24 | NOVEMBER 2 • 2023 

was willing to bring the 
letters back to Israel, so Erin 
decided to open it up to the 
community.
“I created a quick flyer on 
Thursday morning inviting 
people to write letters of 
support and leave them in 
a box on my porch before 
Friday at 11 a.m. I put it up 
as my WhatsApp status and 
posted it on a few different 
groups,” said Erin.
All day, people from 
different cross sections of 
the community wrote and 
dropped off letters.
“My husband, David, said 
every time he went outside, 
there were people he didn’t 
recognize in the driveway!” 
Erin said.
Within 24 hours, they had 
collected well over 100 letters 
of support for the chayalim. 
Most gratifying was when 
Erin heard from one of the 
soldiers on the front lines a 
few days later; the letters had 
reached their destination. 
“The soldiers were so 
touched, and the letters were 
very much appreciated,” she 
said. “The lesson I learned is 
that everyone is looking for 
ways to contribute and help 
the Jewish people right now, 
both tangibly and spiritually. 
If you have an idea for an 
initiative, no matter how 
big or small, don’t question 
yourself. Just put it out there 
and you will surely see the 
fruits of your labor.”
Erin’s children are clearly 
following in her footsteps — 
the following week, the Stiebel 
kids baked brownies and held 
a brownie sale. The price? A 
prayer for the soldiers. 

BRACELETS FOR SALE
Sophia Gotlib, 11, and 
her friends always enjoy 

making bracelets together. 
When the war broke out, 
the sixth-grader at Farber 
Hebrew Day School and her 
friends Eliana Greenberg, 
Aaliyah Khordokovsky, Kayla 
Schwartz, Bella Selesny, 
Sara Selesny and Nili Ungar 
decided to use their talents for 
the good of the IDF soldiers. 
 In two days, over a period 
of about five hours, they made 
75 blue-and-white beaded 
bracelets. Sophia’s mother, 
Shirli Gotlib, helped spread 
the word via social media that 
the girls’ bracelets were on 
sale for $5 apiece. Within 24 
hours, all the bracelets were 
sold.
“We raised $500 for the 
IDF,” Sophia said proudly.
No need to feel 
disappointed if you didn’t have 
a chance to buy a bracelet; the 
girls plan to do more runs. 
Sophia’s message: “Everyone 
can help or do something, 
even if you’re young. Helping 
is kind and useful. All you 
have to do is just put your 
mind to it and you can do 
anything.” 

OUR COMMUNITY

continued from page 22

The kids working on their 
letters and decorating the bags.

Shayna Davis leads 
the kids with making 
challah and praying 
for Israel together.

RIGHT: A picture Erin Stiebel 
received of soldiers with 
letters of support from the 
Detroit Jewish community. 
BELOW: Some of the letters, 
pictures and cards the Bnei 
Akiva kids prepared for the 
families of Lone Soldiers.

