 MAY 14 • 2020 | 19

“The blood is then run 
through a machine that extracts 
the plasma,
” McGraw said. 
“Then all blood components, 
minus the plasma, are returned 
to the donor along with a saline 
solution that replaces the plas-
ma that was removed.
” Each 
session supplies enough plasma 
to benefit three patients and 
donations may be made every 
seven days.
Hatzalah’
s volunteer-based 
units are present in Orthodox 
communities throughout 
the country, providing rapid 
response to medical emergen-
cies, life support and medical 

attention, augmenting exist-
ing emergency medical ser-
vices with community-based 
state-certified EMT volunteer 
responders.
“The community EMS 
work that Hatzalah does saves 
lives daily,
” said Gary Torgow, 
chairman of TCF Financial 
Corporation, in a press release. 
“This is yet another demon-
stration of how volunteers can 
impact communities in the 
most meaningful of ways.
”

VOLUNTEER CORP
Volunteer and drive organizer 
Nachy Soloff of Southfield said, 
“So many people within the 
Orthodox community really 
care about helping in so many 

ways. Locally, much of it is 
quieter, like Detroit Chesed 
Project — whose volunteers 
provide programs like respite 
for families with children with 
special needs and school lunch-
es for families in crisis — and 
Detroit Chaverim — who offer 
non-emergency volunteer help, 
like fixing flat tires — who 
provided traffic control for the 
blood drive. But it is something 
we do all the time. This one 
just happens to be a loud, vocal 
one.
” 
The blood testing was held 
as part of the Yitzchok Lebovits 
COVID Plasma Initiative 

Foundation, a grassroots effort 
formed in New York early April 
with a mission of making con-
valescent COVID-19 plasma 
accessible to as many patients 
as possible by recruiting 
donors. With the support of the 
Orthodox Union and Agudath 
Israel of America, they also 
assist blood banks with donor 
screening and scheduling and 
facilitate partnerships between 
hospitals and blood banks.
“Many of us know someone 
who has been affected by the 
virus and we feel so powerless,
” 
Soloff said. “People who came 
out to the drive did so because 
of a sense of knowing that this 
could be their way to have the 
potential to help.
” 

“This is yet another
demonstration of how volunteers 
can impact communities in
the most meaningful of ways.”

— GARY TORGOW

or.

A donor is prepared for a blood draw.

Is That a Jaguar on 
Your Porch? 

FJA’
s head of school surprises graduates.

I

n an effort to maintain the 
sense of the community 
during virtual learning, 
Rabbi Azaryah Cohen, 
Frankel Jewish Academy head 
of school, is supporting grad-
uating seniors by dropping off 
lawn signs dressed up as the 
school’
s mascot. 
With the help of Seth 
Korelitz, FJA director of 
Jewish Studies, and Randall 
Gawel, FJA
’
s principal, Cohen 
suited up as the Jag, FJA
’
s 
jaguar mascot, and began deliv-
ering personalized lawn signs on 
April 30. 
Through FJA
’
s campaign, 
families of the 34 graduating 
seniors had the opportunity to 
order personalized senior signs 
congratulating their 2020 grads. 
Cohen has also been dropping 
off “Proud FJA Family” signs to 
anyone who would like one for 
their front lawns. 
“Originally, people were going 
to pick up the signs because that 
was going to be the most conve-
nient way to do it,
” Cohen said. 
“But one of the things that is so 
difficult for our families and stu-
dents is maintaining the sense of 
community. We pride ourselves 
on the community and the rela-
tionships we share with our stu-
dents, so we thought, wouldn’
t it 
be great to provide our students 
and families with a nice personal 
touch by dropping off their signs 
at their houses?” 
They decided to begin doing 
the senior sign drop-offs on 
Thursday in the middle of the 
school day so seniors, with their 
classmates by their virtual side, 
would be able to experience this 
moment together. 
“We thought, imagine the 

student coming to the door to 
check out what was going on 
and they happen to be in the 
middle of class,
” Cohen said. 
“Not only is it exciting for the 
students, but it is exciting for 
their classmates as well.
” 
Cohen, who is no stranger to 
dressing up as the Jag, volun-
teered to wear the costume to 
most of the drop-offs to deliver 
that extra burst of joy to FJA 
students. 
Adin Kleinfeldt, who resides 
in Huntington Woods, was 
one of the seniors who Cohen 
visited. While he knew that 
something like this was certainly 
coming, he said he was still sur-
prised and appreciated the ded-
ication the administration has 
toward their graduating seniors 
and families. 
“Obviously for seniors, there 
are a lot of things we thought 
we would be able to do to finish 
off our high school careers, but 
unfortunately these are unprec-
edented times,
” Kleinfeldt said. 
“But, it’
s really nice that our 
teachers and administration 
have been going that extra mile 
and trying to do their best with 
the circumstances to make sure 
we have a good ending to our 
senior year.
” 

CORRIE COLF STAFF WRITER

COURTESY OF NANCY KLEINFELDT

FJA Head of School Rabbi 
Azaryah Cohen dropped off signs 
to seniors dressed as the Jag.

