The ffistory of Jewish

Philanthropy in etroit

By ISIDORE SOBELOFF
In addition to the officers. 16 acted as incorpor-
Butzel, chairman of the executive committee. .The
Exectitive Director, Jewish Welfare Federation
ators. They included Henry M. Butzel, Dr. Leo M.
provisional board of governors included men who
One o1 the earliest milestones in the philan- Franklin, Jacob Friedman, Bernard Ginsburg, Samuel
distinguished themselves by a long record of com-
Goldstein, Moses Harris, Mrs. Samuel Heavenrich, Si-
thropic_ history of our Jewish Community was
munity service: David A. Brown. Fred M. Butzel'
mon
Heavenrich,
J.
Jatovsky,
B.
L.
Lambert,
Rosa
Nov. 21, 1899, when a voluntary association,
T.
Rabbi
Leo M. Franklin, William Friedman, Bernard
Rosenfield. William Saulson, A. Schlesinger, Lottie T.
thereafter known as the United Jewish Charities,
GinsbUry, Rabbi A. M. Hershman, Judge Harry B.
.Sloman, Adolph Sloman and Joseph Wertheimer.
Keidan, Julian David W. Simons, Milford
was formed.
This, then, was the beginning, the first voluntary
Stern and Samuel Summerfield.
This was by no means the beginning of Jewish
association of societies engaged in a major communal
social service in Detroit, for in our city. as in other
Several other leaders, in addition to these officers,
cooperative effort: on a wide community service basis.
communities Jews knew from the lessons of The Book
were among the incorporating members of Federa-
and through their prayers • in the synagogue that
tion. They included Milton Alexander, Louis Duscoff,
Assistance to Refugees
charity is righteousness, a duty to provide for those
Jacob Friedberg, Walter M. Fuchs. Edith .S. Heaven-
in want. For the fatherless, the sick, the aged, and
. One of the first instances of major assistance was
rich, Bernard Isaacs, Theodore Levin, Esser Rabino-
that given to refugees from Romania, a forerunner of
the widow there was help and understanding. This
witz, Melville S. Welt and David Zemon.
was the practice throughout our entire Jewish history
our Resettlement Service program.
A Who's Who of Detroit Jewish communal service-
and undoubtedly this moral, traditional and religious
Aid to Jewish education was provided by grant-
would include thousands of names going back over
feeling of responsibility for the community and its
ing the use of the Charities meeting 7'007118 to the
many years. The :titular leaders since 1899 were:
memberS was present when America's first JeWish
Hebrew Free School. Here we see the continuation
Presidents of the United Jewish Charities following
community came into being in New Amsterdam. in
of a. tradition that our children shall learn our cul- •
David W. Simons: Bernard Ginsburg, Henry M. But-
1654.
ture, our traditions, and shall be able to participate
zel, Fred M. Butzel; Joseph L. Selling, Julian H. Kro-
Historians tell us that from the earliest. times
in our conzmunal life. An allocation was made . to
lik, William Friedman, Henry Wineman, Walter M.
seven distinct phases of philanthropy were practiced
the House of Shelter. And in 1901, a free medical
Fuchs and Theodore Levin.
by the Jewish people. These were:
dispensary was established in the Charities build-
Feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, shelter-
Presidents of Federation, following Henry Wine-
ing. This was the birth of North End Clinic, today
ing the homeless, visiting the sick, burying the dead,
man: Milford Stern, Clarence H. Enggass, Abraham
the outpatient department of Sinai Hospital. Fifty
redemption of captives, and dowries. -The first five
Srere, William Friedman, Julian H. Krolik, Samuel H.
years before in 1852, the first Jewish hospital to be
Rubiner.
are still practiced; an extension of the services em-
opened in the United States was established in New
braced in the sixth may be seen in the recent work
The Jewish Institute on Education, earlier an an-
York. Now Mount Sinai Hospital, it was originally
of the Resettlement Service and the , rescuing of
nex to the Hannah Schloss Building, was the forerun-
called the Jew's Hospital.
