20 | AUGUST 26 • 2021
continued from page 19
you get from doing good in the
community — it certainly makes
my life more worth living than if I
weren’t so involved.
”
ELLA LEWIS
Ella Lewis, 15, is the
winner of the Under
18 JN Volunteer
of the Year award
for her work with
Friendship Circle.
Ella, a Groves High School stu-
dent and Adat Shalom Synagogue
member from Bloomfield Hills, is
known as an amazing buddy for
children with special needs and
a dedicated, caring person with
a special bond with Friendship
Circle’s kids.
She was nominated by
Olivia Feldman, a counselor in
Friendship Circle’s summer day
camp.
“Ella has a very special gift of
being able to work with kids with
special needs, and it’s so awe-
some to watch,
” Feldman said. “It
shows what a selfless person she
is. I’m so proud of her. Being her
counselor, I got to see her growth
throughout the summer. If she
chooses to go further down this
path, she would be great at it.
”
This was Ella’s fourth summer
volunteering with Friendship
Circle’s camps. She says she vol-
unteers at Friendship Circle not
because she has to or because she
wants to get recognized. She does
it because she loves doing it.
“I love working with the kids
there,
” Ella said. “I think being a
volunteer is as beneficial to the
kids I’m working with as it is to
me, because I think I’m able to
learn a lot about myself and grow
as a person. It’s definitely a big
part of my life and it’s something I
love to do. I plan on continuing to
do it for a long time.
”
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Our three winners are only a
handful of the people giving
their time and talent to helping
Detroit’s Jewish community. Here
are others, in random order, who
deserve our thanks with a heart-
felt honorable mention.
65 AND UP
Ed Kohl is active in
Volunteers for Israel,
which seeks volun-
teers from the gener-
al community to pro-
vide support services
to the Israel Defense Forces in
Israel. Ed has also volunteered
and been recognized for his work
with Stand With Us, the Zionist
Organization of America, Adat
Shalom Synagogue and the
Michigan Jewish Action Council.
Gail Katz has been
instrumental in orga-
nizing Religious
Diversity Journeys,
the World Sabbath
and many other
interfaith events around the city.
She has worked for years to devel-
op interfaith programs and activi-
ties for students and adults, bring-
ing together faith leaders and their
faith communities for dialogue
and understanding. She has also
been involved in interfaith work
at NCJW|MI where she co-chairs
many committees, and co-found-
ed WISDOM, an interfaith orga-
nization where women can share
their religious traditions. Gail is a
member of Temple Israel and is
active member of its sisterhood as
well.
Gary Cooper is the song leader
at Temple Shir Shalom where he
has been an active volunteer for
more than 20 years. Willing to
help whenever needed for a social
action activity or a musical need,
Gary leads tefilah at SHORESH
on Sunday mornings (Temple’s
Religious School) at Shabbat ser-
vices and High Holiday family ser-
vices and performs in the Purim
Spiel band and at Java Havdalah,
Temple’s coffeehouse concerts.
Suzanne Berman volunteers with
ORT America, where she substi-
tutes in the office when the staff is
out sick, manages and implements
emails to members regarding
fundraising and programs, and
works to maintain relationships,
which is so important, especial-
ly in pandemic. Suzanne often
would log 30 hours of work in the
office. Her efforts support ORT
schools worldwide and locally at
the Hermelin ORT center.
Sallyjo Levine volun-
teers for everything at
Temple Shir Shalom,
where she heads its
social action group
and organizes its
annual Tikun Olam-athon that
involves 350 people with 18 orga-
nizations. She participates in
adopting families for the holidays
and thinks nothing of cooking
food for families, organizing a
food drive or shopping for a fami-
ly. She also volunteers with NCJW
and Yad Ezra.
Deb Ford helps run
the weekly pop-up
food pantry at
Temple Kol Ami,
where she greets their
neighbors and offers
a kind, friendly face and a sup-
portive ear. Her work at the pan-
try, week after week, no matter the
weather, is a labor of love and
light.
Arthur Fishman is a
volunteer who is part
of everything that
happens at Temple
Shir Shalom. His
“hellos” and “Shabbat
shaloms” are what have greeted
people in the sanctuary since the
temple’s beginning. Arthur has
also been guiding and inspiring
the Jewish War Veterans for years,
supporting vets at every opportu-
nity possible.
Joey Roberts is a vol-
unteer who does
“anything and every-
thing” for The Shul.
His volunteering
extends from work-
ing with young children to a gen-
tleman of 100 years. He has deliv-
ered food, books and Shabbat
bags to those with health issues.
Since his wife’s death from cancer,
he went through training with his
dog, Rosy, to have her certified as
a therapy dog. He and Rosy visit
nursing homes and hospice cen-
ters to bring a little cheer.
Irma Glaser is the
past-president of
NCJW|MI and has
spent many years as a
public policy advo-
cate. She has been a
dedicated volunteer for more than
50 years to a variety of organiza-
tions in Jewish Detroit.
David Broner volun-
teers with Southeast
Michigan SCORE
and Hebrew Free
Loan, where he men-
tors small business
owners and entrepreneurs, often
going above and beyond to
become their life coach.
Amy Cutler is the
current president of
NCJW|MI since May
2020, and led the
organization through
the pandemic, mar-
shalling the corps of volunteers at
NCJW so that they could contin-
ue providing positive communi-
ty-changing programs like Meals
on Wheels, the Council Thrift
Store and other NCJW projects.
AGES 18-64
George Roberts
chaired the building
renovation commit-
tee at the Isaac Agree
Downtown
Synagogue. He has
given hundreds of hours to meet
OUR COMMUNITY