jews in the d
Meira Hurvitz shows
her love for The Spot.
“Th e families feel such relief that their
child/sibling is being taken care of and
surrounded by loving volunteers.”
— SHOSHANA LOB
continued from page 12
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16
December 20 • 2018
jn
financial, emotional or medical diffi-
culties, it affects the whole household.
Grownups have an easier time dealing
with falling on hard times. But kids get
to school and all they see is what their
classmates have and they don’t; for
example, inadequate school supplies, a
healthy lunch or torn clothes,” Eliyahu
said. “Looking different can be a
breeding ground for potential bullying,
too, which makes their situation that
much worse. We want to minimize the
differences between the kids, minimize
their pain, while giving each child a
chance to grow and succeed during
these most important and impres-
sionable years.”
Beyond seasonal items, My Special
Project does a bit of everything.
They’ve paid for counseling services,
delivered meals to women in shelters
and helped a new single mom set up
her apartment. “One woman told me
she was using dish soap as shampoo
because she couldn’t afford toiletries.
Needless to say, we bought her toilet-
ries. When there’s a need, we try to fill
it any way we can,” Goldstein said.
LUNCHES WITH LOVE
In May 2018, a teacher from a local
Jewish day school shared with DCP
that she had a student who was bring-
ing a single slice of bread for lunch
every day. It wasn’t even in a plastic
baggie. She was also aware of other
students from underprivileged families
bringing similar sad-looking lunches.
That’s when Lunches with Love was
born. Under the instruction of Ayelet
Weingarden, healthy lunches and
snacks are prepared by volunteers for
elementary-age children of families
experiencing crises; the lunches are
dropped off discreetly in the evening.
“It’s so important that kids have a
proper lunch,” Rubin said. “If the kid’s
stomach is full, his mind can concen-
trate in the classroom. We’re there for
the success of every child.”
The teacher said her student, that
first recipient of Lunches with Love,
walked around the classroom clutching
his “normal” lunch bag all day.
Goldstein finds her work for DCP
meaningful and humbling. “When
we helped set up that apartment for a
new single mom, she had tears in her
eyes. When we gave a bar mitzvah boy
a new suit so he didn’t have to wear
his neighbor’s hand-me-downs, it was
so gratifying. And when a mom, who
always puts her child’s needs before
her own, said with joy and excitement,
‘You mean I can have new shoes, too?!’
— that was priceless,” she said.
DCP has surpassed its own expecta-
tions when the five men sat down five
years ago with a vague goal of helping
people. Still, there’s always talk about
doing more.
“I would love for there to be no suf-
fering, that no one should ever need
us,” Eliyahu said. “But so long as there’s
a need, our vision is to continue to
help people in our community.” ■
For details, check out www.detroitchesed.org.