The istory of Jewish Philanthropy in Detroit
By ISIDORE SOBELOFF
Executive Director, Jewish Welfare Federation
• One of the earliest milestones in the philan-
thropic history of our Jewish Community was
Nov. 21, 1899, \Olen a -.voluntary association,
thereafter known as the United Jewish Charities,
was formed.
This was by no means the beginning of Jewish
social service in Detroit, for in our city as in other
communities Jews knew from the lessons of The Book
and through their prayers in the synagogue that
charity is righteousness, a duty to 'provide for those
in. want. For the fatherless, the sick, the aged, and
•the widow there was help and understanding. This
suas the practice throughout our entire Jewish history
and undoubtedly this moral, traditional and religious
feeling of responsibility for the community and its
members was present when America's first Jewish
community came into being in New Amsterdam in
1654.
Historians tell us that from the earliest times
seven distinct; phases of philanthropy were practiced
by the Jewish people. These were:
Feeding the hungry, clothing the naked. shelter-
ing the homeless, visiting the sick, buryin`g the dead;
redemption of captives, and dowries. The first five
are still practiced; an extension of the services em-
braced in the sixth may be seen in. the recent work
of the Resettlement Service and the rescuing of
Jews from oppression.
As America grew and as Jewish communities mul-
tiplied, became more complex, and showed signs of
overlapping in various charitable endeavors, increas-
ing attention was given to centralization, of federation.
Historically, the agencies and Services that de-
veloped over the years in American communities came
into being for the most part as a result of the interest
of special groups in specific problems. In many cities
the original Federations as founded 30 and 40 years
ago were limited to the traditional philanthropic serv-
ices in the narrower sense. Frequently there was the
further limitation that the agencies included came
only from the German-Jewish group, representing the
older settlers, the more established members of the
community. Other agencies were not included in the
central organization, either because the older group
did not welcome the agencies of the newer groups, or
because the newer groups were not prepared for such
a marriage of convenience.
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Community Growth Brings Change
We can go back as far as 49 years and already
find the Cincinnati and Boston illustrations of unity
in fund-raising for the older community. These were
the first steps in what we have come to know as
the Federation idea. In these cases, the absence of
the younger institutions and agencies from the family
did not necessarily result from exclusion. For the most
part, the singleness of source from which the includ-
ed agencies sprang, came rather from the fact that
the newer groups had not yet found themselves corn-
DiUnally.
As the communities grew, it developed that the
unity of Federation was the unity of the older com-
munity performing services for the new communi-
ty, with the new community showing only a limited
appreciation and all the while developing orphan-
ages, homes for the aged, free loan organizations,
burial societies, and other such facilities and serv-
ices of their own.
The device of the one-time, over-all campaign
proved effective, but more and more, it became evi-
dent that for one reason or another it was effective
only up to the point that it touched the Orthoodox
and East European group, which proceeded. in Chi-
cago and Baltimore, to cite two examples, to accept
the principle of a unified campaign but to apply it
as a separate procedure for the self-contained units
of the Orthodox philanthropies as an entity unto
itself.
In Detroit, the situation was to be a more for-
tunate one with no such dichotomy established in
central fund-raising. In 1899 representatives of the
then leading Detroit "philanthropic societies" met
at Temple Beth El. Dr. Leo M. Franklin presided
at the meeting and when it was adjourned the
United Jewish charities had been established.
The all-important underlying principle motivating
the founders of - the Charities was a basic one—the be-
lief that members of a community, in voluntary as-
sociation can accomplish more in behalf of them-
selves- and their neighbors if they work through a
single central communal organization to serve the
causes which they recognize to be their group re-
sponsibility. The purpose of the United Jewish Chari-
ties was, in the words of the original agreement, "to
form a joint association by which all charitable and
educational work now being done by the various so-
cieties may be expeditiously and less expensively ac-
complished."
The first leaders in the Charities were David
W. Simons, president; Samuel Heavenrich, first
vice-president; Mrs. Sarah Berger, second vice-
president; E. H. Van Baalen, treasurer; and Abra-
ham Benjamin, secretary.
Editor's Note: The Jewish News presents this impor-
tant review of the history of Jewish philanthropy
in Detroit. by Mr. Sobeloff, as part of a series of
special articles on national and local agencies, to
be published on the occasion of the current celebra-
tion of the American Jewish Tercentenary. Other
important Tercentenary articles in this issue deal
with the statv,c of Jewish education in our commu-
nity fin a special evaluation by Morris Garvett, on
rage 8) , reminiscences about Detroit's Jewish "Old-
Timers" by Gus D. Newman, a special feature re-
viewing the historu of American Jewru, a chapter
from the late Oscar S. Straus' "Hebrew COMM012-
p)ealth and the U. S." and articles dealing with
American. Jewry's religious organizations.
In addition to the officers, 16 acted as incorpor-
ators. They included Henry M. Hazel, Dr. Leo M.
Franklin, - Jacob Friedman. Bernard Ginsburg, Samuel
Goldstein, Moses Harris, Mrs. Samuel Heavenrich, Si-
mon Heavenrich, J. Jatovsky, B. L. Lambert, Rosa T.
