jews in the d

Tennis For A Cause

Team TAV

Event to aid George Orley Mental Wellness Initiative.

Orthodox team set to
run event as fundraiser.

KERI GUTEN COHEN STORY DEVELOPMENT EDITOR

ROCHEL BURSTYN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

F

ive years ago, the Orley family of
Bloomfield Hills — Diane and
Randy, Amanda and Sam —
lost their son and brother to
suicide.
A University of Michigan
student and a true people
person, George struggled
with bipolar disorder. To
honor George, his family
decided to help others wrestling
with mental health issues.
They established the George A.
Orley Philanthropic Fund at the Jewish
Federation, which aids various proj-
ects, including suicide prevention, the
Empowerment Plan and
Jewish Family Service’s
mental health intitiative.
With good friend
Linda Aikens of West
Bloomfield, they
started the George
George Orley
Orley Mental Wellness
Initiative (GOMWI), a major support-
er of the Wolverine Support Network
(WSN), a student peer-to-peer mental
health support group that has seen
much growth and success since 2015.
On Saturday, Oct. 27, GOMWI will
sponsor a 10-Ball fundraiser at 7 p.m.
at Franklin Athletic Club in Southfield.
Some of Michigan’s best tennis players
will compete. A strolling dinner will be
provided by Bacco and Bigalora.
10-Ball was invented by local ten-
nis pro Robert Chonoles, who knew
George, a passionate tennis player,
through the tennis community.
“I struggled with depression and
anxiety myself and was diagnosed with
severe depression, so I understand
what it’s like to have a mental illness,”
Chonoles says. “I’m not struggling
now, but I felt comfortable coming to
Diane with this idea for a fundraiser.”
At the event, there will be 16 quar-
ters, then semi-finals and finals —
with one winner triumphing. There
will be several rounds of betting on the
winner; proceeds go to the GOMWI.
Top prize is a $1,000 gift card from
Somerset; second place gets $750 from

40

October 18 • 2018

jn

RHP Properties; third prize is Wilson
racquets and more ($500 value). A
silent auction also is planned.
Diane Orley looks back at
the five-year anniversary
of George’s death: “I can’t
believe it’s been that long.
I feel a little more at peace
but will forever feel the same
about the loss. There have been
many silver linings. We’ve helped
people directly and indirectly and
that’s been cathartic for us.
“Our daughter never considered
becoming a doctor until her brother
died. She realized through medicine,
she can have maximum impact on
taking care of people and being an
advocate for those who cannot stand
up for themselves. She’s using her voice
to lobby politicians for policy reform
and her training to demystify mental
illness. Our son Sam, has worked to
grow WSN around the country.”
Sam, now 22, lives in San Francisco
and is a sustainability-focused
investment banker. He is a founding
member of WSN, was a weekly group
leader and then executive director his
senior year at U-M.
“As a high school senior, I learned
(somewhat from a distance) about
mental illness through George’s experi-
ence,” Sam says. “I very much live with
shock and pain that he is no longer
with us, and I am determined to both
carry forward his legacy and shift the
culture of mental health.”
In July, he co-founded The Support
Network, which was created as an
umbrella nonprofit to facilitate the
implementation and development
of peer support initiatives across the
nation. Now, there are pilot programs
at University of Cincinnati, Michigan
State University and Cranbrook
Kingswood High School. Sam serves
on the advisory board. ■

For fundraiser tickets (pay your age), go
to gomentalwellnessinitiative.org/tennis.
For more on the Support Network, visit
TheSupportNetwork.org.

A

new team has hit the
ground running.
Rochel Leah Black of
Southfield became a runner nine
years ago. Some energetic friends
raved about running; they seemed
healthy and happy, so she decid-
ed to try it. She instantly loved it,
finding running to be a straight-
forward, convenient way for a busy
mom to stay in shape.
Last year, Black found herself
chatting with a friend who had
experience raising money online.
The two started brainstorming
about the possibility
of creating a local
running team that
would fundraise for
their efforts, and
that’s when Team TAV
(“Takes A Village…
to raise a child”)
Rochel Leah
was born, with the
Black
proceeds benefiting
local kids with severe
special needs, through programs
like Detroit Chesed Project’s daily
respite program, The Spot.
After hours of researching, plan-
ning, designing and organizing,
an informational meeting was
announced and new runners were
recruited.
Over 25 Team TAV runners — all
from the Orthodox community —
are currently training to participate
in Michigan’s largest full (26.2
miles) or half (13.1 miles) Detroit
Free Press Chemical Bank (DFPCB)
Marathon on Oct. 21.
Fundraising took off with a bang
and Team TAV became an official
Bronze Level Charity Partner.
Team members include three
members of one family: Chaim
Cohen, a personal trainer and
running coach from Oak Park, has
been running for years. His daugh-
ters Basya and Miriam, both of

Chaim Cohen with
daughters Basya and Yehudis

Oak Park, are clearly following in
his footsteps. They’ve long pushed
each other to be better runners,
although this is the first time
they’re teammates.
“I love running and being part of
Team TAV means I’m helping oth-
ers while doing something I love.
What could be better?” Basya said.
Not all team members are
experienced. Gabi Grossbard of
Southfield said he only recalls run-
ning once before in his life. “There
was this one time, I was trying to
catch a bus …”
With two kids with special needs
himself, the cause is dear to his
heart; he was one of the earliest
people to sign up and gladly helped
bring the dream of Team TAV to
reality.
“I don’t enjoy running, but I
believe in the cause and I’m run-
ning because of it. I started training
about three months ago. It feels
more like years!” Nevertheless, he’s
taking it step by step.
Whether new or experienced,
Black points out that everyone’s on
even footing here.
“Running’s an activity where you
have to put the work in. Even if
someone’s naturally athletic and fit,
they still need to put in the training
time to be a runner,” Black said. ■

Volunteers are needed at the marathon. For
volunteer, sponsorship or donation details,
contact Rochel Leah Black at (248) 496-
0583.