A Token of Their Appreciation

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

The Davidson Foundation recently provided the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit with a grant to provide each Jewish educational staff member in the community with a “welcome back” brunch and a $200 gift card, as a thank you for their efforts during the pandemic.

Plans for the initiative have been worked on since before the summer, and all staff at the local day schools, including teachers, administrative staff, custodial staff, security and more received the gift cards.

“Over the last year and a half, our teachers have been so resilient and courageous in the face of the pandemic,” said Steven Ingber, Federation CEO. “Many, in fact, put the wellbeing of our children above their own. We owe everyone who works in our schools an immense debt of gratitude and the teacher appreciation initiative was just one small way for us to say thank you.

“We also want to thank the William Davidson Foundation for conceiving of the initiative and providing the funding to make it happen,” Ingber continued. “This is just another example of the foundation’s immense generosity and passion for Jewish education and the Jewish educators and support staff in our community.”

The brunch and gift cards were a surprise, presented to the staff during professional development meetings the week before students returned to school. The response has been extraordinary.

The Davidson Foundation’s Ethan Davidson, son of Bill Davidson, said the initiative is reflective of his father’s focus.

“Jewish education is the core of what my dad was interested in philanthropically, and we’ve taken his interests to guide us with what we do for the Foundation,” Davidson said. “It’s right at the heart of what we do.”

Davidson said he’s gotten calls from all the different schools, with people reaching out and expressing their appreciation. Some people were even in tears.

“I think our day school ecosystem has done a spectacular job managing this crisis. The leadership has been so on top of it,” Davidson said. “We just wanted to help people and show teachers in some small way we value and appreciate them and that the Jewish community is really built on our educators.”

Jessica Shindler, a secondgrade general studies teacher at Hillel, said it was mentioned during the brunch that there would be a $200 gift card for everyone.

“I think everyone’s reaction in the room was just that they were shocked,” Shindler said. “It’s one thing to be told we’re appreciated, but for them to go out of their way for such a generous sentiment for everyone who has been working in the building is so huge. It’s something teachers are still talking about and still appreciating.”

Shindler knows how

important the initiative has been for the schools with how much has been upended since March 2020.

“It’s been tough. When we were remote, I think that was the hardest part because we had no idea, and there was no preparing for it,” Shindler said. “Last year, Hillel was one of the schools fortunate to be in-person for pretty much the whole school year. It was different; it was an adjustment for everyone in the building, but we were really grateful to be in school.”

Shindler said it was mentioned that they should use the gift card on themselves, instead of their classroom. Schindler’s gift card has gone toward purchases on Amazon, including a toy for her dog, some containers to pack her lunches in and some books for herself and her husband.

Joseph Bernstein, a social studies teacher at Frankel Jewish Academy, says he and the school staff were also shocked, in a good way.

“I’ve been teaching a long time, and the last 18 months have been the most difficult in my career,” Bernstein said. “I think their mouths kind of dropped. I think the important thing about this is not only did it go to teachers; it also went to the entire staff. Everyone from the cleaning staff who has worked so hard, to the people working in the front office, to our security. You name it, everyone was included in it.”

Bernstein hasn’t decided what to use the gift card for, though he believes it’s going toward something his whole family can use.

Bernstein believes the Davidson Foundation and Jewish Federation’s generosity is reflective of the community as a whole.

“It shows what our values are about and our values being that of the Jewish community,” Bernstein said. “It’s about appreciating those people who work so hard.”

Rabbi Shragie Myers, executive director of Yeshiva Beth Yehudah, expressed similar sentiments.

“What an incredible community we live in. To have the William Davidson Foundation partner with the Jewish Federation to express the community’s appreciation for our educators in such a concrete, meaningful way is yet another example of how blessed we all are to live here,” Myers said.

“Hosting a thank-you brunch to present these gifts and having Steven Ingber, the CEO of the Jewish Federation, here to thank each educator personally was an added touch of warmth that meant so much to all of us.”

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