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