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