REPORT TO ME CORA
When dynamic changes began to emerge
from the Federation strategic plan last year, some-
one jokingly put a new spin on an old advertising
slogan: "This is not your father's Federation."
The fact is, if we refer to the values and
devotion that created our fine Jewish community,
we are proud to say this is your father's -- and
mother's -- Federation. When it comes to perpetu-
ating those values through vital
Eve if the need human services and exciting new
programs that have personal
e•
pears less
meaning-- this is your Federation.
life-threatening,
■
loss through
assimilation
and indi erence
is no less criti-
cal to our corn-
rnun 1 future.
Their prescription for
survival was within the context of
a dramatic Jewish history tele-
scoped into their own lifetime.
Witnesses to the attempted
destruction of our people, this
generation strengthened our local
institutions and agencies and raised enormous
sums to help Israel's people in their struggle to
build a nation. The evidence of their success is all
around us.
But new challenges occupy the agenda of this
Federation. Even if the need appears less life-
threatening, loss through assimilation and indiffer-
ence is no less critical to our communal future.
If we do not wish to put our parents' legacy at
risk, we must address basic questions: How do we
touch the hearts of our young people and ensure
that they will want to remain Jewish? How do we
enrich the lives of individuals and families by
imparting the relevance and joy of our faith? How
do we generate excitement about participating in
the Jewish community?
Federation's strategic plan acknowledged that
building Jews is no less crucial than building
structures. Nowhere are the shifting priorities more
evident than in the budgeting and planning pro-
cess, where issues of Jewish education and conti-
nuity have assumed
increasing impor-
tance.
It is impossible to
overstate our
gratitude for the
countless hours
devoted by our
Federation and
agency volunteers
and professional
staffs... Their
partnership is a
source of •ride to
this great Jewish
community.
While we will
always place rescue
from danger and from
hunger -- at the top of
our list, we must
realize that hunger has
many faces, that
enabling a person to find personal meaning
also affirms life.
Our increased allocation toward formal
and informal Jewish education, toward Israel
programming and toward outreach in its many
forms is evidence that we take our mandate
seriously.
New committees are exploring every
aspect of Jewish continuity, and human re-
source development stands alongside financial
resource development as an area of equal
concern. In followup to one of the many
recommendations of the strategic plan, a new
marketing committee is exploring the interests
and needs of our many publics so that we can
better serve our constituents.
It is impossible to overstate our gratitude
for the countless hours devoted by our Federa-
tion and agency volunteers and professional
staffs to accomplish these goals. Their partner-
ship is a source of pride to this great Jewish
community.
Cinder the leadership of Jack Robinson,
the United Jewish Foundation has enabled
Federation to move forward in many directions
-- like our enormously successful investment in
the Michigan Miracle Mission -- and to respond
to special needs -- like our aggressive response
to the financial crisis at the Jewish Home for
Aged.