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Secrets Women to Work program.
Schlesinger-Wagner gives back
to the community by sponsoring
programs to help homeless
children, shelters, women
seeking to reinvent their working
lives, medical research, and
communities providing housing,
food and health services.
“People ask me when I am
going to retire and I say never,”
Schlesinger-Wagner, 76, said.
“My business allows me to give
so much and make people happy.
Friends tell me that I sprinkle
kindness to people who really
need it. And if that is how people
know me, then I have done a great
thing with my life.”
The 133-year-old organization
will bestow the Josephine S.
Weiner Community Service
Award to Bookstock. Currently
celebrating its 20th anniversary,
the annual book sale collects and
then sells thousands of gently used
books to the public and donates
the millions in sales to educational
and literacy programs in Metro
Detroit.
After a brief hiatus due to the
COVID pandemic, Bookstock not
only survived but came roaring
back thanks to the strategic
financial planning set in motion
years before by putting a portion
of their earnings into a reserve
fund, according to Bookstock
co-founder and longtime Jewish
community volunteer and leader
Roz Blanck.
Blanck, who has also been
president of Federation’s Women’s
Philanthropy Department, said
Bookstock’s vibrancy and success
can be attributed to the hundreds
of volunteers from a multitude
of nonprofit organizations who
pull together to make it an annual
event for book lovers. Blanck
said NCJW, since Bookstock’s
beginning, has played a great role
in its success and has benefited
from earnings of the sale.
Bookstock prepares for its
upcoming sale from April 27 to
May 4, 2025, and collections of
books will begin in October.
Blanck expressed gratitude for
the NCJW recognition.
“It shows that collaboration
and community is important,” she
said. “Detroit inside and outside
the Jewish community is filled
with volunteers who love to help
each other. It is an honor to have
Bookstock acknowledged this
way.”
continued from page 18
OUR COMMUNITY
SPOTLIGHT
Attendees can
browse various
vendors at the
boutique.
DETAILS
Tickets for the “Women of Vision” event, Thursday, Sept. 26, at
Adat Shalom Synagogue in Farmington Hills, are available at
several donation levels, starting at $54. Registration is from 9:30
a.m.-11:45 a.m.; boutiques are open from 9:30 a.m.- 3:30 p.m. and
are open to the public; meet-and-greet with Rebekah Gregory,
for patrons, is from 11 a.m.-11:30 a.m.; 11:45 a.m.-1.15 p.m. speaker
and awards presentation; 1:15 p.m. will be lunch, door prizes and
a 50/50 raffle. For more information on the program, go to www.
ncjwmi.org.
After a broad national search, Hillel Day
School has been selected to participate
in the pilot cohort of a new initiative,
the Ronald S. Lauder Impact Initiative
(LII), working to increase Jewish day
school enrollment in North America.
LII’s mission is to transform Jewish
communities with day schools at the
center; by identifying the barriers to
enrollment and implementing scalable
solutions. LII seeks to grow day school
enrollment and overall Jewish family
engagement across North America.
Building on his success in establishing
Jewish day schools as vibrant hubs for
Jewish life in Europe, Ronald S. Lauder
turned to the American market in 2022
and established LII with similar objec-
tives. LII will work with four communi-
ties — Detroit, Boca Raton, Boston and
Washington, D.C. — during the three-
year pilot program.
A local steering committee consisting
of leaders from across Detroit’s Jewish
ecosystem, including parents, alumni,
Federation and communal representa-
tives, and others will work with various
consultants to conduct research, formu-
late and implement bold strategies, pilot
innovative programs, and study a range
of initiatives to enhance the community
and grow day school enrollment.
Head of School Dr. Darin S. Katz
says, “Hillel is looking forward to work-
ing together with the other exemplary
day schools across the country to use
market research and donor engagement
toward the long-term goal of increasing
enrollment at Hillel. It is an honor to
have been selected to participate.”
Casey Ginsberg has been hired as
Detroit’s LII Transformation Manager.
She will work closely with Detroit’s
Steering Committee, the LII Strategic
Consultant Beth Cousens, and commu-
nity partners and stakeholders to create
a collaborative environment working
toward robust and vibrant engagement
in Detroit Jewish day school education.
LII and Hillel are extremely grateful
to the Jewish Federation of Detroit and
the William Davidson Foundation,
which have partnered with them on this
exciting initiative.
Hillel Day School To Be Part
of Lauder Impact Initiative