Jews in the D

“Major Tenant” from page 33

34 | OCTOBER 24 • 2019 

impressed with the missions of DIS 
and Life Remodeled. Since then, the 
two have envisioned a JVS center 
at the site to collaborate on ways to 
bring job training and other opportu-
nities to Detroit’
s west side. 
Philanthropic contributions have 
helped the DIS. From the Jewish 
community, they include a $250,000 
grant from the Vera and Joseph 
Dresner Foundation, donated con-
struction materials from Edw. C. Levy 
Company (Levy attended Durfee), 
and Taubman Company, which sent 
more than 500 volunteers to the DIS 
and gave $30,000. 
And the Detroit-based Goodman 
Acker law firm donated $18,000 and 
mobilized staff members last summer 
to clean up property’
s exterior as well 
as paint some hallways. 
Partner Jordan Acker’
s grandfather 
and great-uncle grew up in the neigh-
borhood and have come to Durfee to 
tell current students from the neigh-
borhood what their school days were 
like there and at Central High School. 
“Giving back to a neighborhood 
that gave so much to my family has 
been a personal accomplishment and 
connection,
” Acker said. 
With the addition of JVS on hand, 
Lambert said it will now be more 
accessible than ever to help those in 
Detroit’
s once-underserved neighbor-
hoods get back to school and work. 
“[Durfee] has been the most 
exciting, difficult and rewarding 
endeavor I’
ve ever been a part of, 
and it did take time to gain trust 
from the surrounding community,” 
Lambert said. “I am convinced we 
are creating a scalable and sustain-
able model that will benefit not only 
Detroit’
s west side neighborhoods 
but also across Detroit and maybe 
across the country. 
“We are like a community quar-
terback bringing together different 
service organizations under one 
roof that makes each one’
s individu-
al mission easier to achieve together 
than if they were located in stand-
alone locations.” 

‘
Never Stop’

Durfee and Detroit children benefi
 t 
from a bar mitzvah boy’
s social action.

What better place to hit home the Jewish 
value of giving back than hosting one’
s bar 
mitzvah celebration at Durfee? When Jacob 
Bennett thought about how to celebrate 
becoming a Jewish adult, he followed the 
social action path forged by his parents 
Meg and Rabbi Joshua Bennett, and his 
older siblings Zachary and Maddie, and 
worked for months not only on his Torah 
reading but also on an event that taught 
guests about volunteering. 
Instead of dancing the night away, on 
Aug. 23, the Bennetts invited guests to vol-
unteer as coaches, assistants and players 
for a mini touch football tournament for 
about 80 Detroit elementary school stu-
dents who participate in athletics through 
Metro Detroit Youth Clubs. By the end of 
the celebration, Rabbi Bennett of Temple 
Israel of West Bloomfield said guests left 
with the sense of wanting to do more 
and what is possible through having a big 
vision of community building and volun-
teering. 
“Just like his older brother and sister, 
Jacob chose a place to celebrate that 
taught his guests how to keep giving 
back to the community,” his father said. “I 
believe that giving back is one of the high-
est Jewish values one can practice.”
To make sure the Detroit kids could 
most comfortably use the center’
s athletic 
facilities for the coming school year, Jacob 
raised money and worked with Dick’
s 
Sporting Goods to create a pop-up shoe 
store stocked with athletic shoes in a vari-
ety of sizes, styles and brands. At the party, 
neighborhood kids were fitted with shoes, 
which were delivered to the center for pick 
up the next week. 

“I chose to have my bar mitzvah cele-
bration at Durfee so my friends could see 
what the Detroit community looks like and 
needs,” Jacob said. 
Guests also donated 1,000 books to the 
center’
s library. T 
he celebration wrapped 
up by adorning the center with a mural 
encompassing Jacob’
s theme for becoming 
a bar mitzvah — Never Stop — designed 
by artist Daniel Cascardo of Huntington 
Woods. 
“Everything about his bar mitzvah, from 
his invitations to what message he gave in 
his dvar Torah was about never stopping,” 
his father said. “One should never stop 
dreaming, trying, creating or learning. That 
is what Durfee is all about. What is going 
on here is just remarkable.” 

STACY GITTLEMAN 
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

PHOTOS BY RON LIEBERMAN PHOTOGRAPHY

TOP: The finished 
mural produced 
during Jacob’
s bar 
mitzvah party.
ABOVE: Jacob 
checks on the pop-
up shoe store, which 
provided athletic 
shoes for kids in the 
Durfee neighbor-
hood. The Bennetts: 
Zachary, Josh, Jacob, 
Meg and Maddie.

