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.