MAY 14 • 2020 | 27
S
ometimes plans change due
to things out of our control.
My name is Shayla Mostyn.
I’
m a 10th grader at Frankel
Jewish Academy and shlicha of
my chapter Ruach BBG of BBYO.
As shlicha, I am in charge of
Jewish programming and com-
munity service for my chapter.
After putting together ideas
for upcoming events in the New
Year 2020, it became harder and
harder to keep or to plan for
these events due to COVID-19.
There was one planned event I
couldn’
t let go of and wanted to
see through.
Back in September 2019, I
saw a flyer for JARC with dates
available. I did not waste any
time. I immediately got in con-
tact with my chapter’
s president
and worked out a date that would
be best for us to plan an event.
I then emailed Jessica Tierney,
JARC’
s community engagement
manager, that Ruach would like
to volunteer for JARC bingo on
April 21, 2020. For seven months
I stayed in contact with Jessica,
making sure that this event
would go off without a hitch.
I collected prizes and kept in
contact with everyone, letting
everyone know this event wasn’
t
going to be cancelled. I invited
Jessica to one of our chapter
meetings to talk about what to
expect and how we could make
this event enjoyable for JARC
residents.
As the date was getting clos-
er and COVID-19 was putting
everyone in quarantine, I asked
Jessica if our bingo event was
cancelled. Luckily, she said it
wasn’
t, but if we wanted it to
continue, we needed to figure
out how to make it work. I got to
talking with my chapter, bounc-
ing ideas off them and soon we
figured out our plan.
On April 21, we had a virtual
JARC Bingo over GoToMeeting,
where Ruach volunteers wrote
down and called out a letter and
number, then showed it to the
camera for the residents to see
and mark down. To our surprise,
we had 14 homes and a ton of
people playing. During that
hour, we played three games, and
nobody wanted it to end!
In this time of isolation where
our only gatherings and events
are done virtually or 6 feet apart,
we can still smile, laugh and
enjoy an evening together.
I’
m glad that all the hard work
Jessica and I did to make sure
this wasn’
t postponed or worse,
cancelled, turned out perfectly.
The winners had their prizes
dropped off at their homes, and
we all closed the event feeling a
sense of pride. Being able to do
community events, like Bingo or
a simple game night with family
and friends, help keeps us con-
nected.
As blogger Many Hale said,
“To make a difference in some-
one’
s life, you don’
t have to be
brilliant, rich, beautiful or perfect.
You just have to care.
”
To plan future events with JARC,
contact Jessicatierney@Jarc.org.
O
ver the past six weeks,
Bloomfield resident
Allison Kaplan has
grown her “Zoom Crew” work-
out sessions from 10 to more
than 659 subscribers. The work-
outs not only provide partici-
pants with an outlet to release
stress and anxiety, but also give
a new sense of community.
Kaplan started teaching fit-
ness classes when she was 22
and has been a fitness instructor
for more than 40 years. She has
taught at the Jewish Community
Center and at different gyms
around Metro Detroit.
“I learned early on that it
wasn’
t just about exercise and
teaching people how to move
their bodies and get strong,”
Kaplan said. “It became more
evident to me as I got older that
I was developing these wonder-
ful relationships with people,
especially women.”
The idea to start these Zoom
workouts came to Kaplan
when COVID-19 began to hit
Michigan. Due to her compro-
mised immune system, Kaplan
was one of the first instructors
sent home from the fitness clubs
she was teaching at.
“I knew I was going to miss
all my friends and the people
I exercised with. I knew I had
to do something,” Kaplan said.
“I didn’
t want to workout by
myself because it is so much
better feeding off each other’
s
energies.”
Kaplan enlisted the help of
her two lifelong friends, Marni
Stone and Nancy Powell, to help
her grow the “Zoom Crew” and
teach some classes. Stone and
Powell have also been fitness
instructors for more than 40
years.
Once she began the workouts,
she decided to send out the
Zoom link to a couple of her
close friends and students that
she knew would want to par-
ticipate. From there, her classes
grew tremendously from just 10
people to over 659 subscribers,
some from different states.
Kaplan’
s “Zoom Crew” simply
spread from word of mouth.
People interested in joining
this workout crew simply send
Kaplan an email (askaplanpt@
gmail.com) to get put on her
subscriber list so they can
receive each day’
s workout
schedules. Participants can
also directly sign up using a
MailChimp form.
Her classes are completely
free and there is also no fee to
join. Kaplan offers anywhere
from 12-15 classes a week, giv-
ing options for participants to
choose from morning, mid-day
or late afternoon classes.
Classes vary from strength,
pilates, cardio, yoga, barre
fusion, dance classes and much
more. Most classes last around
30 minutes, and Kaplan makes
sure that all classes appeal to her
crew members.
Jews in the D
Zoom Crew
Building community through
Zoom workouts.
CORRIE COLF STAFF WRITER
Game Night!
Local BBYO organizes a virtual Bingo
night for JARC residents.
SHAYLA MOSTYN CONTRIBUTING WRITER