Volunteerism Archives - My Jewish Detroit
January 1, 2019
The Power of Community Service
For a self-described “homebody at heart” originally from Huntington Woods, Sarah Allyn certainly knows her way around the neighborhoods in the city. Thrilled to partner with organizations like NEXTGen Detroit, The Well, Detroit Jews for Justice, Hillel of Metro Detroit, the Downtown Synagogue, Yad Ezra, Gleaners, Hazon, Project Healthy Community and Brilliant Detroit, Sarah is making her mark as a charismatic leader, an energetic organizer, a community builder, an innovative educator, a teen mentor and volunteer recruiter – all facets of her role as Executive Director of Repair the World Detroit.
October 1, 2018
Man of Steel
Founding Partner of Bar Processing (a major steel processor for automotive parts); Past President of Federation and the Jewish Community Center; astute fundraiser, strategic community planner and avid supporter of Israel; naming sponsor the Loving Acts of Kindness Fund and JCC’s annual “Matzah Factory.” An aficionado of model trains since childhood, proud to become a Bar Mitzvah at the age of 63. Ever learning, ever curious, always dapper in his signature specs. This is Douglas Bloom, recipient of Federation’s highest honor, the 2018 Fred M. Butzel Memorial Award.
August 31, 2017
Defining Community Leadership
Past President of the United Jewish Foundation (UJF), ardent fundraiser and supporter of all things Jewish Detroit and Israel, selected by his peers for listing in “The Best Lawyers in America,” a real estate attorney with the soul of an artist, a community volunteer since his teen years, energetic as ever as Co-Founder and Exec Director of the non-profit Cabaret 313: this is Allan Nachman - recipient of Federation’s highest honor, the 2017 Fred M. Butzel Award.
November 4, 2016
The Quiet Philanthropists
Fourth generation Detroiters, married 37 years, Sue Ellen and Alan Jay Kaufman have been active and ardent supporters of educational, civic and Jewish communal causes since their days as young lawyers in Federation’s “Junior Division” and “Women’s Department.” Steadily and quietly through the years, they have dedicated their energies and resources where their hearts have led them: to Federation, Hillel Day School, Hebrew Free Loan (HFL), Cranbrook, JCC, Yad Ezra, Adat Shalom Synagogue, Frankel Academy, JARC, Jewish Studies at U-M and MSU, the Eli Broad College of Business at MSU, the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), Technion and Bar-Ilan University in Israel, the DIA, the Detroit Zoo.
As their names grace the rosters of so many organizations in Jewish Detroit and beyond, both Alan and Sue play active community leadership roles as well. Currently, Sue serves as Federation’s Campaign Chair of Women’s Philanthropy; Michigan Co-Chair of Birthright; Board Member of HFL and the Holocaust Memorial Center; and Committee Member of Federation’s Partnership2Gether and Missions to Israel. Alan is President Elect of the United Jewish Foundation, starting his term in mid-2017, and holds numerous posts on boards, including the Detroit Zoological Society, the Detroit Economic Club and Walsh College.
