3.1 SINGLE LIFE C: DOM/ .1 1/4j D.544. =IN mom ull.sr am= millso• sr assoram air MI. PERFORMING ARTS CAMP Meeting Tells Jewish Leaders 'Ignore Singles At Own Risk' RON OSTROFF Editorial Coordinator ewish federations and synagogues that ig- nore single men and women are endangering the future of those communities and the Jewish people, ac- cording to participants in a conference examining the quality of singles' life. "It's so important to have Jewish people meet for the purpose of marriage," said Mary Fellman, who organiz- ed the Omaha, Neb., con- ference last weekend and publishes The Connector, a magazine for Jewish singles. "The effect of all these young people not getting married, not having chil- dren, not getting involved in the Jewish community and not giving to charity is going to have a tremendous im- pact." Fellman, a 73-year-old past president of the Jewish Federation of Omaha, organized the conference to talk about how singles can meet other Jews in their communities. The meeting, which began Saturday after Shabbat and ran through Sunday after- noon, attracted about 30 singles and Jewish profes- sionals from Missouri, Ten- nessee, Iowa and Nebraska. The participants ranged in age from 24 to 73. "The atmosphere was a positive one," said Fellman of Omaha, which has a Jew- ish population of about 6,000. "I wasn't going to sit there and bemoan the prob- lems of assimilation and intermarriage and how we're all alone. We talked about bettering the singles' situation." As a result of the con- ference, planning has begun for Match, a four-page na- tional Jewish singles news- paper supplement to be offered to Jewish news- papers as an insert. It will contain information about Jewish singles activities around the nation, ideas for singles programming and articles about how singles can enhance their lives. Participants also sug- gested that singles do more charity work such as visiting nursing homes and speaking to residents. In addition, the participants concluded that parties in private homes are usually more successful than j Theatre SESSION 1: K-3 grade JULY 9-20 10 a.m.-3 p.m. SESSION 2: 4-7 grade JULY 23-AUG. 3 10 a.m.-3 p.m. CALL 737-2611 32885 Northwestern Hwy. Farmington Hills, MI 48018 Fourth Generation Jewelers -;klifeeete z 1--- k\ At Sidney Krandall & Sons, we offer something more precious than diamonds. It's a bond of trust our family has established with all our customers...a bond of trust that you and your family can count on today...and into the future. 755 West Big Beaver at 1-75 Main Floor Top of Troy Tower, Troy, Michigan 48084 362-4500 LEARNING DISABILITIES CLINIC • Private Tutoring • Evaluation • Therapy 545-6677 LYNNE MASTER, M.Ed 433-3323 Director 25201 Coolidge, Oak Park • 4036 Telegraph, Bloomfield bills • A Selective Jewish Dating Service a& 4/(1/4 GARY R. V ILLER 0 0 Gr< A P (313) 626.0025 106 FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 1990 Singles feel left out of Jewish activities, said one. activities such as singles dances. "The feeling was that more people would be in- volved and go to a function if you could take away the stigma of its being a singles function," said 24-year-old Ben Wolf of Omaha, the meeting's youngest partici- pant. "If people want good singles programs to take place, everyone who wants them has to take an active role in planning them." Roxanne Weisman, owner and president of Premier Jewish Singles Inc., a travel organization based in St. Louis, said those attending the conference "feel strongly about perpetuating Jewish identity and keeping our young people in the faith." Weisman, who is married and has two children who are still single, said some people at the Omaha con- ference "were very frustrated, almost angry, be- cause they felt nothing is be- ing done in an organized way for singles locally or na- tionally." Although those who at- tended the conference came from Jewish communities of varying sizes, they said they found that the situation for singles was similar. "It doesn't make any dif- ference where you're living if you're single and Jewish," said Francee Altman, a computer programmer from Omaha, who is divorced with three sons. "Whether you live in Omaha, Neb., New York or Tel Aviv, we can use each others' ideas." But Fellman and others said Jewish leaders must be reminded about what it's like to be single and about the ways in which unmar- ried men and women can be brought back into the main- stream of the community. "The Jewish single is sort of on the fringes of Jewish society," said Annie Trott, a social worker for 18 years with Jewish Family Service of Memphis. "They want very much to be incor- porated into the larger Jew- Fellman and others said Jewish leaders must be reminded about what it's like to be single and how unmarried men and women can be brought back into the mainstream of the community. ish population. But they feel like the fifth wheel or an outsider at so many Jewish activities." Trott, who is divorced and Unitarian, operates a sin- gles registry and does sin- gles programming in her community of about 10,000 Jews. She said the proposed national singles newspaper supplement will help educate community leaders about "what life is like for the Jewish single. Because it's not a lot of fun." For Howard Rubin of Ar- nolds Park, Iowa, the con- ference was a chance to make sure that an orthodox perspective was included in any ideas for singles pro- jects.