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continued from page 18
with a legion of volunteers ready to
pitch in with their support.
“‘Wow,’ was Ron’s reply: ‘I know
Rabbi Bennett. I’ve just walked out
of a meeting where I suggested that
the Jewish community might be
interested in helping us … and just
like that, here you are. That’s what
we call Divine Providence.’
“And that’s what we call beshert!”
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KAREN’S DREAM
“Where there’s a dream, you
can make it happen,” Karen said.
Through her years of practice as a
social worker, ther-
apist, educator and
advocate on behalf
of clients of all ages,
Karen has devel-
oped exceptional
networking skills
and connections
throughout Metro
Karen Rubenfire
Detroit. As found-
ing secretary on the
PHC Board, she has
served as an invaluable volunteer.
Upon the board’s request in 2016,
Karen agreed to leave her social
work career to become PHC’s direc-
tor of Programming and Community
Outreach.
According to Karen, Project
Healthy Community started with
a mobile food pantry held once a
month in partnership with Temple
Israel, Hartford Memorial Baptist
Church and Gleaners. As the food
started coming in, the neighborhood
followed, and volunteers grew in
numbers. In four and a half years,
the program has tripled in size, dis-
tributing more than 20,000 pounds
of food to serve about 400 families.
“We’re here to feed people, but our
goal is also to educate them about
their health and nutrition,” Melvyn
said. “We feel that the educational
component to the food pantry pro-
gram is essential. And that’s also the
reason we started the afterschool
program at Schulze.”
At Schulze Elementary School,
Karen is a driving force and a wel-
come presence among the students
in the afterschool program. “We
started with 12 children, and here
we are now with 30 kids in our own
allocated classroom in the school,”
said Karen, noting that the space
was recently painted and beauti-
fully appointed by volunteers dur-
ing JCRC/AJC’s Spring Mitzvah Day
in partnership with the Michigan
Muslim Community Council
(MMCC).
With a waiting list for the Schulze
Afterschool Program, a growing
community and Detroit Public
Schools Community District’s
(DPSCD) interest in PHC’s impact,
there are plans to expand the FUN
Pantry program to Pasteur, Palmer
Park Academy and Durfee elemen-
tary schools, as well as a Saturday
enrichment program.
IT TAKES A VILLAGE
Karen emphasized that Project
Healthy Community is about
community-building and not just
another charitable cause. “An
important part of our mission is to
improve the lives of families by pro-
moting volunteerism,” she said. “Our
programs represent an incredible
blend of people who simply want
to give back, and that’s what I find
so inspiring and rewarding about
everything we do.
“Our volunteer opportunities
are really hands-on, particularly
with the mobile pantry. When I see
the trucks roll in, and volunteers
unloading and organizing the food,
and families coming through with
their smiles, saying thank you and so
grateful for what you do … it doesn’t
get any better than that.
“This is a labor of love that started
with our family and my mom was
a big part of it. She was our biggest
cheerleader and greatest volunteer;
she loved working on Pantry Days.
Diane Rubenfire was our visionary
to start Project Healthy Community,
and though she’s been gone four
years, she continues to be our moti-
vation to make it empowering. It’s
with her that we carry on.”
MELVYN’S DREAM
Just how far can Project Healthy
Community’s collaborative initia-
tives go? At 78,
Melvyn has yet
to slow his pace
as president of
Project Healthy
Community and
readily shares his
vision to open a
wellness clinic.
Melvyn Rubenfire
“We’re in early talks
right now with Life
Remodeled, a non-
profit investing in central Detroit
in the neighborhood surrounding
Central High School. Their current
project is to repurpose the historic
Durfee school building into a com-
munity innovation center focused
on business, employment, education
and community. Seems like Project
Health Community may be a natural
fit. We shall see.” •
Vivian Henoch is editor of MyJewishDetroit.org,
where this story first appeared.