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Community Corner

COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS ANNOUNCE NEW PROJECT TO CLEAN,PRESERVE A PIECE OF DETROIT

COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS ANNOUNCE NEW PROJECT TO CLEAN,PRESERVE A PIECE OF DETROIT HISTORY B’NAI DAVID CEMETERY TO BE SITE OF APRIL 27TH DAY OF SERVICE DETROIT, Mich. (April 21, 2014) – A coalition of community volunteers and organizations have announced the formation a new project to call attention to, care for and preserve an important piece of the City of Detroit’s history, overall and the Detroit Jewish Community, in particular.
 
The B’nai David Cemetery Care and Preservation Project will begin its commitment to the historic cemetery on Detroit’s East Side with a Community Cleanup event on Sunday April 27, 2014. That event will kickoff an ongoing effort to clean and maintain the environment and gravesites inside the cemetery from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
 
Partners in the Project include the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, which will hold all funds raised for maintenance of the cemetery, the Greater Detroit Jewish Cemetery Association, The Ira Kaufman Chapel, Clover Hill Park Cemetery of Congregation Shaarey Zedek and the Jewish Historical Society of Michigan.
 
The B’nai David Cemetery is located at 9535 Van Dyke, North of Interstate 94 and South of Lynch Road in Detroit, near Detroit City Airport. It saw its first burial in 1898, just six years after the founding of Beth David Synagogue, which was started by Russian immigrants. There are approximately 1200 gravesites at the cemetery, with the last known burial there taking place in 2009. In recent decades, the cemetery has fallen into severe disrepair and its landscape is dominated by weeds and tall grasses.
 
The inspiration for the project came from 13 year-old Eva Goldman, who, in 2013, led her family and friends in a one-day cleanup of the cemetery, where her great-great grandmother is buried. Her father, David Goldman, assembled what is now this new coalition to continue with the project.
 
“Our family saw the terribly dilapidated state of the cemetery and decided to do something about it,” said David Goldman. “Ralph Zuckman, Director of Clover Hill Cemetery and founder of the Greater Detroit Jewish Cemetery Association and I visited the cemetery and began to formulate a plan to clean and maintain this important location in Detroit’s Jewish history. Because Congregation B’nai David, which grew out of the original Beth David Synagogue is no longer active, it is up to the broader community to take on this work. Ideally, former B’nai David members and/or their families will discover this project, find it meaningful, and participate in some way.”
 
“As a longtime sponsor of the Kever Avot program, where Jewish seniors are provided transportation and help from volunteers in a chance to visit the graves of loved ones, it was painful to tell some of them that the cemetery where their parents and grandparents are buried was not accessible without a key and in disrepair,” said David Techner, funeral direct at The Ira Kaufman Chapel. “Some of the people who helped to shape Detroit and its Jewish Community are buried in this cemetery and it’s our responsibility to help honor them through this project.”
 
For details on how to participate in the April 27th event at the cemetery, visit this link to register and select a volunteer time slot:
 
http://goo.gl/OueRZJ 
 
For volunteers who do not wish to drive to the cemetery, The Ira Kaufman Chapel will provide transportation to and from Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield.
 
For more information on this project overall and the April 27th volunteer opportunity, contact David Goldman at (248) 686-9801 or david@migoldman.com
 
The Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit has set up a fund so that donations can be accepted for the ongoing care and maintenance of the cemetery. Checks can be made out to "Friends of B'nai David Cemetery," and sent to:
 
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit 
6735 Telegraph Road
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301
 

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