— they brought us what we really need,” he explains. MOVED TO ACT Chase Ben-Ezra, of Franklin, says the idea for the donation project came about after he heard about his cousin doing something similar in Connecticut. It inspired him to want to find a local company to partner with in Michigan. “We thought something needed to be done to help [people in Ukraine],” says Ben-Ezra. With the help of his mom, Amy Ben-Ezra, they found and contacted Standard Trucking to find out what items to gather. Within 48 hours, Chase Ben-Ezra and his friends had drafted a letter that they emailed to family and friends with an Amazon wish list of supplies. They texted and posted to let people know. They accepted donations though Venmo as well and used the money they received to purchase wish list items. They collected tactical first aid kits, goggles, long underwear, blankets, sleeping bags, boots, socks, gloves and more. Luke’s uncle, who owns a foam manufacturing company, manufactured 90 sleeping pads to donate. Their message went out on a Saturday, and the following Saturday, Ben-Ezra’s dad rented the U-Haul, and they caravanned down to Hamtramck to get everything delivered. “I am really proud that we were able to get this done so fast, and that our family and friends found what we were doing so important as well,” says Ben-Ezra. “It felt so good to be able to bring them as much as we did, knowing that so many people cared.”
UkrainianAmerican Crisis Response Committee If you want to send goods to Ukraine, this is the right time to help, says Oleksandr “Sasha” Tkachenko. “The world is affected by this war. It’s not directly affecting us as a country, but there are a lot of dramatic things happening in Ukraine.” To find out more about what the organization is collecting right now, he says to contact the call center, which will provide direction. DROP OFF AT: Standard Trucking 13400 Giradin St. Hamtramck, MI 48212 WAREHOUSE HOURS: Monday-Friday: 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday: 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. QUESTIONS: (313) 920-8959 (Anya) (313) 920-9641 (Nazar) (313) 920-8245 (Khrystina) Luke Linovitz, of Birmingham, grew up hearing stories about the people who helped his grandfather, an Armenian who fled Turkey for Lebanon at the age of 1, and who eventually came to the United States at the age of 20 to attend school. “When I saw those people suffering, I remembered what my grandpa had gone through, and I didn’t want to just keep watching; I wanted to help,” he says. “Seeing the warehouse and the amount of goods and people that must have gone into this operation gave me a feeling of hope for the people in Ukraine.”
Freedom Stories
TKA fundraiser for Ukrainian Relief to feature stories from the Jewish and Black experiences.
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ationally recognized play folk, blues, spirituals and storytellers Corinne other American Roots music. Stavish and Rev. He has performed professionRobert Jones Sr., will provide ally throughout the United an evening of stories for adults States, Canada and Europe. He on the theme of freedom, has appeared in schools, drawing on Jewish and colleges, libraries, union Black experiences, on halls, prisons, churches Wednesday, April 20, at 7 and civil rights organizap.m. at Temple Kol Ami tions. At the heart of his in West Bloomfield. The message is the belief that program will also be live- Corinne our cultural diversity tells Stavish streamed. a story that we should celThe program is a ebrate, not just tolerate. fundraiser for refugees The program is being displaced in the fight for spearheaded by Temple freedom in the Ukraine. Kol Ami and co-sponThe artists are waiving sored by the Interfaith their fees. All proceeds Leadership Council of Rev. Robert will be donated to HIAS, Jones Sr. Metropolitan Detroit, an international refugee Detroit Interfaith relief organization. Outreach Network (DION), As of March 24, the UN Jewish Community Relations estimated that 6.5 million Council (JCRC)/AJC, The J’s Ukrainians have been displaced Cultural Arts Department, internally and another 3.6 milCongregation for Humanistic lion have fled the country. This Judaism of Metropolitan makes it the largest such disloDetroit, Congregation Beth cation in Europe since WW II. Shalom, Congregation “As we gather during this Shir Tikvah, Congregation holy week to remember our T’Chiyah, Isaac Agree two communities’ struggles for Downtown Synagogue, Temple freedom, we need to remember Emanu-El, Cohn-Haddow that the struggle for freedom Center for Judaic Studies, is ongoing, most notably in TABBIES Book Group, Ann Ukraine today,” Stavish said. Arbor Storytelling Guild, Stavish performs nationally Detroit Story League, MI Story, and specializes in personal, Jewish Storytelling Coalition historical and biblical narraand the Detroit Association of tives. She has appeared at the Black Storytellers (DABS). National Storytelling Festival The suggested donation and was named the Detroit is $18 or a multiple of $18. Jewish Woman Artist of the Participants are encouraged to Year in 2001. She is a professor donate at the level they are able at Lawrence Tech University. and moved to contribute. Rev. Robert Jones Sr. is a To register for the program singer, songwriter, storytellor make a donation, go to tkoler and self-taught on many ami.org/social-action/ or call instruments, which he uses to (248) 661-0040.
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