Jews in the D
16 | FEBRUARY 27 • 2020
spreading fast when the group
began, with some 10 new mem-
bers joining weekly. She offered
to help, and the rest is history.
She said she was amazed to see
what started as a safe place for
local moms to talk about par-
enting evolve into a network for
advice, referrals and friendships.
Having a diverse group of
women in conversation online
means they’
re able to share dif-
ferent ways of celebrating and
participating in Jewish tradition
as well, she said.
“We didn’
t really celebrate
Shabbat growing up, and hear-
ing what all these families do
for Shabbat and their traditions
— I’
m trying to incorporate a
lot of that stuff within our lives,
”
she said.
Even having lived in Metro
Detroit her whole life, Cox said
she wouldn’
t have likely crossed
paths with most of the moms
she messages with in the group.
Being involved has also meant
getting to know about Jewish
events happening around town,
well beyond Temple Israel,
where her family attends. It’
s
been a boom for business as
well. She works as a car seat
technician and a photographer
and, in addition to growing her
client base, she’
s done swaps
with other moms in the group,
taking pictures in exchange for
getting her house organized or
her dog groomed.
“
A lot of people have been
able to grow their businesses
from it,
” she said. “You don’
t
realize how many entrepreneurs
there are in the female Jewish
community in this area.
”
Katey Wagner of Huntington
Woods was looking for some-
one to carpool with to Hillel
Day School in Farmington Hills
when her youngest, now 4, was
attending their program for
2-year-olds. Her carpool needs
changed, but not before she
met a woman in the group who
soon became her best friend.
“Our kids are very close and
so are we,
” she said, adding that
it’
s not so common to make
new friends as an adult. “I abso-
lutely did not think I’
d get a best
friend out of it.
”
Wagner became an admin for
the group in 2017 and said she
enjoys bringing moms-to-be
and people from out of the area
into the community.
“I love the idea of creating
that connection for people,
” she
said, adding that some of the
moms form close connections
online but still wouldn’
t recog-
nize each other if they were in a
room together.
HOUSE SHOPPING
The Facebook group led
Brooke Leiberman of
Farmington Hills to a babysit-
ter who has been with them
for two years now, a book club
and a community with tons of
resources to explore. “I just love
that everybody’
s supporting
each other, even if it’
s not peo-
ple you know,
” she said.
“When it’s not possible
to have that face-to-face
interaction, this is really
a great starting point —
it’s convenient, it’s quick,
and it’s sort of 24/7.”
— STEPHANIE BARR
TOP LEFT: The Wagner
family: Katey and Mitch,
with children Aviva and
Naomi. RIGHT: The Mall
family: Lindsay and Zak,
with children Eli, Lillee
and Emma.
COURTESY KATEY WAGNER
COURTESY KATEY WAGNER
continued on page 18
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