jews
d
&

in
the

faces

places

Hadassah Greater Detroit turned 100 this year and celebrated with
several events, including an Oct. 8 sold-out dinner for 200 in the Rivera
Court at the Detroit Institute of Arts.
In 1917, Sarah Wetsman Davidson started Hadassah’s Detroit chapter
with the guidance of the organization’s founder, Henrietta Szold. Sarah’s
daughter, Dorothy “Dottie” Gerson, 96, of Franklin continues to be an
avid and active supporter. Sarah’s son, the late Bill Davidson, and his
wife, Karen, made a gift on behalf of Guardian Industries of more than
$75 million to help build the 19-story Sarah Wetsman Davidson Hospital
Tower at Hadassah Hospital near Jerusalem .
That strong local history was celebrated by Ellen Hershkin, national
Hadassah president. Gerson also was honored. Past presidents talked
of the strides made during each of their terms in office. Musical enter-
tainment was provided by Ethan Davidson, son of Bill Davidson. •

PHOTOS BY ARNIE COLLENS

Apply Now For JOIN Internships

Applications are now being accepted
for the 2018 Jeanette & Oscar Cook
Jewish Occupational Intern (JOIN)
program. Th e program off ers paid
eight-week summer internships to
full-time Jewish undergraduate or
graduate students who are residents
of metropolitan Detroit.
Interns work at Jewish nonprofi t
agencies in the fi elds of nonprofi t
business administration, marketing
and communications, program plan-
ning, human services, community
outreach and advocacy, grant ad-
ministration and human resources.
Interns also participate in weekly

seminars to learn about the history
and structure of Jewish communal
service agencies. Interns receive a
$2,960 stipend for participating in
the program.
Applications for the JOIN program
are being accepted and personal
interviews will be held through Jan.
31, 2018. Th e dates for the internship
program are June 20 through Aug.
12, 2018.
For an application or more infor-
mation, visit www.jvsdet.org/join
or contact Natalie Kahn at nkahn@
jvsdet.org or (248) 233-4231. •

Register For Mitzvah Day

FRONT ROW: Marla Davidson Karimipour and Cyrus Karimipour, Bloomfield Hills; Ethan Davidson,
Birmingham; Dorothy Gerson, Franklin; Gretchen Davidson, Birmingham; BACK ROW: Ron Ogusky,
Sylvan Lake, Janice Weinman, CEO/executive director, national Hadassah; Karen Davidson,
Bloomfield Hills; Ellen Hershkin, president, national Hadassah; and Carol Ogusky, Sylvan Lake,
president Hadassah Greater Detroit.

TOP: Joan Epstein, Birmingham,
gala co-chair; Carol Ogusky,
president, Hadassah Greater
Detroit; and Sue Curtis, West
Bloomfield, and Annette Meskin,
Sylvan Lake, both gala co-chairs.

CENTER: Current and past
Hadassah presidents: (front row)
Phyllis Newman, Bloomfield
Hills; Carol Ogusky, Sylvan Lake;
Dorothy Gerson, Franklin; Ellen
Hershkin, president national
Hadassah; Nancy Bechek Bluth,
Bloomfield Hills; Joan Epstein,
Birmingham; Beverly Fine, West
Bloomfield; and Sue Luria,
Bloomfield Hills; (back row) Sue
Curtis, West Bloomfield; Annette
Meskin, Sylvan Lake; Diane
Klein, Southfield; Susan Yorke
and Arline Gould, both of West
Bloomfield; Barbara Gutman,
Franklin; Audrey Sobel, West
Bloomfield; and Elaine Sturman,
Bloomfield Hills.

BOTTOM: Overview of the dinner
in the DIA’s Rivera Court.

26

November 30 • 2017

Choose your mitzvah and share your
day on Monday, Dec. 25, when the
Jewish Community Relations Coun-
cil/AJC and the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit join once again
to present Mitzvah Day.
Volunteers of all ages are invited
to sign up for the annual event and
participate in dozens of social ser-
vice projects and volunteer activities
throughout Metro Detroit. Families
with children, teens, young adults
and seniors are invited to donate a
few hours of their time to participate
in a variety of activities, including
visits to older adults in nursing care
facilities, preparing and serving holi-
day meals, and delivering toys and
gifts to families in need and volun-
teering at animal shelters. Interfaith

volunteer sites with opportunities
to volunteer with members of the
Muslim community will once again
be available to Mitzvah Day partici-
pants.
Mitzvah Day event chairs are
Micki Grossman, Milt Neuman and
Illana Stern.
Nearly 1,000 volunteers are antici-
pated to come together and show
the strength of our community by
taking part in Mitzvah Day 2017.
Volunteers are asked to sign up at
Mitzvahdaydetroit2017.eventbrite.
com. Volunteer spots are fi lled on
a fi rst-come, fi rst-served basis. For
more information, call the Mitzvah
Day hotline (248) 642-2656, or email
nlevine@jfmd.org. •

Hot Topics & Hot Latkes

NEXTGen Detroit Pride presents Hot Topics and Hot Latkes
6:30- 8:30 p.m. Dec. 19 at Motor City Gas-Whiskey, 325 E. 4th
St., Royal Oak. Hot topics include issues like Jews and tattoos,
who should be allowed to donate blood and issues facing
transgender service people in the military. Everyone will
have an opportunity to suggest topics and each conversation
will go for 5 to 10 minutes before moving to the next.
NEXTGen Detroit Pride’s goal is to serve as a welcom-
ing gateway into the Jewish community for LGBTQA young
adults looking for connections and a supportive atmosphere
to explore everything that Jewish Detroit has to off er. Allies
are welcome! Th e event is free. Call Judy Lansky, (248) 205-
2535, with questions or look for event details on Facebook. •

jn

SEEN