Jews from oppression.
ner of the Jewish Community Center which grew out
The beginning of the Jewish Community Center
As America grew and as Jewish communities m ul-
of the merger of the Institute, the Young Men's He-
which
now
meets
the
recreational
and
informal
cul-
tiplied, became more complex, and showed signs of
brew Association and the Young WOmen's Hebrew' As-
tural
needs
of
persons
of
all
ages,
can
be
traced
back
overlapping in various charitable endeavors, lucre as-
sociation.. The concept of who is to be served by such
to
the
programs
provided
at
the
Hannah
Schloss
ing attention was given to centralization, of federati on.
a center has changed, as the early Institute had much
building in. 1903. Constant expansion of the United
Historically, the agencies and services that de-
of the character of a settlement house for the under-
Jewish
Charities
made
it
necessary
to
find
a
home
veloped over the years in American communities ca me -
privileged; today Jewish men, women and children
for UJC activities. The Real Estate Committee, headed
into being for the most part as a result of the inter est
from every walk of life derive benefit from the many-
by
Henry
M.
Butzel,
purchased
land
for
such
a
home,
of special groups in specific problems. In many cit ies
sided
cultural and recreational activities of the Jew-
on High Street East, now East Vernon Highway, and
the original Federations as founded 30 and 40 ye ars
ish Community Center.
Seligman Schloss provided funds for the construc-
•The Aaron DeR.oy Memorial Building, the main
ago were limited to the traditional philanthropic se i
tion of a building to be named the Hannah Schloss
ices in the narrower sense. Frequently there was t he
Center
unit, on Woodward Avenue, was completed in
Memorial Building, in memory of his wife.
further limitation that the agencies included ca me
its present form in 1939. In 1944 the Twelfth Street
The building was far more than a headquarters—
only from the German-Jewish group, representing t
Council Center was established and in 1950 the Dex-
he it literally became the hub of Jewish community life.
older settlers, the more established members of t he
ter-Davison Branch, which brought center facilities to
he
New
Americans
came
there
for
classes
in
reading,
community. Other agencies were not included in t
a heavily populated Jewish area..
arithmetic and civics, the underprivileged attended
central organization, either because the older gro
Longer life expectancies, better health provisions
did not welcome the agencies of the newer groups, up classes in stenography and other subjects in an effort
and other factors have made the care of the aged an
because the newer groups . were not prepared for sti or to better their economic status, and youngsters loved
increasingly urgent problem.
eh the building on "old High Street" for the basketball
a marriage of convenience.
The Jewish Home for Aged dates back to 1905
and handball facilities. From the safe of the Hebrew
when it was first organized as a Hevrah Kadisha.
Free
Loan
Association
came
forth
home
and
life-
Community Growth- Brings Change
Its services included visiting the sick, attending the
saving dollars for those in need.
We. can go back as far as 49 years and alrea dy
needy and arranging for last rites and burin'
deceased. Within two years . it was
find the Cincinnati and Boston illustrations of uni ty
•
h In addition, two other important fields of service
aged
ad their early start about this time.
T
in fund-raising for the older community. These we re
lodaino ant?
less.
Our program. was the beginning of a camping
the first steps in what we have come to know - as
ing
the Federation idea. In these cases, the absence of
ervice which• now includes two summer camps. In
s
the younger institutions and agencies from the fami ly
pes:'
1902, Miss Blanche Hart and Miss Anna 'Solomon or-
ganized the Fresh . Air Committee of the UJC. Belle
did not necessarily result froth exclusion. For the mo st
l°7Z
_part,_ the singleness of source from which the inclu s l-
:sqsaV
Isle picnics and- day outings for women alu . "L
sli1 3 1
ed agencies sprang, came rather from the fact th at
o
g 9a3prz
dren were early activities. Later, in 1908, a 87 e was
Darzot ;eg
vsi
.
l
urrd
olSo
the
1.11,tetai4s
attl
the newer groups had not yet found themselveS corn
purchased at Venice Beach on Lake St. Clair and
oil
1
1)9
P
a
we
jtivi
2uoi
Jos
munally.
eventually the facility provided accornmodations for
dign4TITig
waTa
Talsa m 2u Iptrel,v;.,4P
200 children..
