Follo Up
A fresh look at some of the stories we reported on in the past weeks.
P'TACH
Eases $
Situation
ALAN HITSKY
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
o-
arents for Torah for
All Children is not out
of the financial woods,
but the organization eased
p
according to board chair-
man Michael Hochheiser.
While serving 26 students
— the same as last year —
schedules were arranged
so more students would
share the same class time.
Several teachers with
higher salaries left the
organization and new
teachers were hired at
lower salaries.
"We're still experiencing
a shortfall which we hope
to make up with fund rais-
ing, but it's not as drastic
as last year," Mr.
Hochheiser said.
P'TACH's dinner this
year is a trade-off: for a
minimum contribution of
$50, a contributor receives
a free dinner any day
through May at Sara's
kosher delicatessen. Con-
tributions up to $360 get
two certificates and up to
$1,000 get four. To partici-
pate, send checks made
out to P'TACH of Michi-
gan to Mrs. Gail Perczyk,
15250 Dartmouth, Oak
Park 48237.
C
STAFF WRITER
ommunity activist Ron
Elkus is always looking
for a good cause. Now
he is hosting the seventh
annual trade-in for charity
sale through his Southfield
business, the Shirt Box.
Through March 13,
patrons who bring in shirts
or ties in good condition will
receive a discount on new
shirts and ties. There is no
limit. The more items you
bring in, the more discounts
you can receive.
Each item brought into
the store will go to a chari-
ty. Last year, Mr. Elkus, 33,
of Huntington Woods, col-
lected 1,000 pieces of cloth-
ing for three charities:
SHAR Inc., a substance
abuse treatment program;
Metropolitan Detroit Youth
Foundation; and the
Salvation Army.
The Shirt Box does not
reap heavy profits during
the sale, Mr. Elkus said.
"We are not losing money,
been keeping busy.
For three weeks, MJAC
presented an AIDS curricu-
lum to Temple Emanu-El's
high school students and
parents. The fourth week in
March, MJAC will inform
students and parents of
Temple Israel, Glennwood
ORT and congregants of
Temple Beth El about AIDS
from a Jewish perspective.
Temple Israel's 10th-,
11th- and 12th-grade stu-
dents and parents will meet
March 22 with two social
workers from Jewish
Family Service, the AIDS
coordinator from the
Oakland County Health
Department and the surviv-
ing husband of a person
with AIDS. The ORT chap-
ter, meeting March 24, and
Temple Beth El congre-
gants, meeting March 28,
will hear a slightly different
program, geared specifically
toward adults.
MJAC will also be a spon-
sor of a Jewish forum on
AIDS March 28 at the
Jewish Community Center.
All presentations will be
single days as opposed to a
three-week long program
recently sponsored at
Temple Emanu-El.
"Our education committee
is in the final process of
evaluating the Temple
Emanu-El program. They're
reading parent and student
opinions and deciding what
worked. We'll be finalizing
the curriculum soon and be
ready to take it back into
the community," said Susie
Leemaster, MJAC presi-
dent.
still helping families," said
Ronnie Schreiber, director
of Jews for Judaism in
Detroit.
The Detroit branch, like
four others nationwide, do
not receive direct funding
from Baltimore. However,
they depend on headquar-
ters for some materials,
including outreach infor-
mation translated into
Russian for new Ameri-
cans.
Although the Detroit
branch has some Russian
materials, including syn-
opses of Torah portions, it
is unlikely that more will
be provided because the
Baltimore headquarters
had to lay off its translator
last fall.
The Detroit chapter, run
by Mr. Schreiber from his
Oak Park home, receives
about one call a month for
services. The branch's
annual budget for 1992
was $6,000. Most of this
money comes from 150
families in Greater Detroit.
"Locally, our overall goal
is to provide our resources
to the community — family
support, exit counseling
and preventative educa-
tion," Mr. Schreiber says.
Some of the money goes
toward trips members take
to messianic conferences.
Mr. Schreiber says that
representatives of Jews for
Judaism attend these con-
ferences as identifiable
opponents of the messianic
its plight considerably last
year and is having a
unique fund-raising din-
ner this year.
P'TACH helps learning-
disabled children get a
Jewish education at
Yeshiva Beth Yehudah.
Several appeals in local
synagogues last spring
raised $15,000. Those
funds were matched by a
one-time grant from the
Jewish Federation.
P'TACH also was able to
cut its budget this year
from $100,000 to $90,000,
Ron Elkus
Hosts
Charity
Trade-In
KIMBERLY LIFTON
Ron Elkus
MJAC Busy
Educating
On AIDS
LESLEY PEARL
STAFF WR ITER
s
ince introducing its pilot
curriculum in January,
the Michigan Jewish
AIDS Coalition (MJAC) has
4.
Jews For
Judaism
Continues
RUTH LITTMANN
STAFF WRITER
ews for Judaism, an
organization that tries
to counter messianic
groups like Jews For Jesus,
still exists even though
tough finances threatened
to close its Baltimore head-
quarters last September.
"We're still open, we're
J
Ronnie Schreiber
but we definitely are not
making as much," he said.
"This is a way of using this
store as a vehicle to help
people out who are more
needy.
"We have a mailing list of
over 10,000 customers. The
magnitude is so much
greater than it is for one
person trying to help," Mr.
Elkus said. "This way, we
can make an impact on the
people who really need
these items."
organizations.
"We don't de-program,"
he said.
Jews For Judaism does
try to discourage individu-
als from becoming part of
the Hebrew-Christian
faiths.
Like the Baltimore
office, the Detroit branch
has had to cut back on
expenses, but Mr. Sch-
reiber says the organiza-
tion will continue despite Cr,
C)
one less telephone line.
"At this point, most of
our staff members locally
are volunteers," Mr. C_D
Schreiber says. "(But) we
won't cease to exist."
To help, call Ronnie
Schreiber at (313) 967- 31
3343. ❑
CY,
T-
.