20 | JUNE 27 • 2024 
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Sandwiches are prepared for bag lunches. 
Amy Good, CEO of 
Alternatives for Girls
Knitters create items to donate.

It takes a group effort on the assembly line.

Celeste Rabaut tells attendees about homelessness 
and the work NOAH does. 

faces&places

M

embers of all ages and 
their friends participated 
at the Congregation for 
Humanistic Judaism (CHJ) of Metro 
Detroit’s second annual Social Justice 
Day of Service and Celebration on 
April 14 in Farmington Hills. Social 
justice is at the core of CHJ’s 
philosophy and agenda.
The afternoon event gave 
volunteers a choice of ways to 
provide service to those in need. 
Always popular with congregants 
was working on the assembly 
line — preparing sandwiches for 
the NOAH Homeless Project. 
The 600 completed bag lunches 
were delivered and distributed the 
following day to clients at Central 
United Methodist Church in 
Downtown Detroit. 
Other volunteers signed up to 
provide a grounds cleanup for the 
start of gardening season, while 
others participated with members 
of CHJ’s Knit/Crochet/Craft for a 
Cause group. Some of the group’s 

completed handmade items were 
displayed. Students in the Family 
Education Program met separately 
to eat, hear a talk and decorate the 
lunch bags. 
The activities got under way after 
everyone enjoyed a free lunch and 
gained information and inspiration 
from keynote speaker Celeste Rabaut 
of NOAH and other speakers from 
local nonprofit organizations. 
In addition to NOAH, those 
maintaining tables at the event were 
Alternatives for Girls in Detroit, 
food pantry CARES of Farmington 
Hills, Committee to Increase Voter 
Participation in Farmington Hills, 
Freedom House Detroit, foster care 
service Oakland County Foster 
Closet in Farmington Hills and 
Hearing Loss Association, sponsor 
of the annual Walk4Hearing on May 
18 at Kensington Metro Park. 

For information about CHJ’s upcoming social 

justice projects, contact office@chj-Detroit or 

visit the CHJ website or Facebook. 

Social Justice Day 
at Congregation for 
Humanistic Judaism 
of Metro Detroit

PHOTOS COURTESY CHJ

