THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
60 Friday, July 2, 1982
Jewish Family Service Special Friends
Program Aids Kids in Troubled Times
Tam Bond Event Planned
By BEVERLY WOLKIND
Jewish Welfare Federation
Shown beginning the planning for Tam-0-
Shanter Country Club's annual fall dinner on behalf
of Israel Bonds are, from left, standing: past dinner
honorees Robert Willens and General William Weins-
tein and, seated, Dave Muskovitz, Sam Rich and D.
Dan Kahn.
STRAIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE .. .
may refuse to participate
with the other person, al-
though Mrs. Dombey
says this has never
hapened.
At a recent workshop held
in JFS offices, an enthusias-
tic group of volunteers
gathered to share their Spe-
cial Friend experiences.
There was a consensus that
the adults are enjoying the
program as much as the
children.
Most volunteers ay–
young professiona. )
businesspeople or college
students, although there is
no age limit for the pro-
There are many ways Special Friends in the JFS gram.
The volunteers meet
program show youngsters they care. Volunteer Tedd
periodically with Mrs.
Schneider and his buddy enjoy spending a quiet mo-
Dombey and Mrs. Op-
ment together.
penheim, who are avail-
° able at' any time to an-
swer questions and give
encouragement.
With the success the pro-
gram is already achieving,
o Mrs. Dombey hopes to ex-
pand it as more volunteers
are available. For informa-
tion, contact her at the
Jewish Family Service,
•
559-1500.
The first time Tedd
Schneider took his special
little friend to a Tiger
baseball game, 9-year-old
David had so many ques-
tions that Tedd didn't see
much of the game. But
that's what being a "special
friend" is all about.
Tedd's experience with
David (not his real name) is
typical of volunteers in the
Special Friends program of
the Jewish Family Service.
A member agency of the
Jewish Welfare Federation,
Jewish Family Service in-
itiated the program more
than two years ago to pro-
vide much-needed adult
companionship and direc-
tion for children from trou-
bled families.
The program is directed
by JFS social worker Judy
Oppenheim and coordinator
of volunteer services Fayga
Dombey, with input from
Paul Friedman, JFS
casework supervisor.
According to Mrs.
Dombey, the children in
the program "need
someone special to call
their own." Either they or
their families are being
counseled at Jewish
Family Service and they
are generally children
who have problems de-
At a recent JFS workshop, volunteer Ron Elkus,
veloping relationships left, shared his enthusiasm for the program with
because of family stress. Naomi Kupfer and casework supervisor Paul Fried-
Many are from single- man.
parent homes.
* * *
Friedman points out that
A careful, professionally volunteer is asked to make a
the current economic crisis
has created greater family run screening process is commitment of two years to
pressures; some children used to pair up a child with the program, during which
may feel lonely or may be an adult Special Friend. Ini- he or she will spend time
upset by distorted relation- tially, a parent, the school with the child once a week.
ships at home. In some or JFS caseworker files a Male volunteers work with
cases, there is a lack of what request for the child's par- "little , brothers," while
Friedman calls boundaries ticipation. Mrs. Oppenheim women are paired With "lit-
-
or parental guidance when meets with the client and tle sisters."
After the initial screen-
parents are preoccupied caseworker to learn more
ing, Mrs. Dombey and
with their own problems. It about the needs.
At the same time, Mrs. Mrs. Oppenheim com-
is an adult Special Friend
who can help relieve the Dombey interviews the pro- pare notes and arrange a
burden on the parent and spective adult volunteer to meeting with the youngs-
child by giving the youngs- explain the program and de- ter and his or her poten-
ter the extra time and guid- termine what the volunteer tial Special Friend. Both
hopes to gain from it. The understand that each
ance he needs.
Exam Switch
for Observant
NEW YORK — The State
Department has agreed to
facilitate. alternate test-
date arrangements for Sab-
bath observers interested in
taking the annual Foreign
Service written examina-
tion, according to the Anti -
Defamation League of Bnai
Brith.
Bible Contest
NEW YORK — Two girls
and three boys were an-
nounced as the five winners
in the 23rd annual National
Bible Contest. The finalists
— all high school students
— were winners of local and
regional contests.
Ladino is a mixture of
15th Century Castillian
Spanish and Hebrew.
Cleveland Jewish Population Jr. Division Installs Officers
Study Shows Big Decrease
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CLEVELAND (JTA) —
The Jewish population of
Cleveland is currently es-
timated as 70,095, com-
pared with an estimated
population of 83,500 in 1970
and the number of Jewish
children has been dropping
sharply, according to a new
survey of Cleveland's
Jewish community.
Data from the 1981 sur-
vey were disclosed by Sally
Wertheim, vice chairman of
the Community Services
Planning Committee, at a
meeting of the Jewish
Community Federation, the
Cleveland Jewish News re-
ported.
The drop in the number of
children was indicated by a
count of 5,250 children six
to 11 years of age, and a
count of 4,713 from birth to
five years of age.
Mrs. Wertheim said the
study refuted notions
about the age distribu-
tion of Cleveland Jews
and about mobility of
Cleveland Jews. She said
the study revealed "a
healthy number" of
young adults and an ed-
lerly population smaller
than has been assumed.
She said the data con-
tradict the impression that
Cleveland Jews leave in
large numbers in search of
balmier climates. The study
found that job opportunity
is far more important in
such shifts.
She noted that 31 percent
of Jewish families with
grown children do not have
children living in Cleve-
land. She said that, as those
parents age and need more
extensive social services,
the unavailability of their
children will be a vital fac-
tor in planning for those ex-
panded needs.
Officers for the coming year were installed at the
44th annual meeting of the Jewish Welfare Federation
Junior Division. Outgoing President James Deutch-
man, left, turned over the president's gavel to James
A. Safran.