As the communities grew, it developed that th e
's and facilitie s are among the
unity of Federation was the unity of the older corn
These were the beginnings of a fresh air program
finest in the country.
munity performing services for the new communi
that by 1926 had achieved its present summer camp
The task of assisting Jejw4islIaltifisari
nia.l:: :
ty, with the new community showing only &limited
on Blaine Lake, near Brighton, and in 1950 purchased
and emotionally, is the responsibility of the Jewish
appreciation and all the while developing orphan-
a large tract of land near Ortonville far a larger camp.
Social Service Bureau. Along with general family
ages, homes for the aged, free loan organizations
Another 1950 project had its first beginning that same 'counseling and some relief assistance—the latter a
burial societies, and other such facilities and _serv-
year. when discussion was held on a proposed Jewish
ices of their own.
small portion of funds expended for services rendered
hospital.
the Bureau took on the work of the Resettlement
The device of the one-time, over-all campaign
Se rvice in 1937 in behalf of newcomers to our shores.
proved effective, but more and more, it became evi-
Suspend
Operations
Durino.
W • •ar
A colorful and constructive chapter in the integra-
dent that for one reason or another it was effective
tio n of refugees into American life was written by the
The other program was in the area of foster home
only up to the point that it touched the Orthoodox
ag ency in the years that followed. In 1944, the Jewish
care for children. It was not until a quarter of a cen-
and East European group, which proceeded in Chi-
Ch ildren's Bureau which was formed in 1941 as a rner-
tury later that professional direction was given to
cago and Baltimore, to cite two examples, to accept
ge r of the Placement Bureau and the Children's Home
this field and to other areas of family service with
the principle of a unified campaign but to apply it
be came a department of the JSSB.
the establishment of the Jewish Social Service Bureau.
as a separate procedure for the self-contahied units
Some of the new agencies that were formed within
In 1908 the Jewish Institute on Education was
of the Orthodox philanthropies as an entity unto
itself.
added as an annex to the Hannah Schloss Building
recent years are the Jewish Community Council in
and provided adult education activities.
1937, the Jewish Vocational Service in 1940 and the
In. Detroit, the situation was to be a more for-
Jewish Hospital Association in 1944. The Jewish Com-
tunate one with no such dichotomy established in
During the first World War, the United Jewish
munity Council was the result of what was felt to be
central fund-raising. In 1899 representatives of the
Charities suspended its own fund-raising activities
a need for a community forum for representatives of
then leading Detroit "philanthropic societies" met
to cooperate with the Patriotic Fund of 1919 just
organizations interested in the discussion of genera)
at Temple Beth El. Dr. Leo M. Franklin presided
as during the second World War the Federation
Jewish problems. It acts as the local community re-
at the meeting and when it was adjourned the
suspended the Allied. Jewish campaign to .become a . _
United Jewish charities had been established.
latiOns arm of Federation and the central forum for
partner in the War Chest . of Metropolitan Detroit. •
delegates from about 300 - organizations.
