October 2021
The Israel and Overseas annual Ride for the Living event, chaired by Mark Cahn, Mark Kowalsky, Ron Sollish and Eva Solomon, returned full-bore this year on Sunday, Aug. 22, after a year of socially distanced riding due to the pandemic.
Federation’s Ride for the Living event is a satellite ride done in conjunction with the ride that happens every year in Krakow, Poland.
The JCC Krakow’s Annual Ride for the Living is a 34.5-mile bike ride from the Auschwitz death camp to the JCC in Krakow that commemorates Jewish history, including the Holocaust and the victims that died, and celebrates the miraculous rebirth of Jewish life in Poland today. Mark Kowalsky, Detroit Ride for the Living Co-Chair, says, “The ride helps enhance our bind with Jewish life in Europe and to show the resiliency of the Jewish world”.
Federation’s satellite ride — which was approximately 30 miles — is Jewish Detroit’s own way of commemorating and celebrating the living. This year, the ride ran from Ferndale, down to the Detroit Riverfront, onto Belle Isle, and finished back in Ferndale. All the proceeds from the Metro Detroit ride go to the JCC Krakow and the Jewish community there. This year, the ride raised more than $5,000 from over 100 registrants.
Eva Solomon, Detroit Ride for the Living Co-Chairs says, “Each year of being a ride leader of Ride for the Living has been a unique and special experience filled with camaraderie for a meaningful cause”.
A new spin was added this year as the ride left from Ferndale High School and concluded with a social event at Ferndale Project where riders were given a food and drink ticket and encouraged to socialize with their fellow riders.
Last year, the live ride had to be canceled due to COVID-19. There was no official event, as Federation simply encouraged people to take part in their own ride and to donate whatever they wanted to the JCC Krakow, if they were able to do so. The Israel and Overseas Department was thrilled that they were able to hold the event in person, once again, and is looking forward to future rides, which will hopefully include taking community members to the actual Ride for the Living in Poland.