30 | MARCH 28 • 2024 
J
N

continued from page 29

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.

OUR 
COMMUNITY

