12 | JULY 27 • 2023 

extent allowed by law.
Ethan Gross is doing his 
share to help provide what 
he calls “a much needed 
physical and psychological 
break for the kids of 
Ukraine,” having recently 
created a $10,000 
matching grant toward the 
summer camp effort that 
he promoted through his 
personal contacts.
“I saw the impact the 
camp experience had on 
my own children when 
they were growing up,” 
Ethan said. “They got to 
make lifelong friends and 
have adventures. Today, 
the kids of Ukraine, who 
are living through a time 
of war, deserve to go off to 
camp and have some joy.”
Of his tireless efforts and 
philanthropy on behalf of 
JRNU, COO Judi Garrett 
describes Ethan as “one 
of the most selfless and 
generous people I have met.”

CAMP MEMORIES
A couple of weeks ago, while 
walking around the track 
at West Bloomfield High 
School, I watched from a 
distance as kids boarded 
buses in the parking lot for 
Camp Tanuga. Just recently, 
my family and friends 
have shared stories about 
their recent experiences at 
Tamarack’s Bubbie-Zaydie 
Family Camp and at Camp 
Michigania.
Just days later I find 
myself writing this piece 
about camp kids in Ukraine. 
It’s hard to wrap my brain 
around the circumstances 
they face. What do those 
young people think about 
when they lie in their bunks 

at night? Will they have a 
house to go home to? Will 
their army defeat Russia?
When I was an 8-year-old 
attending Tanuga beginning 
in 1963, I went to bed at 
night wondering what our 
chances were of beating 
Camp Sea-Gull the next 
day in softball. Talk about 
perspective.
Ethan Gross needs no 
reminders about putting 
the humanitarian crisis in 
perspective. “When I was 
in Ukraine, one thing many 
people in the community 
shared was a feeling that 
the rest of the world had 
forgotten about them,” he 
told me. “As the war rages 
on, I think it’s critical for 
the morale of the Jewish 
community in Ukraine to 
know that Jews around the 
world are still thinking about 
them, praying for them and 
supporting them.” And just 
maybe, helping send some 
kids to summer camp. 

continued from page 11

OUR COMMUNITY

Ethan Gross accepting a 
donation from Don Schenk, 
JWV-MI Post 135

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