20 | AUGUST 12 • 2021 

J

VS Human Services 
and Kadima, both 
nonprofits who serve 
vulnerable communities in 
Metro Detroit, announced 
they will move forward 
with a merger expected to 
be operational in 2022. The 
boards of directors of JVS 
Human Services and Kadima 
voted Aug. 2 to unite the 
organizations. JVS is a part-
ner agency of the Jewish 
Federation of Metropolitan 
Detroit, the central fund-
raising and planning organi-
zation of the Detroit Jewish 
community.
JVS provides social services 
and vocational programs, 

including services for people 
with developmental disabili-
ties. Kadima provides behav-
ioral health services, includ-
ing supportive housing, for 
adults with mental health 
challenges. The decision was 
made to create a new single 
organization, yet unnamed, 
to provide a broader continu-
um of care, more robust and 
higher quality programs, and 
overall better outcomes for 
individuals with disabilities. 
Unemployment can be as 
high as 80% for individuals 
with severe and persistent 
mental illness. Between JVS 
Human Services and Kadima, 
approximately 1,000 people 

with a diagnosed mental ill-
ness will be served in areas 
of vocational, residential and 
clinical services at the time of 
the merger.
Paul J. Blatt, 
current JVS pres-
ident and chief 
executive officer, 
will continue in 
that role to lead 
the new organi-
zation. Aubrey Macfarlane, 
JVS executive vice president 
and chief operating offi-
cer, will also remain in her 
role after the merger. Eric 
Adelman, Kadima executive 
director, will be the execu-
tive vice president and chief 

advancement 
officer of the 
new organiza-
tion. 
“From the 
outset, we were 
eager to see if a 
combined orga-
nization would 
be better posi-
tioned to posi-
tively impact the 
lives of people in 
our community,” 
said Blatt. 
“Through an 
in-depth due diligence pro-
cess, we were able to demon-
strate that the new organi-
zation will be able to offer a 
more expansive continuum 
of services, yielding stronger 
outcomes for the people we 
serve. This is an exciting time 
for JVS, Kadima and our 
communities.”
Through shared operation-
al and administrative savings, 
the new organization will 
reinvest funds into programs 

OUR COMMUNITY

Expected to be operational in early 
2022, new name being explored.

JVS Human Services and 
Kadima Announce Merger

Aubrey 
Macfarlane

Paul Blatt

Eric 
Adelman

JN STAFF

T

he Jewish Federation 
of Metropolitan 
Detroit’s annual 
Ride for the Living event is 
returning full-bore this year 
on Sunday, Aug. 22, from 10 
a.m. to 2:30 p.m., after a year 
of socially distanced riding 
due to the pandemic. 
Federation’s Ride for the 
Living event is a satellite ride 
done in conjunction with the 
ride that happens every year 
in Krakow, Poland. 
The JCC Krakow’s Annual 
Ride for the Living is a 
34.5-mile bike ride from 
the Auschwitz death camp 

to the JCC in Krakow that 
commemorates Jewish 
history, including the 
Holocaust and the victims 
that died, and celebrates the 
miraculous rebirth of Jewish 
life in Poland today. 
Federation’s satellite ride 
— which is approximately 30 
miles — is Jewish Detroit’s 
own way to commemorate 
and celebrate the living. 
All the proceeds from the 
Metro Detroit ride go to the 
JCC Krakow and the Jewish 
community there.
The ride is for bikers of all 
skill levels, including Slow 
Rollers (avg. 8-10 mph), 

Cruisers (avg. 11-15 mph) 
and Chasers (avg. 16-18 
mph).
This year, Federation is 
making it a little more of a 
social event. Instead of just 
doing the ride, everyone’s 
meeting afterward at 
Ferndale Project on Livernois 

for food and drinks.
The loop-around ride will 
see riders meet up and start 
at Ferndale High School, ride 
all the way to the Detroit 
Riverfront and finish back 
at Ferndale Project, where 
the socializing, food and 
drinks will commence. The 

Metro Detroit bike ride mirrors 
Auschwitz-to-Krakow event.
Ride for the Living

Bikers on a past Ride for the Living event in Detroit

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

