12 | APRIL 25 • 2024 

life, even if it was small, and it was 
nice to share that experience with my 
classmates as well.” Gadharf’s experience 
had a lasting impact on him. 
“I always had a soft spot for JARC and 
even served on their board of directors 
for a few years,” he shared.
Another alumna, Talia Dolgin, who 
has a daughter who is currently part of 
the JARC program at Hillel, is grateful 
that the program has introduced her 
daughter to people of different abilities, 
as she has always felt the importance of 
these experiences for children of all ages. 
“It warms my heart to see the kindness 
and compassion of all of the seventh-
graders toward the JARC residents. They 
demonstrate a maturity level I was not 

expecting to see at their age,” Dolgin 
says. 
Personally, Dolgin is grateful for her 
own involvement in the program as a 
seventh grader at Hillel and considers 
it a guiding factor in her career. “This 
program played a role in my decision to 
become a speech language pathologist,” 
Dolgin shares. “Children’s involvement 
with JARC gives them an opportunity to 
learn about themselves and others, and 
those experiences can possibly have an 
impact on their future endeavors, as it 
did for me.”

A YEAR OF MEANING
Typically, there are an average of 40 
students in the program each year. 

This year, each student was partnered 
with a classmate, and matched with 
a person served by JARC, based on 
common interests. Throughout the 
year, the students join the people JARC 
serves for events at Hillel, and for their 
end-of-term celebration where they 
bowl together at The Perfect Game in 
Farmington Hills.
As the program leader, Leslie 
Baron describes the year as being 
full of meaningful moments and has 
felt fulfilled in the work she’s doing 
with every experience. “Watching the 
students’ enthusiasm, interaction and 
investment with the people JARC serves 
is truly special,” Baron said.
Current Hillel students Lihi Maine, 

OUR COMMUNITY
COVER STORY

continued from page 11

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE LEONARD N. SIMONS JEWISH COMMUNITY ARCHIVES