 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

