DECEMBER 5 • 2019 | 21
Last year on the truck, both
experienced eye-opening
moments, including driving
through Jerry’
s childhood
neighborhood, which he found
unrecognizable, and meeting
young children who had not
eaten since the day before.
“Our experience on that
food truck was so profound
and heartbreaking, but we love
doing it. We truly believe in
tikkun olam, making the world
a better place,
” Jerry said.
This sentiment is wide-
ly shared among volun-
teers, including Stern who
brings along her children.
“Volunteering is a mitzvah
in and of itself, but doing the
hands-on work is extremely
rewarding,
” she added.
This year, the Stelmaszaks
will be serving as site cap-
tains at Cass Community
Social Services and Methodist
Children’
s Home Society where
they will play games and help
assemble Christmas presents
with boys in the foster care
system. Patty has already gone
online to purchase toys and
other items for the youth they
will be visiting.
Many of the sites continue to
request volunteers because of
the touching care they receive
from volunteers, such as the
Stelmaszaks and Sterns, each
Christmas Day.
One of these organizations
is the HOPE Inc. Adult Shelter
and Recuperative Center in
Pontiac. “
A goal of my agency
is to reconnect those experi-
encing homelessness with the
community. These individuals
often feel disconnected and
invisible when they are on the
street,
” said Elizabeth Kelly, the
nonprofit’
s executive director.
“The amazing Mitzvah Day
volunteers not only provide
that connection that make
HOPE guests feel valued, but
they do this in a joyful, fun
way. The games, snacks and,
especially, the conversation is
often life-changing for HOPE’
s
guests. Asking someone about
their day may not seem like
much, but for those who don’
t
often experience it, this is
often something that the per-
son recalls later as the tipping
point to make them feel as if
they belong.”
With more than 600 vol-
unteer spaces to fill, spots are
still available. Register by Dec.
20 at mitzvahdaydetroit2019.
eventbrite.com. Stern suggests
that potential volunteers read
thoroughly through each orga-
nization’
s description as each
outlines arrival information,
age restrictions and other
important details.
For more information, con-
tact Sandy Lippitt at slippitt@
jfmd.org.
This story was first published on
myjewishdetroit.org.
Julie Rosenbaum
with Pearl and Simon
Rosenbaum and Randi
Sakwa (JCRC/AJC board
member) at the JARC
Nusbaum house
JCRC/AJC Secretary Phil
Neuman and his daughter,
Elie, at St. Leo’
s Soup Kitchen
Small Acts
of Kindness
Make the
Biggest
Difference
TWENTY-FIVE YEARS
Barbara Guttman fi
rst heard
about Friendship Circle when
her youngest daughter was
in high school. Her daughter
joined several friends to help
at the Friendship Circle After
School Program, ‘buddying
up’ with local children with
special needs.
At a Friendship Circle
event several years ago,
Guttman heard Rabbi Benny,
Director of the Daniel B. So-
bel Friendship House, share
about its mission to sup-
port those struggling with
addiction or life crisis. He
spoke about the work they
did providing Shabbat meals
to individuals in hospitals,
nursing homes or unable to
leave home. She knew this
was something she needed
to get involved with.
Three years later, Guttman
is part of a weekly team of
volunteers who join Benny
and his wife, Bluma, to pre-
pare Shabbat meals. Each
bag is prepared with soup,
bread and something sweet.
Seeing the smile on the
faces of each person she
delivers a meal to is what
keeps Guttman coming back
week after week. Often, the
Friendship House volunteers
are the only visitors a recipi-
ent will see that week.
“The smile we’re able to
put on those faces is a great
reminder that it doesn’t take
a lot of time to make a big
difference in someone’s life!”
says Guttman. “To me it’s a
couple of hours on a Friday.
To them, it’s knowing that
someone cares enough to
know they are Jewish and
make sure they have a home-
cooked meal for Shabbat.”
Creating relationships
with recipients is only part of
the impact that Friendship
House has had on Guttman.
“It’s been such a learning
experience to meet individ-
uals in recovery that I would
not normally meet in my
life,” Guttman says
. “We
work alongside each other.
That is what is amazing
about Friendship House.
There is no us or them. We
all have our own journeys to
get us here. And, we can all
help.”
Guttman is one example
of the many stories of vol-
unteers inside of Friendship
House making a difference in
the lives of the community.
Get involved,
go to
friendshipcircle.org/
foreverfriendship