Freedom Stories

— 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.”

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.”

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)

Freedom Stories

TKA fundraiser for Ukrainian Relief to feature stories from the Jewish and Black experiences.

Nationally recognized storytellers Corinne Stavish and Rev. Robert Jones Sr., will provide an evening of stories for adults on the theme of freedom, drawing on Jewish and Black experiences, on Wednesday, April 20, at 7 p.m. at Temple Kol Ami in West Bloomfield. The program will also be livestreamed.

The program is a fundraiser for refugees displaced in the fight for freedom in the Ukraine. The artists are waiving their fees. All proceeds will be donated to HIAS, an international refugee relief organization.

As of March 24, the UN estimated that 6.5 million Ukrainians have been displaced internally and another 3.6 million have fled the country. This makes it the largest such dislocation in Europe since WW II.

“As we gather during this holy week to remember our two communities’ struggles for freedom, we need to remember that the struggle for freedom is ongoing, most notably in Ukraine today,” Stavish said.

Stavish performs nationally and specializes in personal, historical and biblical narratives. She has appeared at the National Storytelling Festival and was named the Detroit Jewish Woman Artist of the Year in 2001. She is a professor at Lawrence Tech University.

Rev. Robert Jones Sr. is a singer, songwriter, storyteller and self-taught on many instruments, which he uses to

play folk, blues, spirituals and other American Roots music. He has performed professionally throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. He has appeared in schools, colleges, libraries, union halls, prisons, churches and civil rights organizations. At the heart of his message is the belief that Corinne our cultural diversity tells Stavish a story that we should celebrate, not just tolerate. The program is being spearheaded by Temple Kol Ami and co-sponsored by the Interfaith Rev. Robert Jones Sr. Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit, Detroit Interfaith Outreach Network (DION), Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC)/AJC, The J’s Cultural Arts Department, Congregation for Humanistic Judaism of Metropolitan Detroit, Congregation Beth Shalom, Congregation Shir Tikvah, Congregation T’Chiyah, Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue, Temple Emanu-El, Cohn-Haddow Center for Judaic Studies, TABBIES Book Group, Ann Arbor Storytelling Guild, Detroit Story League, MI Story, Jewish Storytelling Coalition and the Detroit Association of Black Storytellers (DABS). The suggested donation is $18 or a multiple of $18. Participants are encouraged to donate at the level they are able and moved to contribute. To register for the program or make a donation, go to tkolami.org/social-action/ or call (248) 661-0040.