22 August 8 • 2019
jn

L

ori and Samuel Gray of Bloomfield 
Hills, and Stacy and Jeffrey 
Brodsky of West Bloomfield are 
excited to announce the upcoming 
marriage of their children Natalie Gray 
and Brian Brodsky.
Natalie graduated from Michigan State 
University with a B.A. in advertising 
and public relations and works as 
a marketing manager at the Forbes 
Company. 
Brian graduated from the University 
of Michigan with a B.B.A. in accounting 
and then went on to receive his J.D./
M.B.A. from the University of Michigan. He works as the chief financial 
officer for Bell Mountain Management.
A September wedding is planned in Detroit. The couple reside in 
Bloomfield Hills.

Brodsky-Gray

J

anice and Barry Kelman were 
married Aug. 19, 1969, at Avas 
Achim in Detroit. They celebrated 
their 50th anniversary with their 
children, David and Dana Kelman, 
and Amy and Kevin Weiss; and 
grandchildren, Emily and Olive Kelman, 
and Eliana, Sammy and Gwen Weiss, 
on a Caribbean cruise. To continue the 
celebration, they will open the Ark at 
Temple Israel on Aug. 16, 2019, and 
then take a trip to Toronto where they 
honeymooned. 

Kelman 50th

M

aya Belen of 
Birmingham will 
become a bat mitzvah 
in April next year, but her 
preparations started back in 
March when she decided she 
wanted to send a sick child to 
Disney World as her mitzvah 
project.
Initially, Maya wanted to visit 
the pediatric cancer patients at 
Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak but 
was told she was too young. So, she 
decided to take it one step further 
and raise the money to send one of 
these children on the trip to Disney 
World.
The idea came to the Derby 
Middle School student upon 
talking to the founder and CEO of 
Born Yoga in Birmingham, Ashley 
Goldberg. When she was a teenager, 
Goldberg was diagnosed with cancer 
and was selected to participate in 
the Make-A-Wish Foundation’
s 
programs. Goldberg told Maya 
about the organization, and Maya 
was inspired to make this her new 
project.
At first, Maya’
s friend participated 
in the project as well, but Maya 
since has taken over the fundraising 
efforts. In the five months since its 

conception, Maya’
s project has raised 
nearly $5,000 of the $8,000 necessary 
to fund a trip to Disney World for 
a sick child through Make-A-Wish. 
She has raised the money through 
a variety of baking and snack sales 
at her middle school and will be 
having another fundraiser during the 
Woodward Dream Cruise in August.
Maya is hoping to reach her $8,000 
goal by her bat mitzvah and is 
looking forward to seeing the result 
of her hard work.
“I just want to meet the kid and 
get to see the enjoyment of them 
getting to go to Disney World,” she 
said.
Maya’
s mom, Andrea, has been 
supporting Maya throughout the 
process and feels it will be very 
rewarding for Maya to see a child get 
to have a great experience because of 
her efforts. 
If you would like to help Maya 
reach her goal, donate at https://
tinyurl.com/y3g7cph9. ■

JESSIE COHEN JN INTERN

Special 
Project

Maya 

Belen

Calling All Bubbies & Zaydies!

The JN wants photos of your grandchildren! 
If you’
re a proud bubbie or zaydie, send 
us a photo of your darling grandchild for 
a photo spread we’
re doing in honor of 
Grandparents Day in the Sept. 5 issue.
Send the photo (high-resolution, 
please. Smartphone photos are fine sent 
at original size), along with your name 
and city, the name, age and city of your 
grandchild, and a sentence or two on 
something cute the child has done or 
said. Send to jheadapohl@renmedia.
us by Aug. 29 to be included.

ies!

dren!
d
for 

t 

r

moments

HOW TO SUBMIT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Mazel Tov! announcements are welcomed for members of the Jewish 
community. Anniversaries, engagements and weddings with a photo 
(preferably color) can appear at a cost of $18 each. Births are $10. There is 
no charge for bar/bat mitzvahs or for special birthdays starting at the 90th.
For information, contact Editorial Assistant Sy Manello at smanello@
renmedia.us or (248) 351-5147 for information or for a mailed or emailed 
copy of guidelines.

