JEWISH CENTER page 3

ter in the United States to aban-
don its Jewish-only membership
policy. While some JCCs were al-
ways open to gentiles, others, in-
cluding the Baltimore JCC,
reversed their policies.
Baltimore held on to a closed
membership policy until three
years ago when an applicant
threatened to sue after her mem-
bership request was denied.
Buddy Sapolsky, the executive
director of the Baltimore JCC,
estimates 5 percent of the ap-
proximately 14,000 members are
not Jewish. He said gentiles join
primarily for the health and fit-
ness facilities.
Gentile membership in Bal-
timore falls in line with JCCs in
other major metropolitan cities
and is the percentage Detroit can
expect, according to the JCCA's
Mr. Greenfield.
Reaction among Detroit JCC

members was mixed. Bob Coop-
er, a West Bloomfield resident
and Center member for 12 years,
said, 'This was the one place you
could count on where everyone
was Jewish. That's the one thing
that makes the JCC different
than Franklin, Vic Tanny, the
Sports Club or any other health
club."
Mr. Cooper said he would have
appreciated some kind of an-
nouncement regarding the poli-
cy change from the JCC.
Philip Wolok of Bloomfield
Township said he is pleased with
the new policy. "In the past, some
of my gentile friends and ac-
quaintances were impressed
with the facility and wanted to
join the JCC," he said. "An open-
membership policy can bring
people, who may not have had
the opportunity in the past, into
contact with Jews ." ❑

AGENCY page 3

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CLG

Mark and Marla Tapper are the
organization's guests of honor.
Both Mrs. Eizelman and Ms.
Goldman welcome some 1,000
client family "guests of honor"
into the Yad Ezra warehouse
each month. In its short history,
Yad Ezra has gone from zero to
a half-million pounds of food dis-
tributed each year.
An important part of that dis-
tribution was Jeannette and her
husband Seymore passing cases
of food through the basement
windows of Yad Ezra's original
400-square-foot office space on
10 Mile Road. Its current ware-
house location on Harding in Oak
Park has some 5,000 square feet
of space, including walk-in freez-
ers and in-take offices.
"It didn't take long for people
to know we were there," said
Mrs. Eizelman. "People were
lined up out the door. We were
told it would take a while to build
up a clientele. We had 122 fam-
ilies at our door almost immedi-
ately."
There were more than just
numbers, though. There were the
faces. Mrs. Eizelman can tell you
the name of Yad Ezra's first
client. She remembers the time
an elderly man got on his knees
to kiss her hand after he received
a parcel of food. She remembers
the donors who became clients,
and the clients who became
donors.
"I've learned from all of this to
be thankful for what I have," she
said. "I have a home; I have food;
I have a wonderful family."
And now she has her health.
Mrs. Eizelman retired recent-
ly because of health reasons and
the toll of being on her feet in the
warehouse. She and her husband
still actively volunteer, however.

Ms. Goldman, meanwhile, is
experiencing what Mrs. Eizel-
man helped piece together.
"When I first started working
with the clients, I started to re-
alize the enormity of the mission,
and how really great the mission
was," she said. "I had an experi-
ence where a lady kept hugging
me and holding me and calling
me a shana punim (pretty face).
I could feel the loneliness as well
as the poverty.
"For me," she said, "working
at Yad Ezra is the most impor-
tant thing I've ever done."

"We had 122
families at our door
almost
immediately."

— Jeannette Eizelman

Ellen Goldman thinks the
nation's political climate could
result in a cutback of social-wel-
fare benefits. Yad Ezra's client
base will probably get much
larger.
"It's going to grow," she said.
"It's unfortunate. But we have
to develop plans to reach these
people. I think I'll be spending
a great deal of time developing
avenues of education for the
community and maximizing all
of our fund-raising opportuni-
ties."
For the founding director, Mrs.
Eizelman, the hope is a little dif-
ferent.
"I hope we can go out of busi-
ness," she said. "My dream is that
we won't be needed anymore. But
in my heart of hearts, I know that
won't happen." ❑

