Sunday, September 7th • Kol Ami
9:30am Light Breakfast • 10:00am Lecture
Join us for a compelling presentation by Kol Ami member Oded “Ody” Norkin, as he shares the inspiring story of how he built meaningful Jewish and Rotary partnerships to support our Ukrainian brothers and sisters. Learn about the impactful work already accomplished by two remarkable communities—Lansing, Michigan, and Salt Lake City, Utah.
Joining us via Zoom will be Ody’s partners from Dnipro: Oleh Zabara, Head of the Department of Traumatology and Rehabilitation, and Oleksiy Grebinko, Past President of the Dnipro City Rotary Club. They will share firsthand updates on the situation in Ukraine and what support is still needed. Please note: their participation may be affected by ongoing events.
Stay after the presentation for an open discussion and the opportunity to connect with others passionate about making a difference.
Please RSVP below!
Kol Ami Members: Free • Guests: $10 per person
Underwriting opportunities are available. Please contact programming@conkolami.org for more information.
Oded (Ody) Norkin was born in Israel in the 1950s, by parents who escaped Eastern Europe. His father escaped from his hometown in Crimea (back then, Russia), and his mother escaped as a child with her family from Berlin, Germany.
At age 17, Ody joined a Nachal group in Kibbutz Nirim, spending five years there on the Gaza border. After meeting Rachel in their IDF unit, they married in 1976. They later moved to Michigan State University in East Lansing for his studies in MSU's College of Agriculture, which still is home. Their family business in East Lansing is Michigan Flyer LLC, a bus company with shuttle services to/from DTW airport. Their three adult daughters include Leora Norkin, a member of Kol Ami, who welcomed their first grandson, Ira Norkin, in January 2024. Paul Sherrill, Leora's husband, is a professor of Music Theory at the University of Utah.
When Russia stormed into Ukraine in February of 2022 the news was focused on thousands of refugees fleeing the country into Poland and Romania. "I grew up learning that my grandparents in Odesa were murdered because the Russians would not allow them to board the eastbound trains towards safety. Hence, I felt compelled to volunteer my transportation skills to help evacuate residents of Odesa, Ukraine towards safety in Romania and on to Israel and elsewhere. This led to my first mission in March of 2022 to Bucharest and on to Odesa."
The first ambulance delivered to Odesa
Jim Isaacson and Ody holding a plaque that is now at the Dnipro Ukraine hospital recognizing the late Rabbi Wenger
Ambulance #4 delivered to Kiev Jewish community
Evacuation and service van that was delivered Chernowitz Ukraine, B'nai Brith
An apartment building that was attacked early during the occupation period in Irpin, Ukraine
Sat, September 13 2025
20 Elul 5785
