 FEBRUARY 13 • 2020 | 33

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for the Germany Close Up 
program for young profes-
sionals in 2018. 
Daniel also volunteers 
with the Ronald McDonald 
House of Metro Detroit, 
New Horizons Rehabilitation 
Services, Wayne State 
University, the Friendship 
Circle and United Way.
In his free time, he 
enjoys attending concerts, 
traveling, studio cycling, 
trying to become a better 
golfer, watching Detroit 
and Michigan State sports, 
spending time with family 
and friends and collecting 
vintage vinyl records. He 
once played trumpet at 
Carnegie Hall and Ground 
Zero in New York City, 
under the direction of the 
late Cantor Stephen Dubov 
in 2003.
 

ELANA FOX
Elana Fox 
is passion-
ate about 
connecting 
people with 
the vital 
resources 
they need to live happy and 
healthy lives. During her past 
five years in Detroit, she has 
worked to support non-tra-
ditional food entrepreneurs 
with Foodlab Detroit; to sup-
port improved transportation 
access and infrastructure 
with Lime Scooters; and cur-
rently to nurture the growth 
of Detroiters and urban 
access to nature as director 
of people operations with 
Bloomscape. 
While all her work is 
infused with her Jewish val-
ues — connection to com-
munity, a desire to give back 
and a belief in justice — she 

also loves connecting directly 
with the Jewish commu-
nity. In the past few years, 
she has supported multiple 
Detroit Jewish community 
organizations, including The 
Well, the Bethel/Downtown 
Synagogue Partnership and 
NEXTGen’
s PresenTense 
Detroit. She also loves spend-
ing time with her Shabbat 
dinner group and thinking 
about how to continually 
grow her Jewish communi-
ty, with a focus around the 
interfaith community, in 
Metro Detroit.
Originally from Cleveland, 
Ohio, and having lived in 
Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya 
and Israel, she has adopted 
Detroit as home. Her favorite 
“sporting event” is the annual 
Scripps National Spelling 
Bee.

JON WRIGHT
Jon Wright, 
32, is 
the Vice 
President of 
Operations 
of Motor 
City 
Accident 
Attorneys. As the Managing 
Attorney of the Michigan 
branch, Jon dedicates his 
practice to securing rightful 
compensation for his cli-
ents injured in automobile 
and workplace accidents. 
Jon graduated from the 
University of Miami School 
of Law, is licensed to prac-
tice law in both Michigan 
and Florida and is an active 
member of the Michigan 
Association for Justice.
Jon started his Jewish 
journey by participating in 
both Temple Shir Shalom 
and BBYO programs. In 

Lessons for 
Life volunteer 
Cookie Koblin 
shares her 
story. 

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS

Get involved, 
go to 
friendshipcircle.org/
foreverfriendship

Friendship 
Circle’s
Lessons 
for Life

Cookie Koblin’s grandson was 
just 3 years old when he was di-
agnosed with autism. She knew 
right away that it would be her 
job to help support her daugh-
ter’s family and fi
 nd resources 
for her grandson. The family 
quickly found support through 
Friendship Circle, giving them 
hope they needed to navigate 
their needs. 
“My family was so embraced 
by the Friendship Circle family 
that when the building opened 
and they started Lessons for 
Life, I knew I had to volunteer,” 
Koblin says. “My grandson is 
23 now, and I will continue to 
be here every week as long as 
I can. Bassie and Levi Shemtov 
are truly showing people what 
kindness, patience and real love 
look like through this work.”
Cookie is a regular face at 
Friendship Circle’s Weinberg 
Village in the Ferber Kaufman 
Lifetown Facility on the Meer 
Family Friendship Center. 
When students arrive for their 
day at the Lessons for Life pro-
gram, Cookie is often the fi
 rst 
person they meet. Most days, 
she’s a “teller” at the facility’s 
Huntington Bank. 
“The kids are so excited to 
see me because they know I’m 
going to give them money!” 
says Koblin. “We teach them 
how to count their money.
Whether they can count or are 

verbal or nonverbal, it’s OK. 
We’re here to make them feel 
like it’s real life and they can ex-
perience it all in this safe place 
to learn.” 
For Cookie, volunteering 
has given her the chance to 
see students learn and grow 
through the years, just like her 
own grandson. 
“Lessons for Life is this beau-
tiful thing that gives the stu-
dents real education and takes 
them as far as they can go,” she 
says. “We’re all volunteers, but 
we get so much more than we 
give. I learn from these children. 
They can fi
 nd laughter and 
provide joy in any situation.”
Through Friendship Circle’s 
Lessons for Life, students with 
special needs and teenage 
volunteers and classmates 
are learning not only how to 
navigate the real world, but 
also how to work with each 
other. Koblin says they are also 
learning how to recognize and 
encourage someone who is 
differently abled. 
“Lessons for Life is teaching 
compassion, patience and that 
everyone is the same even 
if they are different,” Koblin. 
“Volunteering here has taught 
me what real love and kindness 
mean, not only for my own 
family, but also for everyone I 
meet.” 

