54 | NOVEMBER 10 • 2022
to Mexico.
“I use my power of OCD to
get things done,” Gross laughs.
“I use it for good, not evil. In a
normal world, this logistically
would have been a nightmare.”
Gross sought out
philanthropic Jewish
Americans who have ties to
or homes in San Miguel de
Allende, like Linda and Chuck
Soberman of West Bloomfield,
who helped Gross lay out a
charitable path.
As more-than-luck would
have it, the Fuentes family
sells produce from their
garden to an American family
in San Miguel de Allende,
who owns the ZOOMALO
Moving and Storage company.
ZOOMALO safely and
expeditiously shipped a 4 ft.
x 4 ft. crate, which was also
donated, from Michigan to
Mexico in May.
“Before, Jesus could only
teach one person at a time.
Now, with these new tools, he
can teach three or four people
at a time, which helps to
bring in more money for the
family. He used to use Dollar
Store reading glasses, and
now he has a microscope and
much better equipment and
tools,” says Gross, who lives in
Huntington Woods with his
wife and their three kids, all in
their 20s.
“It just feels good to help
them,” he adds. “If we’re able
to help their daughter have a
better life, she could change
the world because of this
opportunity.”
THANK YOU, MOM
Gross had a paper route
when he was 14 and living in
Southfield.
“My mother, Mimi Gross,
was trying to figure out
ways for me to be sparked
to a career. She said, ‘Why
don’t you contact my friend’s
brother who has a jewelry
store and see what it’s all
about?’ and I said, ‘Sure,’” says
Gross, who wound up working
at that store until he was 16.
He swept the floors and
learned to clean and polish
jewelry.
“In the meantime, I would
use the money I earned at the
jewelry store to buy jewels
and set up shop in my mom’s
basement and teach myself
how to make jewelry — or,
at that point, how to ruin
ARTS&LIFE
JEWELRY
COUNTER CLOCKWISE FROM TOP:
This is the Arte Instituto of San Miguel
De Allende that Gross would love to
raise money for. “The pictures show the
real need for better tools and a safer
environment,” he said.
continued from page 53