Open During Construction New Merchandise Arriving Daily jews d in the continued from page 16 community is here whenever a person is ready to reach out and participate. And what you’ll find when you do choose to participate is that you were meant to be a part of this all along. STONE'S JEWELRY 6881 Orchard Lake Rd. on the Boardwalk (248) 851-5030 stonesfi nejewelry@gmail.com IT’S LIKE AN ALL-INCLUSIVE RESORT FOR SENIORS. ONLY THERE’S A HIGHLY TRAINED MEDICAL STAFF. People do better when they’re active, engaged, and in comfortable surroundings. It also doesn’t hurt to have a safe place with highly trained medical staff. That’s why we’re here. Schedule a visit today. ASSISTED LIVING AND SO MUCH MORE 41795 Twelve Mile Road Novi, MI 48377 248-449-1655 novilakeshc.com • 18 August 10 • 2017 jn IB: When you come from a family like mine, your mentors are every- where. My grandparents taught me so much, not only about family, but about service to the community, humility and the importance ILANA ON COMMUNITY of living life to the fullest. ABOVE: Ilana Block addresses Q: What do you think people They are all still here and well, the crowd at a from other parts of the coun- and I continue to push myself Good Shabbos try find most impressive to make them proud. Detroit event. about our young adult Jewish Q: What is one of your community? most meaningful NEXTGen IB: We seem to have a bet- Detroit memories? ter understanding of the word “com- IB: The first EPIC Event was incred- munity.” It’s not just that we know we ible, and it was considered the birth have something in common — being of NEXTGen Detroit. Nobody believed Jewish — it’s that we have an innate that there were 700 young Jewish instinct, part of our Jewish Detroit adults around at that time, let alone DNA, to feel that we are actually who cared and could be gathered in responsible for helping one another. a room at the MGM Grand. Marty Q: What are some of your earliest Maddin and Rachel Wright brought an unparalleled spirit to those early memories of Jewish community? days. IB: Celebrating Shabbat. Family Camp at Tamarack. And the ON BALANCING WORK/FAMILY LIFE Chanukah Art and Music Show that Hillel Day School used to have at Sinai IB: I like to say I’m an attorney work- ing part-time and a mom working Hospital in the early 1990s. That was full-time. I run my own legal practice, extra special for me because after the show I would follow my dad around focusing mostly on estate planning to meet his patients who were in the and small business litigation. hospital. Adam successfully launched his hedge fund, Beartown Capital ON NEXTGEN DETROIT, Management, in 2015, due in large part to the support of others in this LEADERSHIP AND ROLE MODELS Q: What inspires you to give so community. much of your time to Federation and We have two kids, Talia, 4, and NEXTGen Detroit? Judah, 2. They both go to Hillel Day IB: Pure and simple, my generation School’s Early Childhood Center, is the future. I feel so blessed to have where our experience as a family has been given everything I could have been nothing short of ideal. needed in my life — most importantly, These days, when I’m not work- my positive outlook on being Jewish. I ing or volunteering, I’m probably at a want to ensure that my children grow birthday party or the zoo — unless it’s date night with Adam or a girls’ night. up in a Jewish community that will But I try to have new and different provide them with the same feeling experiences. and one that will provide a safety net We also spend a lot of time with for whomever may need it. Being a our family. I’m so happy to be back mom, I have the added motivation home near my parents, grandparents of wanting to show my children the and my older brother Josh, who also importance of caring for people out- side of ourselves, in many cases people is very involved in the Federation and NEXTGen Detroit and is currently a we have never met and won’t be able to identify, which is the highest form vice president of NEXTGen Detroit’s of tzedakah. campaign. • Q: Who are your role models and A longer version of this story first appeared on mentors? How have they helped you myjewishdetroit.org. reach this level of leadership?