46 | JULY 14 • 2022 

TOP LEFT: The Detroit 
Community Fridge. “The 
one I’ve been working 
with can be found at 
10061 Gratiot Ave. in 
Detroit,” she says.

TOP RIGHT: “The warm 
clothing and bedding 
my sister and I raised for 
a reservation in South 
Dakota. Food and fire-
wood are their biggest 
needs!” Ottersen said. 
 
BOTTOM LEFT: One of 
Ottersen’s little libraries.

BOTTOM RIGHT: 
The sandwiches 
Ottersen made for NSO 
(Neighborhood Service 
Organization), which uses 
the line, “It doesn’t take a 
big commitment to make 
a BIG impact.” 

“Every year, we get between $30,000 
and $50,000. Over the years, I think I’ve 
personally raised a little over $8,000,” she 
said.
Aside from working a full time job as 
an insurance agent, Ottersen says the 
inspiration of giving back comes from the 
of the ideologies of Judaism to repair the 
world.
“I think it’s important that we look 
beyond ourselves,” she said. “While it’s 
important to take care of ourselves and 
our families, it’s also important to take 
care of the strangers that are in our com-
munity, that are kind of the unknown 
family. They’re part of us, and we all 
depend on each other even if we don’t 
necessarily see or feel it in the day to day.”
When Ottersen moved to Detroit over 
four years ago, she saw a need she could 

fill with Little Free Libraries, a nonprof-
it that promotes neighborhood book 
exchanges.
“I was working as a substitute teacher at 
the time and was chatting with my library 
and the teachers who I was working with. 
They gave me thousands of books to help 
stock up the little free libraries throughout 
my neighborhood. I have continued to 
keep them stocked every month to keep it 
running for the kids,” Ottersen said. 
Since the pandemic hit, Ottersen says 
she’s shifted her attention and changed the 
little free libraries into pantries because 
she was worried about the food scarcity 
and that’s when she learned about the 
Detroit Community Fridge.
“I started making sandwiches for them 
and they asked me to make 60 sandwich-
es and bring them over for lunch. And 

I try to load up every time I go grocery 
shopping for myself and get a couple extra 
cereals or whatever I can afford that week 
to give to the Detroit Community Fridge.”
Ottersen feels it’s important to set aside 
time, money or items like books or food 
whatever you can give to help fill the 
needs of the community. 
“You can commit an entire year, or 
every weekend a year, or just a few hours 
one time in one year; but the end result 
is that the world is better off because of 
what you did. Your light and love and 
positivity lasts much longer than those 
hours, those weekends, that year.” 

If you would like to nominate someone to be 

the next volunteer of the week, send a nomination 

with a short paragraph telling us why to 

socialmedia@thejewishnews.com.

OUR COMMUNITY
VOLUNTEER OF THE WEEK

continued from page 44

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