V•A•11

The Gift
of Givi

bemie Chase has spent a lifetime giving
to other. And the will continue.

KIMBERLY LIFTON

Staff writer

Bessie Chase

70

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1989

The greatest thrill I ever experienced came 8 1/2
years ago when I saw for the first time the Statue
of Liberty. Oh! How thrilled I was to see her greet
me into her wonderful country. With tears in
my eyes, I saluted her.
Bessie Chase, 1929

I

hese words, carefully selected
by a young Soviet immigrant
for a newspaper "thrill letter
writing" contest, illustrate
emotions that Bessie Chase —
then Bessie Fox — will never forget.
Placed in a scrapbook filled with
photographs and other mementos
from her life, the winning passage —
published in 1929 in the now defunct
Detroit Daily — is a constant reminder
of the struggle of the Jewish people.
"It reminds me of the time we
came over here," says Chase, 78.
"When we came to the United States,
no one helped. We were poor. We
started life all over.
"We take care of our own," she
says: `If we don't, no one will."
Like her mother, who Chase says
spent a lifetime helping others, Bessie
Chase is a giver. A 45-year member
of the David-Horodoker Women's
Organization, Chase has guided the
group as president — and now presi-
dent emeritus — to help raise several
thousands of dollars annually for the
mentally retarded, emotionally han-
dicapped and the needy.
Among her mitzvot, Chase for the
past 30 years has been organizing pic-
nics for Jewish patients at Northville
State Hospital. She also coordinates
monthly programs through the
Jewish Vocational Service for in-
digent, elderly inner-city residents
who live in halfway homes and
facilities for the mentally retarded.
And twice a month before Shab-
bat, she and a handful of other
volunteers visit seven Jewish elderly
residents at the Livonia Nursing
Home. Sometimes Chase brings kipot
for the men and bakes cookies to
share with the non-Jewish residents.
"I don't like to twiddle my
fingers:' Chase says. "I'm on the go
all of the time."
A visit from Bessie Chase brings
a smile to Celia Denby, who has liv-

ed in nursing homes for 51 years. A
pat on the shoulder gives inspiration
to another resident, Herman Kauf-
man, who recites the kiddish for his
visitors. And a small gift of writing
paper for Benji Rosender allows him
to sketch pictures for weeks.
"She is devoted to so many," says
Robert Singer, a retired engineer who
works with Chase as a volunteer.
"She does it because she has a good
heart. Bessie is the organizer."

e r list of volunteer ac-
-.1 complishments is as long as
a professional resume. For
her kindness, she has been
nominated for the Heart of
Gold award, given annually by the ci-
ty of Detroit.
Despite arthritis of the back and
leg pain, Chase devotes 40 to 50 hours
each week in services to the corn-
munity. Her work, friends from the
David-Horodoker organization wrote
for the Heart of Gold nomination, "is
the glue that holds together all the
different personalities in each group
she works:'
On the many boards Chase serves
— including the Co-operative Council
of the League of Jewish Women,
David-Horodoker, the League of
Jewish Women, the Kadima Associa-
tion for Jewish Residential Care and
the Jewish Vocatonal Service — the
name Bessie Chase is a household
word.
"I just want to help. It is as sim-
ple as that. It is my personality," she
says. "I don't want any pats on the
back."
Chase regularly visits shut-ins
with Rabbi Solomon Gruskin. They
bring candles for Shabbat to help
them lead Jewish lives. With Sinai
Hospital volunteers, she participates
in "Service With Love" by telephon-
ing two senior citizens each Friday to
wish them a good Shabbat.

K