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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