membership keeps declining."
"It is difficult attracting and
keeping new members," agrees Katz.
"People in organizations don't pur-
sue membership. You need the right
person to do that. To attract new
members you have to offer attractive
programming, and might even have
to pick someone up and take them to
a meeting," she said.
Liss also agrees that programm-
ing is crucial. "You must find meet-

women can be a tremendous force for
growth, and a 'career program' is
being developed to involve these pro-
fessionals in a variety of ways."
Evolving into coed organizations
may be one way of meeting the sur-
vival challenge. "Coed organizations
seem to have more active involve-
ment," said Liss. "Especially with
young marrieds who both work. In-
stead of each of them attending a
separate meeting in the evening,
they both attend one together. The
synagogues seem to be getting more
and more active memberships, and I
think it's because there is a strength
in family involvement," she said.
Pola Friedman, of the Sinai
Hospital Guild, acknowledges that
the organization has experienced re-
cent difficulties in attracting the
traditional volunteer, such as the
middle-class housewife. But because
they had the foresight to begin look-
ing at this problem over ten years

ago, membership is holding its own.
She agrees with Saulson that
the volunteers are still out there.
"They're just wearing different hats
now," she said. "Volunteer organiza-
tions have to be more creative and
look in places they never did before."
She offered some keys to the
guild's success:
• ,It deleted the word "women"
from its name and began actively re-
cruiting male volunteers;
• It developed programs to at-
tract both men and women from the
work force;
• It hired a management con-
sultant to help develop a long-range
recruitment program;
• It developed a broader ap-
proach to the concept of volun-
teerism.
"Like any 30-plus-year organiza-
tion, we have experienced growing
pains. But we recognized the prob-

Continued on next page

Above: 95-year-old Ida Katz continues
as one of the mainstays of Naamat's
yearly cannister drives.
Right: Detroit Pioneer Women's
(Naamat) oldest chapters were forced to
combine this year into Metropolitan
Chapter. Shown are the last
chapter presidents: Chana Michlin and
Jeanette Serling; and Clara Marks,
Anne Mondrow and Betty Karbal.

ings to interest and attract people,"
she said. But she added that often
the same cadre who's doing the
majority of the work is too tired to
do any recruiting.
The Women's Division of Israel
Bonds has experienced losses due to
the large numbers of women in the
work force. But, according to local
chairperson Doreen Hermelin and
executive board member Barbara
Stollman, there has been no overall
decline in the group's general effec-
tiveness because of the development
of new programs.
"We have formed a new board, a
new young leadership group, includ-
ing both men and women, and have
developed new educational pro-
grams," said Stollman. "We believe
that the existence of so many career

Bill Pugli

cause there are not. enough people to
split the work so that each takes on
a little bit of a job."
Madelyne Friedman, Aviv's cur-
rent president, said she feels that
women today don't seem to have
commitment. "On the surface they
say eyes,' but they don't have the fol-
low through," she said. If we don't
look out for our own, nobody else
will. And I don't think the problem
is that women are going back into
the work force. That's just an excuse.
Busy people always find time."
"Women do what they want to
do," said Donna Sklar, a past
president of the Young Women of
Jewish National Fund. If they find
value in doing something philan-
thropic they'll do it. People get in-
volved just because it's fun."
Sklar said she believes that vol-
unteerism is based on a sense of re-
sponsibility inbred from childhood.
Many are generous and willing to
give of their money, but it is incum-
bent to participate, with part of an
individual's time devoted to philan-
thropy.
"You don't suddenly become in-
volved," she said. "It's a way of life,
and parents are the role models.
Most of those who are active came
from active families in the commu-
nity. We don't involve children. They
must be given an obligation to do
something. It should be," she said,
"incumbent to give something back,
especially for those with privileges.
And it shouldn't be this is what you
should do,' but 'come do this with
me.' It's a wonderful feeling to ac-
complish something meaningful. We
ought to tap the teen energy and let
them make a contribution."
Saulson believes that "There are
many young people interested in
voluntary service. Jewish volun-
teerism is important because it
allows Jew to meet Jew and fulfill
functions they feel are important.
There are three or four groups who
are all young, such as the Troy
Hadassah and the Northville-Novi
Hadassah."
One way organizations can re-
spond to changes, Saulson said, is by
making it easier to volunteer. "One
way is by stressing flexibility.
Hadassah, for example, holds half its
meetings in the evening. If it still
held only day meetings, it wouldn't
exist today. The Women's League for
Conservative Judaism, a national
organization of Conservative sister-
hoods, also has a flexible program.
"But the future will be deter-
mined by how well organizations
welcome and develop new people. I
know of organizations that haven't
allowed a new person in in many
years. Then they wonder why their

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