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Jewish Family Service celebrated its 90th anniversary May 30 at Congregation
Shaarey Zedek with featured speaker Jeannette Walls, best-selling author of The
Glass Castle, and more than 700 community members in attendance. Andi and
Larry Wolfe served as event chairs.
Walls was selected by JFS as the Reva Stocker Lecture Series speaker (the
late community advocate endowed the agency to provide educational programs
on issues impacting families), and she was introduced, fittingly, by one of Reva
Stocker’s grandchildren, Philip Taubman Kalisman.
Walls shared her story of growing up in extreme poverty. Despite these hard-
ships, she went on to become a successful author and journalist. And it is this
message of not letting your past define you that she conveyed to an enthralled
audience.
It’s no surprise the author’s story of triumph over life’s challenges resonated
with Jewish Family Service. All the issues she and her family faced — food inse-
curity, finding affordable housing, financial struggles, addiction, mental illness —
are the very challenges Jewish Family Service addresses every day. And thanks
to the generosity of the community — the event grossed more than $300,000
— JFS can continue to serve the needs of the most vulnerable in the community
with dignity. •

PHOTOS BY JERRY ZOLYNSKY

The sisterhood of Adat Shalom Synagogue welcomed guests from Kadima,
JARC and JVS for the annual Spring Outreach Luncheon. Joining them were
a group of Hillel Day School student ambassadors and other volunteers.
Phyllis Pilcowitz, Lisa Shiffman and Sheila Tyner co-chaired the event, as
they have for the past 11 years. The day was marked by a delicious lunch,
a creative art project and the much-anticipated singing and dancing led by
Hazzan Daniel Gross. Dan Shere accompanied Gross on the guitar and Rabbi
Rachel Shere was on the dance floor joining in.
Lisa Shiffman summed it up when she said, “Each year we walk away say-
ing to ourselves that we’re never not doing this!!!”•

places

Co-chairs Phyllis Pilcowitz of Bloomfield Hills,
and Lisa Shiffman and Sheila Tyner of West
Bloomfield have been sponsoring this event
together for 11 years.

Hillel student Hannah Rashdi, Rabbi Rachel
Shere of Adat Shalom and Hillel student Leah
Phillips with Hazzan Daniel Gross (in back-
ground) following a performance by the girls

Co-chairs Andi and Larry Wolfe

JFS Board of
Directors Chair
Suzan Curhan,
speaker
Jeannette
Walls and JFS
CEO Perry
Ohren

Dan Shere played guitar as one of the guests sang to the crowd; his wife, Rabbi Rachel Shere,
was by his side.

Volunteers Debbi Stern of Beverly Hills, Shirley
Moscow of West Bloomfield, and Laurie Hill
and Sharon Perry, both of Detroit, serve lunch.

Channa Buxbaum of Oak Park

Philip Taubman Kalisman introduces speaker
Jeannette Walls.

Michael Burday of Orchard Lake and Loni
Marcus of West Bloomfield stand in line to
purchase Walls’ book.

Past JFS board member Wendy Eisenshtadt
from Bloomfield Hills and Amy Newman of
Bloomfield Hills.

Hillel Day School students Lindsay Schlussel,
Benji Schmaltz, Tali Rubenstein and Leah
Phillips were being creative at the art table
with the guests.

jn

June 14 • 2018

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