10 August 1 • 2019
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All Maccabi athletes are required to
serve two hours of community service
during the games. Projects have been
arranged beginning Monday afternoon
through Wednesday evening.
This year’
s theme is ONE COMMUNITY,
according to co-chair Miriam Bergman,
who planned the projects along with
co-chair Karen Rubenfire.
She says a team of rabbis have com-
posed dvar Torahs and will be at each
service project to infuse the activities
with Jewish values and meaning.
Projects range from helping out
campers at the JCC day camp to visit-
ing one-on-one with seniors at Jewish
Senior Life and the Brown Center for
Memory Care. Athletes and artists can
also choose to help assemble dolls for
sick children with Hadassah or help
NCJW prepare for its back-to-school
bookstore.
Tuesday afternoon, about 750 peo-
ple will be traveling to Temple Israel in
West Bloomfield to hear Rabbi Yarden
Blumstein of Friendship Circle and
UMatter talk about suicide prevention
and awareness, and former Michigan
State University basketball player
Anthony Ianni, who will talk about how
he overcame the challenges of autism
and bullying to earn a spot on the
Spartans. Participants will then engage
in an anti-bullying project that will be
posted on Maccabi Games’
social media.
On Wednesday morning, Maccabi
kids will partner with the Kids Coalition
Against Hunger to package 20,000
meals for those in need.
“Our theme is ONE COMMUNITY,
because we are one community — from
Detroit to Ann Arbor and everywhere
in between,” Bergman says. “We’
re
working with our community partners to
benefit as many underserved people as
possible.” ■
JACKIE HEADAPOHL ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Maccabi By the Numbers
Metro Detroit gets ready for Maccabi Games Aug. 4-9.
T
he sixth time is the charm.
Detroit is the first city to host
the Maccabi Games and Artsfest
for the sixth time. That kind of experi-
ence matters when it comes to bringing
everything together for a successful
event, says director Jeremy Fishman.
The work started two years ago with
a steering committee of 50 people,
the majority who worked on previous
Maccabi games. During the last few
weeks before the games start, “every-
thing comes together in a cohesive
whole,
” says Fishman, who estimates
about 100,000 manhours
have been
spent on making sure this year’
s games
are the best ever.
This year’
s athletes arrive on Sunday
and will be bused to the JCC where they
will meet their host families. Delegates,
athletes, volunteers — and the general
public — are asked to bring nonper-
ishable items to fill up a Gleaner’
s Food
truck for distribution to the needy. Later
that night, opening ceremonies for ath-
letes and host families take place at Little
Caesers Arena in Detroit. From then on,
it’
s sporting events, volunteering, friend-
ship-making and fun.
About 10 days out, Fishman says
they’
re making sure the venues are ready
to go, supplies are on hand and everyone
is set up for success. Fishman admits to
feeling waves of anxiety and excitement.
“I can’
t wait to wake up and have every-
one here,
” he said. “I’
m excited to see all
the hard work come together.
”
Fishman adds they can always use
more volunteers to help at evening par-
ties, with food service and at the events
keeping score. To volunteer, visit
maccabidetroit2019.com.
Look for updates on the events and
scores throughout the week at
thejewishnews.com. ■
jews d
in
the
JCC
CARES
187: Local athletes
21: Local artists
1,178: Visiting athletes
and artists
8,000: Spectators
1,000: Volunteers
250: Referees and
judges
45: In-bound fl
ights of
athletes
40: Continuously running
buses over 5 days
8: Venues
4,621 miles:
Furthest distance traveled
11 Sports tournaments
7 Artsfest disciplines
300 lbs. of hummus
80,000 beverages
70,000 snacks
20,000 forks/knives/
spoons
COURTESEY OF JCC
JCCMACCABIGAMES.ORG
JCC Cares volunteers packed school supply
kits last year.
PEOPLETRAVELEVENTSFOOD