NOVEMBER 10 • 2022 | 17

Hadassah affiliations of her
mother and grandmother.
Such multigenerational
connections are common
for Hadassah.
Before joining Hadassah,
Brovenick was the b’nai
mitzvah and event
coordinator for Temple
Israel, where she is a
member. She grew up in
Monroe and attended a
temple in nearby Toledo.
Now a West Bloomfield
resident, Brovenick has
lived in several areas within
Hadassah’s Midwest Region.
She is a graduate of Ohio
State University and has two
sons.
“I am honored to be a
part of an organization that
I believe in,” she says.
Hadassah CEO Naomi
Adler said, “Hadassah
Midwest has long been
a powerful force within
our national footprint.
Stephanie’s impressive
leadership skills, community
experience and passionate
commitment to Hadassah’s
mission make her the
ideal person to partner
with our volunteer leaders
to build upon these
accomplishments.”

Stephanie Brovenick (center)
with her paternal grandmother
Eleanore Siegel (left) and mother
Charlotte Kominars (right) when
Stephanie received her Hadassah
life member certificate.

STEPHANIE BROVENICK

A

n old brick house will
be transformed into a
community learning
center in the Eden Gardens
Community on the East Side
of Detroit through the antic-
ipated success
of a crowdfund-
ing campaign,
the Michigan
Economic
Development
Corporation
(MEDC) and
local nonprofit Eden Gardens
Community Association
announced. The campaign
is being offered through the
Michigan-based crowdfunding
platform Patronicity.
If the campaign reaches its
crowdfunding goal of $50,000
by Jan. 1, the project will win
a matching grant with funds
made possible by MEDC’s
Public Spaces Community
Places (PSCP) program.
The Eden Gardens
Community Association
(EGCA) is a nonprofit organi-
zation dedicated to improving
the lives of youth in their
neighborhood. This campaign
will provide the funding need-
ed to finish transforming a

two-story house next door to
EGCA
’s community gardens
into a learning center. The
center will host various youth
programs throughout the year.
Each day, the learning center
will be filled with children
learning reading, math, writing
and science.
During the last few years
of the pandemic, children
have fallen behind in science,
reading, math and social inter-
action. Teachers are also over-
whelmed and need the help
and support of the community
for children to catch up on
their skills. The Eden Garden
Enrichment Center will help
close those gaps and provide
a community space for youth
and mentors to gather and
spend time.
The funding from this cam-
paign will allow Eden Gardens
to complete the community
rooms build out for yoga,
math, counseling and science,
finish the public bathroom,
add insulation and flooring,
provide staffing for educational
programs and activities, acti-
vate the basement space for
teens (including billiards, table
tennis and studio for the arts),

and add an accessible ramp
and lift for inclusive access to
the enrichment center. The
funding will completely trans-
form the space into a usable
community center for all.
“The PSCP grant will help
build and provide a communi-
ty learning center to enrich the
minds of children, adults and
returning citizens who lack the
skills needed to prepare them-
selves to be successful in life,
”
said Eden Gardens Executive
Director Karen Knox, who’s
an active member of the Isaac
Agree Downtown Synagogue.
In 2013, a collaboration
between the Isaac Agree
Downtown Synagogue and
Eden Gardens launched a
community garden to address
the lack of healthy foods in
the immediate area, beautify
vacant lots by turning them
into edible green space, and
to help bring together two
diverse communities in hopes
of increasing understanding
between multiple faiths and
backgrounds through work in
the garden.

For project details and to donate, visit:

patronicity.com/learning.

Crowdfunding campaign launched for
Eden Gardens Enrichment Center.

Transforming
a Neighborhood

Karen Knox

JN STAFF

Community
members working
in Eden Gardens