THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Friday, November 30, 1984

93

JUST ASKING...

Shalom Detroit aids newcomers

Our friends will be moving to
Detroit soon. How can they find
out about the Jewish community?
Detroit was Alita and Marshall
Cyrlin's seventh move in ten
years. They arrived at the end of a
humid summer with a five-year-
old and three-month-old in tow.
Within their first month here,
Alita received a call from Shalom
Detroit, the "Jewish Welcome
Wagon," sponsored by the
Women's Division of the Jewish
Welfare Federation.
Alita remembers the Detroit
move, with its frustrations and
feelings of isolation. She was de-
lighted when Elaine Sturman, a
Shalom Detroit committee
member, first called her. Alita ex-
plains, This was the first time in
seven moves that a Jewish Wel-
come Wagon called on us. I im-
mediately felt really good about
Detroit."
Shalom Detroit works as a
partner with the Jewish Commu-
nity Center to identify and wel-
come all Jewish newcomers to the
Detroit Metropolitan area.
For most, the Jewish Center
tends to be the point of entry into
the Jewish community. Dr. Mor-
ton Plotnick, JCC executive direc-
tor explains, "Throughout the
United States, Jewish community
centers provide a consistent,
strong service component for all
ages." The JCC offers all newcom-
ers a free six-month membership.
Jan Atshuler works in the
membership office. She says,
"Most people come to the JCC to
meet people and sign up their kids
for classes. They are very sur-
prised and pleased to receive the
free membership."
Every day, people in transition
call the JCC for information and
advice on housing, schools, syna-
gogues and community. Dr. Plot-
nick explains, "We have a re-
sponse mechanism to aid Jews
coming to our community,
whether they are moving from
California, Israel or Russia. We
have a responsibility to all
people."
Receiving names of newcomers
from the JCC, synagogues and in-
dividuals, Shalom Detroit acts as
the formal welcoming arm of the
Jewish community.
Michelle Passon, executive di-
rector of Women's Division of
JWF, says, "We recognized the
need for newcomers to become
active and knowledgeable of
community services. We also
knew they would welcome the

NEWS

Denver school cited

New York (JTA) — Beth Jacob
High School of Denver was one of
nine girls' high schools through-
out the United States to be hon-
ored for "outstanding qualities"
by the Department of Education
in Washington, according to
Torah Umesorah, the National
Society for Hebrew Day schools.
The Denver yeshiva is an affiliate
of Torah Umesorah.

Shalom Detroit volunteers Ellie Slovis , Ruth Wayne and Sue Kaufman.

opportunity to make new friends
and get to know people while
working on community projects."
Shalom Detroit is staffed by
volunteers who were often new-
comers themselves at one time.
Marilyn Goldberg, Shalom De-
troit chairman, is not a native De-
troiter. She recalls moving here
and initially feeling unwelcomed.
She says, "A formal welcome from
the Jewish community gives
people a positive feeling. How
they are received into the com-
munity determines their feelings
about their_ community and their
home."

Shalom Detroit collects names
of newcomers during the summer
and early fall when most moves
take place. Volunteers are then
matched to three or four newcom-
ers who might be of similar age,
live nearby or have children of a
similar age.
The volunteers are asked to
welcome the newcomers by phone,
and then personally deliver a
Shalom Detroit welcome packet.
It contains pamphlets and book-
lets describing the JWF and its 15
member agencies, with a holiday
calendar, JWF Women's Division
activities calendar, a colorful vis-
itor' guide to Detroit and the
Guide to Jewish Detroit.
While going over each pam-
phlet with a Shalom Detroit vol-
unteer, the newcomer is exposed
to the wide diversity of Jewish
community services.
The most appreciated part of
the packet is the Guide to Jewish
Detroit, a slender booklet revised
and edited by the JCC staff in
1980-1981. It includes a history of
the Jews in Detroit and a listing of
community schools, agencies,
organizations, synagogues,
camps, media, kosher food outlets,
and religious facilities. The guide
is now being revised again.
To "sweeten" Shalom Detroit's
initial contact, each newcomer is
also given a gift of maple syrup,
made at Camp Tamarack's
Smokier Pioneer Skills Center.
A Shalom Detroit volunteer is
often the first person within the
Jewish community to take an
active interest in the new family.
Newcomers and volunteers often
become friends; newcomers are
able to call their Shalom Detroit
contact for information and sup-

port during the first unsettling
months of a new move. Last year,
50 families new to the area were
welcomed by the group.
Throughout the year, Shalom
Detroit members formally keep in
touch with their newcomers, in-
viting the women to Women's Di-
vision functions such as Institute
Day and Spring Forum.
Each year, the committee also
plans several social events for
both husbands and wives. Com-
mittee members often bring the
contact couple to make the new-
_ corners feel more at home.
Karen and Walt Halpern
moved here from Scotch Plains,
N.J. last December. They felt
Shalom Detroit contributed
greatly to their feelings of wel-
come. Of the social evening Karen
says, "We felt welcomed and re-
laxed and were pleased to meet
such a nice group of concerned
people."
Persons with names of new-
corners can call Michelle Passon
at the Jewish Welfare Federation,
965-3939.

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