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STAY SAFE

with the
push of a button

Jen Rusciano, Noam Kimelman and Avida Johnson, all of Detroit, at the reception

Jewish Family Service is offering free
Personal Emergency Response Systems
(wearable call buttons that send for
assistance when pressed), as well as other
assistive technology devices, to help loved
ones stay safe in their home.

Vulnerable Jewish adults are eligible if they:

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disability
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For more information, contact the
JFS Resource Center at 248-592-2313.

2127720

16 September 29 • 2016

Rubenstein, chief of staff to U.S. Sen.
Richard Blumenthal, and Imerman
Angels founder Jonny Imerman.
A handful of expatriates have
attended all three years of events and
have gone on to contribute to their
hometown’s revitalization. After com-
ing to the first two events, Axelrod
organized regional dinners for influ-
ential expats to get together outside of
the annual event.
To further recognize Seller, the
Jewish community organized a recep-
tion in his honor that brought together
40 Jewish expats and 40 local leaders
involved with business and philan-
thropy in Detroit. This event was
sponsored by the William Davidson
Foundation, and introductory remarks
were offered by Ethan Davidson, trust-
ee of the Davidson Foundation. DPop,
an award-winning design firm, hosted
the reception in its Downtown Detroit
headquarters.
Seller, introduced by close friend
and Detroit-native Amy Nederlander,
spoke about his Jewish identity. Seller
began his involvement at Temple
Israel and Camp Tamarack, which
he spoke fondly of. He reflected on
how those experiences led him to the
theater program at the University of
Michigan and subsequently a career
on Broadway. Seller said he is proud
of his Jewish roots and talked about
his visit to Israel this summer and his
plans to return there for his son’s bar
mitzvah.
Additional honorees at the Jewish
reception included Peter Cummings,
Julie Fisher Cummings and Adam
Levinson. Peter and Julie returned
from many years in Florida and now
reside Downtown. Peter Cummings
is spearheading significant real estate
development in Detroit and discussed

one such project that will create more
than 1,000 new residential units. Julie
Fisher Cummings has championed
children’s education and healthcare as
the vice chair of the Max and Marjorie
Fisher Foundation, which has priori-
tized philanthropic investment in the
city of Detroit as well as within the
Detroit Jewish community.
Adam Levinson traveled to the
Detroit Homecoming III all the way
from Singapore. He came to discuss
his $10 million commitment to sup-
port Detroit education and his will-
ingness to match any gifts from the
expat community toward the Detroit
Children’s Fund.
Dan Gilbert and former U.S. Sen.
Carl Levin spoke about their hopes for
the city’s future and why they are opti-
mistic about the direction in which
Detroit is heading. Levin, a longtime
resident of the city, gave credit to
the many business leaders who have
invested in Detroit over the past few
decades.
Each honoree received a scrapbook
of their family’s mentions in the
Detroit Jewish News from the Detroit
Jewish News Foundation William
Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish
Detroit History.
Israel and Erik Nordin, the Detroit
sculptors behind many unique sculp-
tures in the city, created a custom
menorah for the honored expats to
take home. The chanukiah is a replica
of the giant menorah they created for
Detroit’s annual menorah lighting in
Campus Martius, right in the heart of
Downtown. The Nordin brothers also
created smaller keychain replicas for
all attendees.
Plans are already under way for the
fourth Detroit Homecoming, to be
held Sept. 13-15 next year.

*

