THE JEWISH NEWS—Section B—Friday, March 15,
of Jewish Reconstruction
Detroit, Strong Community UJA, .Great Instrument
By ARYEH LOUIS PINCUS
Jewish Agenry for Israel
At Home, Gives Aid to UJA In celebtating the 25th anni- Treasurer,
stopped before the final act of peal into being in the fall of
By MAX M. FISHER
President, Jewish Welfare Federation
Analysis of support of the United Jewish Appeal
by communities throughout the nation has proven that
where a community provides for its own needs ade-
quately its support of the UJA is strong. The best com-
munities are those that provide for all Jewish needs;
around the corner— and around the world.
Combined giving has enabled our community to
establish institutions and services that cover the whole
range of human need. It has enabled Detroit's Jewish
citizens to participate and feel a sense of pride of accom-
plishment in the modern miracle that is the state of Israel.
Right here in Detroit, our Jewish Home for Aged
has been a pioneer in establishing proper standards of
residential care for senior citizens. Other services that
help older adults live in dignity and productivity range
from Camp vacations to social dancing, and from home-
maker service to family counseling.
In Detroit, the United HebreW Schools stands ready
to give every child a . Jewish education whether or not
his parents can afford to pay for it. In the last several
years, the community-sponsored camp, Tamarack, has
been able to accommodate every child whose parents
could not pay the full fee. The Jewish Community Center
is a center of recreation, good fellowship, and informal
Jewish education for children of the very poor, the
well-to-do, and all economic levels between.
The Jewish Family and Children's Service is dedi-
cated to preserving one of America's most priceless assets
—the family unit. Here, faniilies whose problems have
become so overwhelming that they are unable to solve
them themselves, find excellent counseling and guidance.
The Jewish Community Council promotes harmonious
relationships within the Jewish community and with
our non-Jewish. neighbors.
The Hebrew Free Loan Association grants interest-
free loans to families and individuals faced with economic
crisis. Those who have physical or emotional handicaps
that make them unemployable or very difficult to employ
are trained in our Community Workshop. The Jewish
Vocational Service specializes in finding employment for
the difficult to place, and offers vocational counseling
to people of all ages. We have a House of Shelter that is a
haven for those who find themselves homeless in our city.
The Resettlement Service has a proud record of
helping immigrants adjust to our way of life. It has
helped thousands of victims of Nazi persecution apply
for the reparation payments to which they are entitled.
Sinai Hospital and its Shiffman Clinic serve the
entire community. The clinic offers out-patient medical
and dental care. It has pioneered in cleft palate repair,
and its low-vision clinic has found sight for hundreds
of people who are legally blind. Sinai Hospital is the
Jewish community's contribution to the physical well-
being of all Detroiters. It has a proud record of medical
excellence. In less than a decade since its founding, it
is becoming a center of medical treatment, teaching
and research.
We are a strong community at home, able to provide
for our needs and to share in the great task of caring for
our fellow Jews overseas who must have our help.
.
,
Looking Back at Status of Our
Federation Agencies 25 Years Ago
In 1938, when the United Jewish Appeal was founded,
the Detroit Jewish Welfare Federation had its office at 51
West Warren. The Jewish Community Council, just or-
ganized, had a desk and an address in the Federation office.
The . Jewish Social Service, in existence under the name
since 1925 and in business "to preserve Jewish family life,"
maintained a family welfare casework service, an unem-
ployment emergency council and a child care investigation
process, all from the same address.
The House of Shelter, was already on Taylor near
Woodrow Wilson, where it continues to stay this day. The
Hebrew Free Loan Association was at Linwood south of
Joy Road.
The Jewish Child Placement Bureau, providing substi-
tute parental care for children, also had an office on Warren,
while the Children's Home was providing an institutional
home for 75 children in a building at Burlingame and
Petoskey.
The Jewish Community Center was in its first build-
ings at Woodward and Holbrook and had a neighborhood
branch over a store on Dexter. North End Clinic was still
on Holbrook east of Russell in an older neighborhood.
Fresh Air Camp was at Brighton, Mich.
The United Hebrew Schools was at nine locations: Its
main building was at Philadelphia and Byron; one branch
was at the Jewish Center on Woodward; other units were
on Tuxedo, Parkside, Delmar and. Brush and the remain-
ing branches were at Brady, McCullough and Winterhalter
Public Schools and at Central High School. The then new
Jewish Home for Aged had just gone up on Petoskey,
next door to the Children's Home.
The Allied Jewish Campaign had 6,000 contributors
in 1937 and had more than 23,000 in 1962. Campaign in-
come has risen from $250,000 in 1937 to $4,860,000 in 1962.
versary of the . - .UJA fulsome
praise of Amerirairldwry should
be avoided.., Flowery expressions
of gratitude ,would distort the
real meaning of the *ark of the
UJA dining one of the most criti-
cal periods in,...)ewish history.
The significance of .,the. UJA
can best be. understood by the
circumstances . a t- t ,e n
n g its
birth. It. was_. born during the
period of grini tragedy and well-
nigh hopelessness facing millions
of Jews. In 1937 it was clear that
Hitler was 'not, going to be
,
,
tragedy had taken place. • The
odious British White Paper was
intended to sound the death
knell of Jewish hopes in Pales-
tine, as well as the hopes of
those millions of trapped Jews
in need of a refuge. The Jews
of Europe were to be doomed to
degradation and annihilation.
All this was taking place
while the civilized world • looked
on silently and for the most
part unashamedly.
The act of dedication which
brought the United Jewish Ap-
1938 was more than a deelara-
tion of faith. It was a historic
act giving concrete • expression
to the unshakable will of the
Jewish people for survival. The
richest and strongest Jewish
community declared in word and
deed that it would "neither sleep
nor rest" as long as Jews in
any part of the world needed
succour; it was an affirmation
of its responsibility to aid in
the creation of a free and inde-
pendent country for the Jewish
people.
,
1
Hearty Salutations
To a Great
Movement and Its
Historic Anniversary
In the 25th anniversary of the United Jewish
Appeal are represented the highest ideals of the
men and women who, during the quarter of a
century of challenges for the preservation of
humane principles, have given of their time, their
means and their devotion towards the uplifting
of the downtrodden and the rehabilitation
of the persecuted. . . . The UJA anniversary is
an historic date on the calendar of human kind-
ness.... It is an event perpetuating kindness and
justice to multitudes.... It is an occasion to reject
inhumanities. . . . It is a time for re-dedicaion to
service to our fellow-men.. . . May the continued
efforts of the UJA bring the relief that is so urgent
for the needy from many lands and the security
that must be assured for the heroic men and
women in Israel.
EMPIRE STEEL PRODUCTS CO.
Mr. & inrs gosepit JJ. gelcimart