38 | MAY 4 • 2023 

I 

believe camp is the best gift a parent can 
give to a child, and I am so happy to be a 
part of sending kids to Tamarack.
” 
These inspiring words of Doreen 
Hermelin, this year’s Send a Kid to 
Tamarack (SK2T) Community Leader hon-
oree, are a testament to the vital role sum-
mers at Tamarack Camps have on the lives 
of children and the value of 
making camp financially acces-
sible to all. She will be honored 
at Night of Bright Lights, May 
17 at Congregation Shaarey 
Zedek.
Hermelin is a true living leg-
end who leads by example. Her 
broad network of friends, family and fans 
follow her lead and also invest generously 
and get involved in building, fortifying and 
nurturing the Jewish future in Michigan, 
Israel and beyond. 
Hermelin has a lifetime of service to 
the Jewish community. She served as 
campaign chair and later president of 
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit 
Women’s Division, now JFMD’s Women’s 

Philanthropy. She also served as the first 
national president of ORT and remains a 
lifetime trustee and honorary board vice 
president. 
Making sure they can attend camp is 
one of the best gifts the Jewish community 
can give to the children who will grow to 
be future Jewish leaders. The full cost of 
summer camp is significant and would 
be unaffordable to many, were it not for 
the generosity, big and small, of Tamarack 
Camps’ donors. 
Tamarack Camps rest on a foundation of 
five core values:
• Develop People
• Live Jewishly
• Create Safe Spaces
• Be Financially Fair
• Build an Inclusive Community
SK2T annual campaign benefits every 
single camp participant. The cost of camp is 
subsidized, at least in part, for each camper. 
For campers requiring additional financial 
support, the money raised through the 
SK2T campaign helps close the gap and 
welcome every camper to Tamarack Camps 

for summer after summer. It is stunning the 
extent to which campers develop and grow 
through the opportunity to live Jewishly in a 
safe, fair and inclusive space. 
Jason Luckoff, a longtime camper and 
now staff member of Tamarack Camps, will 
be honored as a distinguished alumni at this 
year’s Night of Bright Lights benefiting SK2T 
annual campaign. 
Luckoff first joined Tamarack Camps as a 
camper nearly 20 years ago. His Tamarack 
journey began in 2004 as a Horizon camper 
at Applebaum Village and has continued on 
to the new Avodah Pro program launched 
in 2022. The Avodah Pro pro-
gram balances vocational train-
ing and experience along with 
all the best of summer camp. 
Jason’s favorite camp activities 
are water skiing and Omanut 
(arts and crafts). When not at 
camp, Jason lives independently 
in Birmingham with his dog, Henry. He is 
an artist at Soul Studio and an usher at the 
Fox Theater in Detroit. Luckoff credits the 
fullness of his life and his independence to 
Tamarack Camps.
In case you are going for gold on 
Tamarack Camps trivia and everything 
SK2T, Jason celebrated his bar mitzvah 
in 2009 at Hermelin Village at Tamarack 
Camps, named after Doreen Hermelin and 
her beloved and larger-than-life husband, of 
blessed memory, David Hermelin. 
“Tamarack Camps is our community’s 
camp and serves every child,
” shares Lori 
Davidson-Mertz, director of annual giving 
at Tamarack Camps. “For many of our kids, 
this is their only Jewish experience … Camp 
provides a Jewish foundation and is a place 
kids learn to become leaders.
”
Night of Bright Lights honoring Doreen 
Hermelin and Jason Luckoff, and benefiting 
SK2T annual campaign, takes place at 6:30 
p.m. Wednesday, May 17, at Congregation 
Shaarey Zedek. 
The attendance and fundraising goal 
for this year’s event are 450 attendees and 
$750,000 raised. The Harold Grinspoon 
Foundation will match each gift to the 2023 
SK2T annual campaign. 
Let’s come together as a community to 
send children to Tamarack Camps. 

To register, donate and purchase an ad in the 2023 

SK2T Event Journal visit https://tamarackcamps.com/

giving/send-a-kid-to-tamarack/sk2t-event.

Send a Kid to 
Tamarack Camps
Doreen Hermelin, Jason Luckoff to be 
honored at this year’s fundraiser May 17.

Doreen 
Hermelin

Jason 
Luckoff

YEVGENIYA GAZMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

OUR COMMUNITY
Tamarack 
campers having a 
great summer.

