July 4 • 2019 25
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JFS CEO Perry Ohren, JFS Board Chair Julie
Teicher, event co-chair Randy Orley
On May 29, nearly 500 community members attended Jewish Family Service’
s
annual Spotlight event at Congregation Shaarey Zedek. The focus of this
year’
s event was to shine a spotlight on mental health in our community. The
event was chaired by Diane and Randy Orley, who have become community
leaders in the area of mental health, and featured speaker Liza Long, author
of The Price of Silence: A Mother’
s Perspective on Mental Illness. Long capti-
vated the audience with her compelling and sometimes heartbreaking story
of raising a child with bipolar disorder and her years-long search to find him
proper treatment. Jewish Family Service raised more than $330,000, which
will go toward supporting all services provided by JFS and specifically with
mental health services such as counseling and suicide prevention trainings. ■
Jim and Sandy Danto with Amy Newman of JFS
Geoff Orley, AnaPaola Orley, Sally Orley and Orly Bernat
Eva Kaplan, Amanda Orley, Joy Nachman and Sally Orley
Co-chairs Randy and Diane Orley
Doreen Hermelin and Eleanor
Jackier
Rabbi Josh Bennett, immediate past JFS chair
Suzan Curhan, speaker Liza Long
Speaker Liza Long
jews d
in
the | faces&places
Allan and Joy Nachman, Joan and Steve Freedman, Renee and Craig Erlich
Lowell and Jennifer Friedman, and Regina
and Darren Colton
Melissa Liverman and Joshua Gitlin
Andrew and Erika Bocknek
Josh and Emily Hunegs, and Sue Kaufman
Nearly 500 supporters of Hillel Day School attended the Annual Gala
June 2 at the Farmington Hills school. Honorees included Joy and Allan
Nachman, and Reneé and Craig Erlich for their dedication to Hillel and
the Jewish community. Steve Freedman, outgoing and longest-serving
head of school, was named an honorary alumnus for his 16 years of
service.
The Erlichs, whose three children are Hillel alumni, said, “
As our
children learned, we learned. Hillel provided us a sense that we were part
of a community.”
Adin Victor, a graduating eighth-grader, said, “Hillel is a second home.
Like home, it teaches us the essentials: Derech eretz, Torah, problem-
solving, empathy.”
Allan Nachman, whose children attended Hillel and whose
grandchildren are current students, said, “The Jews have survived
persecution for 5,000 years. Schools like Hillel ensure Judaism continues
in each generation.” ■
PHOTOS COURTESY OF HILLEL DAY SCHOOL
PHOTOS BY JEFF AISEN AND KELLY HAINES