continued from page 32

“We have been given license to take
our ideas and passions and run with
them.” — Ethan Bennett

where
extraordinary
happens

Temple Beth El youth are out with their Teen Network Weaver Joseph Unger, right.

every day

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Detroit Country Day School delivers
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34 August 25 • 2016

some choices to make: Do I opt for the
corporate life, or do I want to work in the
Jewish world?” said the Las Vegas native
who moved to Detroit for the weaver job
in January and works with teens in the
Conservative movement.
She dropped her corporate ambi-
tions and committed her professional
pursuits to the Jewish community.
Honig channels her memories attend-
ing Jewish preschool, day school and
socializing in United Synagogue Youth
and Camp Ramah as she mentors teens
making personal choices of how to live
more Jewishly. Well-versed in the teen
mindset, she takes a “one-size-does-
not-fit-all” strategy for finding just
the right opportunity to spark a teen’s
interest in Judaism.
“We realize that what may work for
one teen will not work for another,”
Honig said. “We are not proprietary to
the particular youth groups we repre-
sent. What is most important is making
these teens realize they are the future of
our community by nurturing and men-
toring them now. Then, when they are
adults, they will want
to give back, not
only to the Jewish
community, but to
Detroit as a whole.”
Allison Bloom-
berg, 17, of Farming-
ton Hills, who will
be a senior this
Allison
year at Frankel
Bloomberg
Jewish Academy
in West Bloomfield, said Honig has
been “a huge help” in supporting
MCUSY (Motor City USY) during a

transitional phase and helped keep the
Conservative-based chapter growing in
the right direction.
“Without her, who knows where
MCUSY would be, and I’m so fortunate
I got to work with her this past year as
MCUSY co-president,” said Bloomberg,
who has held leadership roles locally
and regionally. “USY has been an
essential part of my high school experi-
ence. USY has taught me valuable lead-
ership skills, and has introduced me to
a plethora of friends I consider family.
It has also given me the opportunity
to further my Jewish education. I’ve
had the opportunity to lead programs
regarding lessons in the Torah as well
as lead part of Shabbat services at every
regional convention.”
Joseph Unger, the
only native Detroiter
of the weavers, works
as the youth adviser
at Temple Beth
El in Bloomfield
Township. Much of
the NFTY program-
Joseph Unger
ming at TBE focuses
on social justice and
volunteering, such as monthly trips to
soup kitchens or other work coordi-
nated by Repair the World Detroit.
Programs like this over the last year
have attracted a core group of 10 kids,
plus 35-40 others who have attended at
least one program over the year. Other
successful programs last year included
Havdalah at the William Livingstone
Memorial Lighthouse in Detroit with
TBE’s Rabbi Mark Miller.
At 25, Unger likes to be honest with

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