The all-important underlying principle motivating
All the while, - arrivals brought into Detroit by the
the founders of the Charities was a basic one--the be-
Industrial Removal Office during the early 1900 period
Start Plannihk for Tomorrow
lief that members of a community, in voluntary as-
were being absorbed into the community and finding
sociation can accomplish more in behalf of them-
help through established services,
The Jewish Vocational Service was ith outgrowth
selves and their neighbors if they work. through a
By 1923, it was becoming apparent that the struc-
of the job-placement department of the Center.
single central. communal organization to serve the
ture of the United Jewish Charities was too limited
The Jewish Hospital Association sponsored by Fed
causes -which they recognize to be their group re-
for the growing needs of the Detroit Jewish com-
eration in 1944. was -the culmination of many year
sponsibility. The purpose of the United Jewish Chari-
munity, In behalf of all organizations in the com-
of interest in the need for a Detroit hospital under
ties was, in the words of the original agreement, "to
munity and by means of funds bequeathed by Leopold
Jewish auspices. Opened in 1953, Sinai Hospital, a
form a joint association by which all charitable and
Wineman, the Charities initiated a 'survey to bring
214-bed structure, erected and equipped at a cost of
educational work now being done by the various so-
forth facts which would make possible the elimina-
$6,000,000, stands today on Outer Drive east of Green-
cieties may be expeditiously and less expensively ac-
tion of obsolete agencies or merger o_f valid organiza-
complished."
field on a 35 acre tract as the fulfillment of a com-
tions and to point out new fields of endeavor not yet
munity dream.
The first leaders in the Charities were David
touched by the Jewish cominunity. The following were
Already work has started which. will provide the
W. Simons, president; Samuel Heavenrich, first
named to serve on the Survey Committee: Joseph
No rthwest with United Hebrew School and Jewish
vice-president; Mrs. Sarah Berger, second vice-
Bernstein, David A. Brown, Fred M. Butzel, H. P.
Co nimunity Center facilities. Facilities which will
'president; E. H. Van Baalen, treasurer; and Abra-
Cohen, Henry Fechheimer,•Adolph Finsterwald, Morris
ev entually allow the Home for the Aged to add ad-
ham Benjamin, secretary.
Garvett, Mrs. Samuel R. Glogower, Judge Harry B.
dit ional bed space are now under construction. New
Editor's Note: The JeWish.News presents this impor-
Keidan, Jacob Levine, Emanuel Paperno, Judge
str uctures will rise at Camp Tamarack. More ade-
Charles C. Simons and Mrs. Henry Wineman.
gu. ate facilities will come for the Jewish Social Serv-
tant review of the history of Jewish philanthropy
ice Bureau so that it may extend its service to fami-
It was felt that what was needed was an all-in-
an Detroit, by Mr. Sobeloff, as part of a series of
lies and. children. Sinai Hospital must yet complete
elusive federation which would promote the social
special articles on national and local agencies, to
its minimum program of building which will bring
and cultural welfare of the local Jewish community,
be published on the occasion of the current celebra-
the outpatient department to the hospital's ground,
along with its responsibilities as the central fund-
tion of the American Jewish Tercentenary, Other
ad d beds and provide a nurses' home.
raising
organ
for
national,
domestic
and
overseas
important Tercentenary articles in this issue deal
causes. This was one of the first instances in America
we will continue to dream, to plan, to build for
with the status of Jewish education in our commu-
that a Jewish community established an organization the future for ourselves and for our children. No one
ntty (in a special evaluation by Morris Garvett, on
with this "double barrelled" purpose and the Jewish of u s as an individual can have the knowledge and
page V, reminiscences about Detroit's Jewish "Old-
Welfare Federation of Detroit emerged in 1926 when expe rience that all of us together can have. Our self
Timers" by Gus D. Newman, a special feature re-
the board of the Charities completed reorganization. deve lopment as a community will take into full ac-
coon t the grand stature and power of all of us I
The first officers of Federation were Henry Wine-
viewing the history of American Jewry, a chapter
man_ president; Samuel Summerfield, first vice-
an American Jewish community, counselling together
from the late Oscar S. Straus' "Hebrew Common-
for a common good.
president; William. Friedman., second vice-preside?i;
wealth and the U. S." and articles dealing with
David W. Simons--first Charities .roresidkn.t.-°''