18 | AUGUST 26 • 2021 

OUR COMMUNITY

T

he Detroit Jewish News 
2021 Volunteer of the 
Year awards are here! 
The awards highlight exception-
al people in the Metro Detroit 
Jewish community who work for 
the benefit of all. The volunteers 
are divided by age group — ages 
65+, ages 18-64 and under 18 
years old. The featured winners 
are the following:

MILES AUSTER
Miles Auster, 79, 
is the winner of 
the age 65+ JN 
Volunteer of the 
Year award for his 
work with JARC.
Miles has been volunteering 
with JARC for 12 years. Prior to 
the pandemic, he volunteered 
at JARC’s RRR (Recreation, 
Relaxation and Relationships) 
program, for JARC clients who 
are retired or do not participate 
in a day program. He would 
assist in activities, such as out-

ings to the park for a picnic. 
During the pandemic, Miles 
went above and beyond to assist 
with meal delivery to JARC 
homes. Meal delivery, a new 
venture for JARC, ensured JARC 
clients and staff were taken care 
of with daily lunch and dinner 
during the lockdown. 
Once JARC began vaccinating 
its clients and staff in mid-Jan-
uary, 2021, they partnered 
with Oakland County Health 
Department and the Jewish 
Federation of Metro Detroit to 
host more than a dozen clinics 

open to the community. JARC 
relied on an army of volunteers 
to help with registration, docu-
ment verification and ensure the 
people in the post-vaccination 
room had a medical professional 
in case there were any side effects 
from the vaccine. 
Miles, a retired physician, 
played an important role as a 
volunteer in the post-vaccination 
room. In total, JARC has helped 
vaccinate more than 3,000 peo-
ple, many of whom met and were 
reassured by Miles.
He was nominated by Jessica 
Tierney, JARC’s community 
engagement manager. “Miles is 
so deserving of this,
” she said. 
“He’s such a pillar in the com-
munity, and when most people 
maybe were more afraid or 
uncertain of what to do during 
the pandemic, Miles stepped up. 

Three featured volunteers plus a bounty 
of dedicated honorees enhance our 
entire Jewish community.

JN Celebrates 
the Volunteers 
of the Year!

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