Rosenfield. William Saulson, A. Schlesinger, Lottie T.
Sloman, Adolph Sloman and Joseph Wertheimer.
This, then, was the beginning, the first. voluntary
association Of societies engaged in -a major communal
cooperative effort on a wide community service basis.
Assistance to Refugees
• One of the first instances of major assistance was
that given to refugees from Romania, a forerunner of
our Resettlement Service program.
Aid to Jewish education was provided by grant-
ing the use of th-e Charities meeting rooms to the
Hebrew Free School. Here we see the continuation
of a tradition that our children shall learn our cul-
ture, our traditions, and shall be able to participate
in our communal life. An allocation was made to
the House of Shelter. And in 1901, a free -medical
dispensary wa.c established in the Charities build-
ing. This was the birth of North. End Clinic, today
the outpatient department of Sinai Hospital. Fifty
years before in 1852, the first Jewish hospital to be
opened in the United States was established in New
York. Now .Monnt Sinai Hospital, it was originally
called the Jew's Hospital.
The beginning of the Jewish Community Center
which now meets the recreational and informal cul-
tural needs of persons of all ages, can be traced back
to the programs provided at the Hannah Schloss
building in 1903. Constant expansion of the United
Jewish Charities made it necessary to find a home
for UJC activities. The Real Estate Committee, headed
by Henry M. Butzel, purchased land for such a home.
on High Street East, now East Vernon Highway, and
Seligman Schloss provided funds for the construc-
tion of a building to be named the Hannah Schloss
Memorial Building, in memory of his wife.
The building was far more than a headquarters—
it literally becarrie the hub of Jewish community life.
New Americans came there for classes in reading,
arithmetic and civics, the underprivileged attended
classes in stenography and other subjects in an effort
to better their economic status, and youngsters loved
the building on "old High Street" for the basketball
and handball facilities. From the safe of the Hebrew
Free Loan Association came forth home and life-
saving dollars for those in need.
In addition, two other important fields of service
had their early start about this time.
Our program was the beginning of a camping
service which now includes two summer camps. In
1902, Miss Blanche Hart and Miss Anna Solomon or-
ganized the Fresh Air Committee of the UJC. Belle
Isle picnics and day outings for women and chil-
dren were early activities. Later, in 1908, a site was
purchased at Venice Beach on. Lake St. Clair and
eventually the facility provided accommodations for
200 children.
- These were the beginnings of a fresh air program
that by 1926 had achieved its present summer camp
on Blaine Lake, near Brighton, and in 1950 purchased
a large tract of land near Ortonville for a larger camp.
Another 1950 project had it.s first beginning that same
year. when discussion was held on a proposed Jewish -
hospital.
Suspend Operations During War
The other program was in the area of foster home
care for children. It was not until a quarter of a cen-
tury later that professional direction was given to
this field and to other areas of family service with
the establishment of the Jewish Social Service Bureau.
In 1908 the Jewish Institute on Education - was
added as an annex to the Hannah Schloss Building
and provided adult education activities.
During the first World War, the United Jewish
Charities suspended its own fund-raising activities
to cooperate with the Patriotic Fund of 1919 just
as during the second - World War the Federation
suspended the Allied Jewish Campaign to become a
partner in the War Chest , of Metropolitan Detroit.
All the while, arrivals brought into Detroit by the
Industrial Removal Office during the early 1900 period
were being absorbed into the community and finding
help through established services.
By 1923, it was becoming apparent that the struc-
ture of the United Jewish Charities was too limited
for the growing needs of the Detroit JewiSh com-
munity. In behalf of all organizations in the com-
munity and by means of funds bequeathed by Leopold
Vcrineman, the Charities initiated a survey to bring
forth facts which would make possible the elimina-
tion of obsolete agencies or merger. of valid organiza-
tions and to point out new fields of endeavor not yet
touched by the Jewish community. The following were
named to serve on the Survey Committee: Joseph
Bernstein, David A. Brown, Fred M. Butzel, H. P.
Cohen, Henry Fechheimer, Adolph Finsterwald, Morris
Garvett, Mrs. Samuel R. Glogower, Judge Harry B.
Keidan, Jacob Levine, Emanuel Pa.perno, Judge
Charles C. Simons and Mrs. Henry Wineman.
It was felt that what was needed was an all-in-
elusive federation which would promote the social
and cultural welfare of the local Jewish community,
along with its responsibilities as the central fund-
raising organ for national, - domestic and overseas
causes. This was one of the first instances in America
that a Jewish community established an organization
with this "double barrelled" purpose and the Jewish
Welfare Federation of Detroit emerged in 1926 when
the board of the Charities completed reorganization.
The first officers of Federation were Henry Wine-
man, president; Samuel Summerfield, first vice-
president; William Friedman, second vice--president;
David W. Simons—first Charities president—treas-
urer; Mor.raD. Waldm.an, secretary and Fred M.
Butzel, chairman of the executive committee. The
provisional board of governors included men who
distinguished themselves by a long record of com-
munity service: David A. Brown, Fred M. Butzel,
Rabbi Leo M. Franklin, William Friedman, Bernard.
