Detroit Jewish News

October 08, 2015

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2040190 Send your love. Support our community. With new tribute cards from Jewish Family Service! Birthdays. Holidays. Any day. Show your loved ones you're thinking of them with one of our new tribute cards. Sending them is simple—you customize the message, we'll mail the cards! All proceeds go toward helping community members in need. Order yours today at www.jfsdetroit.org or contact Jenny Kabert at 248-592-2339 or jkabert@jfsdetroit.org. Jewish Family Service o f M e t ro p o l i t a n D e t ro i t tions," said Rabbi Joshua Bennett of Temple Israel, which has been instru- mental in evolving the program to a full community partnership. "Setting our individual issues aside, we came away with far more than we expected in a beautifully integrated plan. We have hired a full-time employ- ee designated to the program, support- ed by two outstanding lay chairs, Phyllis Pilcowitz and Michael Berger, and a working committee that functions well and meets on a regular basis. "All are in agreement on the bot- tom line," Bennett said, "that the most important thing is for us to work together to give our teens more oppor- tunities to travel and connect with our community here in Detroit and in Israel." Steve Engel, CEO of Tamarack Camps, agreed. "Certainly there are distinctions between the missions of each of our organizations, but when it comes to our children, we are not competitors," he said. "We each share the mission of building community, strengthening Jewish identity, engaging our youth, mentoring future leaders and develop- ing philanthropic support to the benefit of Jewish Detroit and Israel. In combin- ing our resources and organizational expertise, we will engage Jewish teens at that moment when we can make a huge impact on their Jewish identities." HOW IT WORKS With the new co-partnership, Teen Mission 2016 will continue to be a pow- erful connecting point for participating congregations in the business of engag- ing teens in Jewish life and community building. Community synagogues will continue to bring the rabbinic leader- ship, the Jewish learning, thinking and strategies that always have been strong points of the program. Tamarack will now bring what they do best — the logistics of recruitment, travel, organizing activities on the go, supervising and creating outstanding teen experiences on a minute-to-min- ute, day-to-day basis in the field. The Teen Mission experience now will be fully integrated into Tamarack summers as its pinnacle teen travel opportunity, ideally suited to teens returning to the camp before their junior or senior years of high school. As an essential link, Federation will continue to do what it does best through its Israel and Overseas Department, marketing and Annual Campaign, reaching out to the com- munity, raising awareness and funding, providing ease of access and expertise in mission planning, and connecting Jewish Detroiters to partners and family in Israel. Through the Sue & Alan J. Kaufman Family Foundation, Teen Mission 2016 is generously subsidized, reducing the cost to just $5,949.13 for the 4½-week trip. The fee covers round-trip flights, land travel, room and board, and all programs and activities. Additionally, need-based scholarship funding is available through various organizations. Registration for the Detroit Teen Mission to Israel is now open online. Go to www.teenmissiondetroit.org for details or call Jackie Yashinsky, Teen Mission coordinator, at (248) 952-9030 or email her at jyashinsky@ teenmissiondetroit.org. * October 8 • 2015 13 From the desert to roaring rapids, Teen Mission participants experience so much of what Israel offers. A leap over Israeli sand dunes is just one adventure for those who go on the Teen Mission.

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