COMMUNITY
Alpha Omega Is Offering Free
Dental Care. To Soviet Jews
SUSAN GRANT
Staff Writer
N
ewly arrived Soviet
refugees can now
receive free dental
care through a program by
Alpha Omega, the Jewish
dental fraternity.
Alpha Omega dentists will
hold a free dental screening
for Soviet Jews Jan. 17 in
Farmington Hills. Appoint-
ments may be made through
Jewish Family Service
Resettlement Department.
The screenings will in-
elude a free initial exam
complete with x-rays, teeth
cleaning, and a future
treatment plan for each in-
dividual. The refugees will
also learn about basic dental
care.
Sandy Hyman, resettle-
ment service director, said
Soviet Jews often require
dental work when they ar-
rive in the United States.
"Dentistry in the Soviet
Union is practically
medieval," she said.
"It's wonderful what
Alpha Omega is doing. I
can't say enough," she said.
Service Seeks Donations
To Help Soviet Jews
The Detroit area is expec-
ting to welcome 1,000 Jews
from Russia this year, rather
than the 400 anticipated.
They come here with the
clothes on their backs and lit-
tle else. Resettlement Service
arranges for them to have an
apartment, sometimes with
the aid of anchor families.
Others have no one to help.
To meet this need, Resettle-
ment Service seeks assistance
from the Jewish community.
Mattresses, furniture,
household appliances such as
vacuum cleaners, toasters,
household goods like dishes
and linens are needed. To
make donations contact
Service,
Resettlement
559-1500; or Tamara's House
de Beatue, 737-5570. All
donations are tax deductible.
Jewish Vocational Service
has donated warehouse space
at its Southfield Road
building for this project.
Donations can be dropped off
Tuesday, Wednesday and
Thursday between 1 p.m.-
3 p.m. at the loading dock at
the southwest corner of the
building. Ring the warehouse
doorbell.
Volunteers are needed to
staff the warehouse and
oversee the distribution of
goods. To volunteer, contact
Resettlement Service,
559-1500.
Arab, Jewish Friends
Sponsoring Contest
The American Arabic and
Jewish Friends, WKBD-TV
and Greenfield Mortgage Co.
are co-sponsoring an essay
contest to distribute scholar-
ship funds for deserving high
school seniors who will be
graduating in 1990.
Patrons for this scholarship
are Larry Horwitz, Mardy
Polander, Victor Ross and
Kamal Shouhayib.
Students of Arabic or
Jewish background are eligi-
ble to receive scholarships
ranging from $500 to $1,000.
Students must submit a
typed or neatly written essay
of up to 1,000 words on the
topic: "What it means to be
an American of Arabic or
Jewish descent."
Entries can be mailed to
American Arabic and Jewish
Friends, c/o the Greater
Detroit Interfaith Round
Table, 150 W. Boston Blvd.,
Detroit 48202, Attn: Essay
Contest.
All entries must be receiv-
ed by Feb. 28 and include the
following: student's name, ad-
dress, telephone, ethnic
background, high school,
counselor or principal, school
telephone.
Leadership
Conference
The seventh annual Young
Leadership Washington Con-
ference of the United Jewish
Appeal is slated for March
11-13.
The conference is limited to
2,500 young Jews ages 25-40.
For information, contact
Ken Mintzer at 965-3939.
Local Alpha Omega
treasurer Steven Roth, who
helped organize the Detroit
chapter's effort to aid Soviet
Jews, said the fraternity
began helping Soviets a
dozen years ago by finan-
cially assisting Jewish den-
tists who wanted to leave the
Soviet Union.
Because Alpha Omega is
dedicated not only to den-
tistry but to the ethics of
Judaism, fraternity
members felt they must help
the Jewish community, Roth
said.
"We feel we must do
something with our skills to
help other people," Roth
said. "It's a mitzvah. We
need to lend a hand to our
fellow Jews."
This new Alpha Omega
program, which started in
Boston last year and has
spread nationwide, allows
fraternity members to use
their skills to benefit more
people, he said.
When Roth heard about
the Boston program, he ap-
proached fraternity
members Joel Schaumberg
and Jeff Weintrab about do-
ing something similar in
Detroit.
So last month fraternity
members used
Schaumberg's office to give
dental exams to 17-Soviet
immigrants.
Because it was so suc-
cessful, fraternity members
agreed to hold a second
screening. Twenty-five
Soviets have signed up.
At the first screening ses-
sion, he was shocked at the
immigrants' lack of basic
dental skills, Roth said.
Because of the lack of good
dental care, some Soviet
refugees had to have their
teeth cleaned five times
before the dentists con-
sidered them clean enough.
Roth also saw many fillings
that had to be redone
because the plastic used by
Soviet dentists cracks easily.
Sinai Hospital, which pro-
vides medical services to
Soviet Jews, has a dental
program but needs
assistance.
Although Sinai will con-
tinue providing dental ser-
vice to Soviet Jews, Hyman
is grateful Alpha Omega
wants to help.
"Basically Sinai Hospital
does not have the facilities to
handle all the dental needs,"
Hyman said. "It is over-
whelmed." ❑
Soviet Jewish children gather on the bimah as Temple Israel's Rabbi
Harold Loss explains Chanukah. The children were participating in a
Family-To-Family program in December. See story on Page 105.
Bob McKeown
'Man In Glass Booth'
Rehearsals Begin
Rehearsals began this
week; previews begin Jan. 31
and opening night is Feb. 7 for
the Jewish Ensemble
Theatre's inaugural produc-
tion, Robert Shaw's The Man
in the Glass Booth starring
Dan Lutzky and directed by
Nicholas Calanni.
Lutzky and Calanni are
based in Nevi York, but
Calanni is a native Detroiter
known for his direction of
playS for the Attic Theatre,
the Detroit Music Hall
BBYO Collects
For Homeless
On Jan. 14, the B'nai B'rith
Organization in Michigan
Region will sponsor a BBYO
International Outreach Day
for the homeless.
Members of BBYO will be
going door to door, collecting
the items that will be
distributed to shelters in the
Detroit metropolitan area.
Items may also be brought
to the Tamarack Camps Jam-
boree at the Maple-Drake
Jewish Community Center.
The following items are
needed: hats, gloves, coats,
scarves, sweaters, toothbrush,
toothpaste, soap, toilet paper,
shampoo, and canned, baby
and boxed foods.
For information call Adele
Lewin at the BBYO Chapter
Service Center, 788-0700;
Rachel Rosen, 788-0776, or
Corbin Bell, 360-0907.
Center, and the Detroit In-
stitute of Arts. He holds a
Master of Fine Arts in direc-
ting from Wayne State
University and recently
directed the musical revue
Broadway Wunderbar in New
York.
Dan Lutzky boasts exten-
sive stage and screen credits
with the SoHo Repertory
Theatre, Classic Theatre
Company and American
Stanislaysky Center. He has
appeared in feature and
television films: "Shock
Troup," "Cheat the
Hangman," "The Oracle,"
"Hedde Gabler," and "The
Short Season."
Perfromances of the Jewish
Ensemble Theatre will be
held at the Aaron Deroy
Theatre in the Jewish Com-
munity Center, West Bloom-
field. Tickets are available
through the JET office in the
Center, 788-2900, or through
TicketMaster.
Einstein Forum
Hosts Speaker
Robert Aronson, executive
vice president of Detroit's
Jewish Welfare Federation,
will address the Einstein
Luncheon Forum noon Jan.
16 at Southfield Charley's
rstaurant.
He will discuss "The
American Jewish Agenda for
the 1990's."
For information, phone
ZOA, 569-1515.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
45