28 | OCTOBER 28 • 2021 

she danced 13 styles of 
ballroom dance, including 
bolero, fox trot, rumba and 
salsa, in her first National 
Fred Astaire Competition 
in Orlando in 2019. 
After her life-changing 
surgery, Finsilver became 
determined to offer other 
sufferers the same support 
that she received from the 
Iowa farmer and started the 
first International Essential 
Tremor Foundation 
(IETF) support group for 
Michigan patients. 
“The group became 
very successful, with 300 
members in Michigan, 
so I was then invited to 
join the board of the IETF 
and eventually became 

the president,” explains 
Finsilver, now 71, who cur-
rently has the role of vice 
president. 
She has received recog-
nition for her work, being 
awarded the Spirit of Hope 
Award by the IETF in 2011, 

appearing on the front 
cover of the organization’s 
magazine. 
Now she is being rec-
ognized by JVS Human 
Services at their Trade 
Secrets event, and says she 
feels a kinship with the 
women who have rein-
vented their lives by taking 
part in Women to Work. 
“Although my circumstanc-
es have been different, I 
do understand how many 
women have faced chal-
lenges and worked hard to 
overcome them. For me, 
my life took a dramatic 
turn after brain surgery, 
and I have worked hard to 
pay it forward since then,” 
she said. 

OUR COMMUNITY

Information about 
Women to Work: 

JVS Human Services’ Women to 
Work program began more than 
30 years ago when it was called 
Displaced Homemakers. Then 
funded by the U.S. Department 
of Labor, the aim was to help 
women whose life circumstances 
had changed through events like 
divorce, bereavement or financial 
disruption. Since that time, more 
than 2,000 women have been 
through the program, finding a new 
direction for their working lives. 
After intensive assessment, testing 
and job search training, these 
women emerge with renewed 
self-confidence, market-ready job 
skills and an action plan. Upon 
completion of the program, 85% 
of the program’s participants find 
employment or enroll in further 
training.

Shari Finsilver making her accep-
tance award speech for IETF’s 
Spirit of Hope Award in 2010.

continued from page 27

N

EXTGen Detroit is 
dropping the mic and 
raising a tent for its 
annual EPIC event — all part 
of a yearlong 10th anniversary 
celebration that’s proving to be 
more about changing things than 
upholding traditions. An EPIC 
Night at the Carnival — brought 
to the community by Sue & Alan 
J. Kaufman & Family — will 
take place Nov. 6 at the new 
M1 Concourse Event Center in 
Pontiac. 
Traditionally held every 
spring, except for last year due 
to COVID-19, EPIC has consis-
tently drawn 500+ young Jewish 
Detroiters to celebrate and sup-
port their community. But with 

concerns about large gatherings 
inside, NEXTGen Detroit took 
this year as an opportunity to 
reinvent EPIC, and the many 
innovations mean that even the 
most seasoned EPIC guests are 
in for something new.
“The pandemic has made 
event planning incredibly chal-
lenging, but it also has pushed 
us to think outside the box and 
reinvent annual events that have 
run their course,
” said Adam 
Sherman, EPIC co-chair. “We’ve 
loved sitting down in a theater 
for a comedy show for the last 
eight EPICs, but we’re also ready 
for something fun and different.
” 
Standup comedians were the 
headlining entertainment for 

all the previous EPIC events, 
which over the years were held at 
MGM Casino, the Renaissance 
Center, the State Theater and 
most recently the State Savings 
Bank in Detroit. But this year, 
EPIC has left the theater and is 
popping up at the M1 Concourse 
Event Center in the form of an 
after-dark carnival under an 
open-air tent that will be large 
enough for the anticipated 300 
guests to enjoy the evening and 
spread out. 
“We’re so excited to be creating 
An EPIC Night at the Carnival 
in this new event space and 
thankful that we can put this 
together in a COVID-conscious 
and safe way for our guests,
” said 

Samantha Foon, EPIC co-chair. 
“We are bringing together the 
best elements of any carnival 
— the games and prizes, the 
characters and entertainment, 
the excitement in the air, all that 
great fair food and, of course, 
we have some surprises up our 
sleeves.
”
In addition to being a highly 
anticipated night out, EPIC 
is a chance for young Jewish 
Detroiters ages 21-45 to make 
a significant impact on their 
community. Each guest is asked 
to make a minimum of donation 
of $100 to Federation’s 2022 
Annual Campaign to attend. You 
can get tickets and learn more at 
jewishdetroit.org/EPIC. 

“An EPIC Night at the Carnival” is totally 
reimagined and ready to wow.

‘EPIC’ Changes for 
NEXTGen Detroit’s 
Annual Big Event

BECKY MAISTER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

