One of my greatest memories from my time as President of the  Greater Detroit Section of National Council of Jewish Women was our decision to establish Orchards Children’s Services as an independent agency. Orchards began over fifty years ago as one of our community outreach programs, dedicated to helping children in need.  Over the years, our many volunteers helped hundreds, if not thousands, of children and their hard work built an organization that provided much needed services on a consistent basis.

We saw that Orchards had grown to the point that it could stand on its own and in fact really needed to be its own 501(c)(3) charitable agency to reach its fullest potential.  This was not an easy decision and many of our members were very concerned at the thought of Greater Detroit Section “losing” Orchards. Yet my Board and I knew that it was time for Orchards to take this step.

Just as at some point children must make their own way in the world, Orchards Children’s Services has continued to grow as it serves the Greater Detroit community in more ways than ever.  Greater Detroit Section is still connected to Orchards because of our shared history, because of our common concern for the welfare of children and because we have a seat on its Board of Directors.  Enabling it to become independent was the right decision.