
came up included actresses and fashion 
designers.

One of our committee members 
made the comment that with so much 
negativity in the world, instead of pick-
ing a speaker based on notoriety, we 
should find someone who promotes 
kindness, recalls Sue Lutz, co-chair 
of the May 10 event with Jennifer 
Freedland and Danielle Ruskin.   
The group decided on Laura Schroff, 
author of New York Times bestseller 
An Invisible Thread, the true story of 
Schroff
s unexpected meeting and sub-
sequent friendship with Maurice, an 
11-year-old panhandler on the streets 
of New York. The committee decided 
on Schroff because of her passion for 
encouraging others to perform even 
small acts of kindness. 
Schroff
s book is all about how a 
single action not only changed the life of 
a young boy, but also altered her future. 
The title, Schroff said in a phone inter-
view, is based on a Chinese proverb that 
an invisible thread connects those who 
are destined to meet.  

At the time [we met], I needed more 
in my life and so did he, she said. 
I was 
so lucky to have met Maurice. He gave 
me someone to love. He turned out to 
be the son I always wanted, all because I 
just stopped for a moment.
Initially, Schroff walked right past 
Maurice, barely registering his plea for 
money to buy food. But, something 
made her to stop. Schroff, a successful 
advertising executive at the time, wrote 
that she doesn
t know why she turned 
around and offered to take this boy to 
lunch. It was a Monday; the first of 150 
Mondays the two would eat together. 
With each meeting, their unexpected 
friendship continued to flourish. 
Twenty years later, Maurice  a 
husband, father to seven and business 
owner  gave a toast at Schroff
s 50th 
birthday. He thanked her for that single 
act of kindness that changed the course 
of his life. 

Schroff said she is especially excited 
to speak at Adat Shalom because the 
Jewish community embraces her mes-
sage because so many of her beliefs 
parallel core Jewish values. 
At Adat Shalom, she will talk about 
how even the seemingly smallest act of 
kindness can make a world of difference 
and how we all have the ability to throw 
a lifeline to someone in need. 
That
s what happened with 
Farmington Hills resident Larry 
Oleinick. Several years ago, he had a day 
off from work and decided to spend it 
distributing snacks to homeless people 
in Detroit
s Hart Plaza.
This one-day visit spurred Oleinick to 
start Heart2Hart, a nonprofit organiza-
tion where volunteers regularly bring 
food, clothing and hygiene products to 
those in need.   
Oleinick, who grew up volunteering, 
said 
Going to Hart Plaza is a different 
setting than doing something like vol-
unteering at a soup kitchen. You are able 
to have real conversations with people. 
I saw the despair and thought why not 
help people on a regular basis. 
From these visits, Oleinick says he 
and his volunteers have a number of 
Maurice-type stories, including helping 
a homeless couple get housing and jobs, 
which helped them reconnect with their 
son after more than five years. 
Donor Day attendees will receive a 
resource guide that includes volunteer 
opportunities. 

Sometimes all we have to do is stop 
and pause, Schroff said. When you 
open up your eyes and your heart to 
your surroundings, you have no idea 
how your life can change.
Her next book, An Invisible Thread: 
Angels on Earth, will be available in 
November. It is a compilation of invis-
ible thread stories others have shared 
with her since An Invisible Thread was 
published. *

To register for Donor Day, go to adatshalom.

org/donor-day-2016 by April 30. Tickets are $54, 

including lunch. Boutiques will be open from 10 

a.m.-3 p.m.  

Author Laura Schroff and 

Maurice today; they met when 

he was 11 and panhandling.

18 April 28  2016

Jennifer Lovy | Special to the Jewish News

Invisible Thread
Adat Shalom event brings author 
to celebrate small acts of kindness. 

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