30 | MARCH 28 • 2024
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TOP (left to right):
• Bryan Robbins at 2015
Milwaukee Games is
flanked by Zachary
Raider (left, who passed
away in 2021) and (right)
Stephen Friedland.
• Maya Gurfinkel, Games
Director at The J.
BOTTOM (left to right):
• Doris Shanbrom-Ross
(right) with her daughter
Franci Silver at the 2015
JCC Maccabi Games in
Fort Lauderdale.
• Bryan Robbins now.
• Doris Shanbrom-Ross
(far left) with her friends
at the 2019 Games in
Detroit.
The following year, he played in
Cleveland, again having a fantastic expe-
rience. Then, 15 years ago, he was asked
to coach the Detroit volleyball team, trav-
eling to cities including Houston, Denver
and Mid-Westchester in New York.
This year Steel, 46, who works in real
estate and lives in Birmingham, is one
of the assistant athletics directors at the
2024 Games. His role is all about logistics,
making sure the sports events will run
smoothly. He says he knows that the week
of the Games will be exhausting as well as
exhilarating, but the rewards are great.
“It’s a breath of fresh air to be around
all the kids and all the memories it brings
back,” he says. “
And it’s a blessing to give
back to a program I benefited from as a
teen.”
Volunteering to Doris Shanbrom-Ross,
85, looks a bit different, and it’s all about
the food. Along with a team of friends,
she enjoys serving the teens at mealtimes,
interacting with them, hearing their sto-
ries, while she supports the event. She
even volunteered at the Games in Fort
Lauderdale in Florida in 2015. “We don’t
cook, but we bring the food out of the
kitchen and serve the children and the
volunteers,” she says. “I like talking to
people from other cities, and my friends
and I have a really good time helping out.”
Shanbrom-Ross got involved because
of her daughter’s involvement — Franci
Silver has been an active volunteer for
many years and is this year’s co-chair.
Shanbrom-Ross served food in the 2019
Games and will be back with her spoon
at this year. “It’s all about bringing Jewish
kids together, and if they are interested in
sports, they have a good road to follow.
We also like seeing the kids compete,” says
the Commerce Township resident.
While hundreds of Jewish Metro
Detroiters have expressed interest in
volunteering for the Games this year,
The J’s Games Director Maya Gurfinkel
now wants people to take the next step
and officially register because volunteers
must be officially credentialed. Around
1,000 volunteers are needed to ensure the
Games run smoothly, and no amount of
time volunteering is too big or too small.
“Volunteers are the backbone of
Maccabi — they make everything hap-
pen,” she says. The opportunities are
countless: providing water and ice for ath-
letes, helping with transportation, serving
food, directing traffic, welcoming athletes,
being a bus buddy and many other roles.
Gurfinkel adds: “It’s about boots on the
ground, and it’s about building relation-
ships. Whether you are setting up for an
evening event, working at The J or coming
together as a business team to help, our
volunteers bring the Games to life.”
Register to become a volunteer for the JCC Maccabi
Games, July 28-August 2, 2024, at maccabidetroit.com.
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