24 | JULY 15 • 2021 

T

he JARC Teen Action 
Council was awarded a 
$4,000 grant from the 
Stephen H. Schulman Millennium 
Fund for Jewish Youth. 
The funding will cover the 
second term of the Teen Action 
Council program from September 
2021 through June 2022 and will 
be used for the program’s educa-
tional component.
“What we’re able to do with 
the grant is formalize the leader-
ship education component,
” said 
Shaindle Braunstein, JARC CEO. 
“Bringing in training around lead-
ership development and working 
with persons with developmental 
disabilities and bringing in speak-
ers around advocacy work — all 

with the goal to grow this into 
something that helps the youth 
take these skills into their future.
” 
Braunstein says what makes 
the grant unique is that it directly 
helps the teens help others. 
“This spreads our message 
and mission, introduces our 
local youth to JARC and creates 
ambassadors in the community 
who can go out and say, ‘this is 
what inclusion means, this is what 
it means to be a person with a 
disability, and this is how I can be 
an ally and advocate,
’” Braunstein 
said. “To have the opportunity to 
provide vibrant programming for 
youth is something we’re really 
excited about.
”
Through JARC’s Teen Action 

Council, local high schoolers 
can learn through service. The 
council allows teens to connect 
with peers, engage with the peo-
ple JARC serves, learn important 
leadership and relationship skills, 
and learn about developmental 
disabilities and the importance of 
inclusion in the community. 
Students active in the council 
agree to a one-year term with 
an option for a second year. 
Members are asked to attend 
seven out of 10 monthly hour-
long meetings, which to date 
have been virtual. Members are 
asked to plan one large group 
project together (this term, group 
made Chanukah Care Packages 
for persons served in JARC’s 

Independent Living Services pro-
gram).
They are also responsible for 
creating a virtual activity for 
JARC persons served, which has 
included tote bag decorating, vir-
tual game night and an outdoor 
scavenger hunt. All Metro Detroit 
youth are encouraged to apply. 
“I always want to tell people 
that with JARC, we have room 
at our table for everyone, and 
we want the entire commu-
nity involved in our mission,
” 
Braunstein said. 
“This is a wonderful opportu-
nity for teens. If you’re someone 
who wants to be involved with 
JARC, we want you here, and 
there’s always a place for you.
” 

W

omen to Work, 
a free four-week 
course offered by JVS 
Human Services that provides 
important skills to women need-
ing immediate employment, is 
returning to in-person program-
ming after being remote during 
the pandemic. 
In addition, a summer net-
working event “WOW: Women, 
Opportunities, Work” will be held 
to offer local female jobseekers 
the opportunity to connect with 
successful businesswomen in 
Metro Detroit. 
Featured business leaders in 
the WOW event are CEO of 
Universal Special Events Inc. 
Tonia Williams; founder and 

owner of skinnytees Linda 
Schlesinger-Wagner; cofounder 
and CEO of Bamboo Detroit 
Amanda Lewan; and founder and 
president of CKC Agency Carolyn 
Krieger. 
An informational meeting for 
the Women to Work course will 
be held July 21 from 9-11 a.m. 
The outdoor WOW networking 
event is on July 22 from 6.30-8.30 
p.m. at JVS Human Services in 
Southfield. Register for Women 
to Work at jvshumanservices.org/
contact and the WOW network-
ing event at jvshumanservices.org/
jvs-career-club-wow-event.
“The pandemic has shown 
us how our work lives can be 
severely impacted by situations 

beyond our control, and we want 
all local women looking for a 
fresh employment start to know 
that free, life-changing help is 
available this summer,
” said Judy 
Richmond, Women to Work 
coordinator.
“This course offers vital skills 
many women need to get back 
into the workforce, and the net-
working event will help women 
make valuable connections and 
gain insight.
” 
The Women to Work course 
is eight sessions and runs from 
July 27 through Aug. 19, with 
classes from 9 a.m.-noon on 
Tuesdays and Thursdays. Topics 
will include in-depth vocational 
assessment, employment-related 
group counseling and emotional 
support, information and referrals 
to support services, help with 
networking, resume writing and 
interviewing and more.
While Women to Work was 
forced to go remote earlier this 
year, it remained a vital resource 
for women seeking employment: 
16 local Metro Detroit women 

completed the course with many 
finding new jobs. One of those 
women was 54-year-old Monique 
Maksym of Lakeville, who learned 
negotiating skills, verbiage for dis-
cussing salary offers and, impor-
tantly, ways to ensure her resume 
was taken seriously by hiring pro-
fessionals by including keywords 
found in the job application. 
“I enjoyed being with other 
women in the course, hearing 
everyone’s input, which was all 
diverse and valuable, and I was 
able to job seek with a whole 
new arsenal of tools,
” she said. 
Maksym, an executive TV pro-
ducer, was eventually able to rene-
gotiate a position with a former 
employer and is now working as a 
contractor.
For more information, contact 
Judy Richmond at (248) 233-4232 
or email her at jrichmond 
@jvshumanservices.org. For more 
information on the WOW net-
working event, contact Gerard 
Baltrusaitis at (248) 658-8862 or 
email him at gbaltrusaitis 
@jvshumanservices.org. 

OUR COMMUNITY
Opportunities for 
‘Women to Work’

JVS course helps women gain job skills.

JN STAFF

JARC Teen Council
Wins $4,000 Grant

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER
JARC Teen 
Action Council

