05/08/2026
Last week, Yad Ezra had the pleasure of celebrating our incredible volunteers with an appreciation dinner at Congregation B'nai Moshe. It was a wonderful evening to honor the dedicated people who show up and serve our client families week after week.
Volunteers are the backbone of this organization, and we are so grateful for our community.
We were also proud to present our three Volunteer of the Year awards. Meet this year's honorees below.
Richard Harte's connection to Yad Ezra spans more than three decades. He was first introduced through the bar mitzvah projects of his sons Seth and Matthew, and formed an early bond with Bernie Phillips, who ran the warehouse and helped shape Richard's involvement. Twenty years ago, Richard made the call to get re-involved — and hasn't looked back since.
A steady, reliable presence in the warehouse and wherever else he's needed, Richard brings the same hands-on spirit to everything he does. Outside of Yad Ezra, he serves as president of his condo association, enjoys fixing things himself, and spent 30 years working in communications before selling computers to the federal government. He has been happily married to his wife Laurie for 15 years, and takes great joy in his sons Seth and Matthew — and the two grandchildren, Levi and Max, they've given him.
Richard's dedication, humility, and long-standing commitment to service embody the very spirit of Yad Ezra. We are proud to honor him as our Volunteer of the Year......
Israel Olivarez has been a dedicated volunteer at Yad Ezra for 13 years, bringing with him a lifelong commitment to serving others. Originally from San Antonio, Israel moved to Michigan in his twenties, where he built both his career and his passion for community service. He worked for AT&T until his retirement, all while making time to give back.
While living in Lansing, Israel became involved with MiCafe—Michigan’s Coordinated Access to Food for the Elderly—helping ensure that seniors had access to the food they needed. After relocating to the Metro Detroit area, he found his way to Yad Ezra, where he has continued to make a meaningful impact through his steady presence and generous spirit.
Israel is blessed in marriage to his wife, Jamie, and blessed in life with two children and seven grandchildren, who are a constant source of pride and joy. When he’s not volunteering, you can find him on the golf course or spending quality time with his family. We are so grateful for Israel’s 13 years of dedication and the compassion he brings to our community......
Jody Steinberg
Jody grew up in Queens and later Long Island, where she met her husband Michael. She earned a B.A. in linguistics from SUNY Buffalo and a Master's in teaching English as a second language from the University of Michigan — and married Michael two days after finishing her coursework.
Shortly after, Michael began language training to study medicine in Italy, and Jody joined him two months later. They spent six years in a suburb of Rome — a real honeymoon, they'll tell you — where they fell in love with coffee, wine, and la dolce vita. When Jody became pregnant with their son Gary, it was time to come home. It became a friendly race: would Michael finish his MD or become a dad first? He made Doctor by a month.
The family continued to move — Springfield, Pittsburgh (where their daughter Gail was born), Fort Knox, and San Antonio — following Michael's career, including nine years in the U.S. Army. When he left the service, they set their sights on Southeast Michigan, where Gail now lives with her husband and six children. Their son Gary and his wife are in New Jersey with three children of their own.
When Jody discovered Yad Ezra's Giving Gardens program, she knew she'd found her place. She loves gardening, cooking, Torah study, and every chance she gets to spend time with her grandchildren.
📷: Josh Aaron Photography
