22 | JULY 21 • 2022 

R

epair the World 
Detroit nominated 
Abby Rubin, 31, of 
Detroit as Volunteer of the 
Week for her passion to give 
back. 
“
As a Repair the World 
Detroit alumna and in her 
involvement with NEXTGen 
Detroit, Abby has created 
many opportunities to engage 
and create positive change 
in our Detroit and Jewish 
community,” said Rebecca 
Steinman-DeGroot, city 
director of Repair the World 
Detroit. 
Rubin says that growing up 
in Cleveland, Ohio, her family 
taught her at a young age that 
giving back was a core value. 
“I used to do telethons 
through Super Sunday at 
the Jewish Federation in 
Cleveland,” Rubin explained.
“But since I was so little, 
and my voice sounded so 
young, no one ever wanted 
to give me money. So, I con-
tinued to help where I could. 
Whether that was collecting 
donation cards from people 
or just checking in with the 
adults to see where I could 
offer my hand.”
Volunteering and help-
ing wherever is needed just 
became part of Rubin’s life.
“I grew up in such a fortu-
nate space. Being a part of a 
lovely Jewish community in 
Cleveland that looks very sim-
ilar to the one in Detroit, I got 
to go to Camp Wise (Jewish 
overnight camp in Cleveland) 
as a camper then became a 
staff member. I was there for 
17 summers.”
Rubin says she was aware of 
the privilege she had growing 

up and wanted to give back to 
the world what she was given. 
In 2014, Rubin made the 
jump to move to Detroit.
“I was in the second cohort 
of the national fellowship as a 

Repair the World Education 
Fellow in 2014, and I applied 
to go to Pittsburgh. But 
since I went to University of 
Michigan for school, they 
thought I would know so 

much more about Detroit, so I 
was placed here.” 
Rubin said she was terri-
fied, knowing nothing about 
Detroit at the time. But when 
she moved here that quickly 
changed. “I moved here to vol-
unteer for a year, and I abso-
lutely fell in love,” she said. 
During her first year, Rubin 
learned about the education 
system in Detroit, volunteered 
and ran different volunteer 
programs at five different 
afterschool programs. She also 
got involved with the Jewish 
Federation of Metro Detroit 
and the rest was history. 
“NEXTGen Detroit is the 
reason that I’m still in Detroit. 
If I hadn’t made the connec-
tions with the staff and the 
community that I built when 
I was a Repair the World 
Fellow, I would have still loved 
my time here, but I wouldn’t 
have stayed.”
Rubin says she originally 
planned to move to Chicago 
after her fellowship. Now 
she lives in Detroit, working 
as a children’s librarian at 
the Westland Public Library 
while building relationships 
through NEXTGen Detroit as 
vice president of the executive 
board. 
Rubin says she’s in Detroit 
to stay and encourages those 
who have the time to come 
out to a NEXTGen Detroit 
volunteer event. 

To learn about more volunteer events 

through NEXTGen Detroit visit https://

jlive.app. 

 If you would like to nominate some-

one to be the next volunteer of the 

week, send a nomination with a short 

paragraph telling us why to socialme-

dia@thejewishnews.com.

TOP: NEXTGen Detroit Volunteers at Cadillac Urban Gardens in 
Southwest Detroit. MIDDLE: Alana Silver, Abby Rubin, Cameron Billes, 
and Stephanie Hollander at Michigan Urban Farming Initiative.
BOTTOM, LEFT: Abby Rubin and Shimon Gal Levy at the Art of Giving 
at Next Space Ferndale. BOTTOM, MIDDLE: Abby Rubin and Abi 
Berlin painting a rec center in Detroit. BOTTOM, RIGHT: Abby Rubin 
at Urbanrest Brewery Company during the snuffle matt making project 
benefitting foster dogs.

Meet Abby Rubin, who gives back to the community what she was given.
Volunteering is a Core Value

RACHEL SWEET ASSOCIATE EDITOR

OUR COMMUNITY
VOLUNTEER OF THE WEEK