Ginsburg. Rabbi A. M. Hershman, Judge Harry B.
Keidan, Julian H. Krolik, David W. Simons, Milford'
Stern and Samuel Summer field.
Several other leaders, in addition to these officers,
were among the incorporating members of Federa-
tion. They included Milton Alexander, Louis Du'coff,
Jacob Friedberg, Walter M. Fuchs.. Edith S. Heaven-
rich, Bernard Isaacs, Theodore Levin, Esser Rabino-
witz, Melville S. Welt and David lemon.
A Who's Who of Detroit Jewish communal service
would include thousands of names going back over
many years. The titular leaders since 1899 were:
Presidents of the United Jewish Charities following
David W. Simons: Bernard Ginsburg, Henry M. But-
zel, Fred M. Butzel, Joseph L. Selling, Julian H. Kro-
lik, William Friedman, Henry Wineman, Walter M.
Fuchs and Theodore Levin. •
Presidents of Federation, following Henry Wine-
man: Milford Stern, Clarence H. Enggass, Abraham.
Srere, William Friedman, Julian H: Krolik, Samuel H.
Rubiner.
The Jewish Institute on Education, earlier an an-
nex to the Hannah Schloss Building, was the forerun-
ner of the Jewish Community Center which grew out
of the merger of the Institute, the Young Men's He-
brew Association and the Young Women's Hebrew As-
sociation. The concept of who is to be served - by such
a center has changed, as the early Institute had much
of the character of a settlement house for the under-
privileged; today Jewish men., women and children
from every walk of life derive benefit from the many-
sided cultural and recreational activities of the Jew-
ish Community Center.
The Aaron DeRoy Memorial Building, the main
Center\ unit, on Woodward Avenue, was completed in
its present form in 1939. In 1944 the Twelfth Street
Council Center was established and in 1950 the Dex-
ter-Davison Branch, which brought center facilities to
a heavily populated Jewish area.
Longer life expectancies, better health provisions
and other factors have made the care of the aged an
increasingly urgent problem.
The Jewish Home for Aged dates back to 1905
when. it was first organized as a Hevrah Kad.isha.
Its services included visiting the sick, attending the
needy and arranging for last rites and burial of the
deceased. Within two years it was caring for the
aged by providing lodging and meals for the home-
less. After moving several times, each time outgrow-
ing its facilities, the Home dedicated in 1937 its
present beautiful quarters. on. Petoskey. It wasn't
long thereafter when the building of the Jewish
Children's Home, no longer required for institutional
child care, became part of the Home's facilities for
the chronically ill-aged. Today the Home provides
a well-rounded program that is aimed at bringing
dignity and a full life to our older members of the
community. Its services and facilities are among the
finest in the country.
The task of assisting Jewish - families. economically
and emotionally, is the responsibility of the Jewish
Social Service Bureau. Along with general family
counseling and some relief assistance—the latter a
small portion of funds expended for services rendered
—the Bureau took on the work of the Resettlement
Service in 1937 in behalf of newcomers to our shores.
A colorful and constructive chapter in the integra-
tion of refugees into American life was written by the
agency in the years that -followed. In 1944, the Jewish.
Children's Bureau which was formed in 1941 as a mer
ger of the Placement Bureau and the Children's Home
became a department of the JSSB.
Some of the new agencies that were formed within
recent years are the Jewish Community Council in
1937, the Jewish Vocational Service in 1940 and the
Jewish Hospital Association in 1944. The Jewish Com-
munity Council was the result of what was felt to be
a need for a community forum for representatives of
organizations interested in the discussion of general
Jewish problems. It acts as the local community re-
lations arm of Federation and the central forum for
delegates from about 300 organizations.
Start Planning for Tomorrow
The Jewish Vocational Service was an outgrowth
of the job-placement department of the. Center.
The Jewish Hospital Association sponsored by Fed-
eration in 1944, was the culmination of many years
of interest in the need for a Detroit hospital under
Jewish auspices. Opened in 1953, Sinai Hospital, a
214 bed structure, erected and equipped at a cost of
$6,000,000, stands today on Outer Drive east of Green-
field on a 35 acre tract as the fulfillment of a com-
munity dream.
Already work has started which will provide the
Northwest with United Hebrew School and Jewish.
Community Center facilities. Facilities which will
eventually allow the Home for the Aged to add ad-
ditional bed space are now under construction. New
structures will rise at Camp Tamarack. More ade-
quate facilities will come for the Jewish Social Serv-
ice Bureau so that it may extend its service to fami-
lies and children. Sinai Hospital must yet complete
its minimum program of building which will bring
the outpatient department to the hospital's ground,
add beds and provide a nurses' home.
So we will continue to dream, to plan, to build for
the future for ourselves and for our children. No one
of us as an individual can have the knowledge and
experience that all of us together can have. Our self
development as a community will take into full ac-
count the grand stature and power of all of us in
an American Jewish community, counselling together
for a coinnion good.
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THE DETIWIT .1.E1 11S1-1 NE'VVS-- Ph8e
Vriday, Septetriber 24, 1954
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