BUILDING BLOCKS page 55 time. Hebrew Free Loan, which just celebrated its 100th an- niversary, acts as the collection agency. Another positive is that the re- paid loans are enough to support the program. Nine years ago, the Project was established with a $250,000 grant from the UJF; since then, it has financed over $60 million in prop- erty, Mr. Singer said. "These areas have perpetuat- S'799* PHOTO BY BILL HANSEN MO./30 MONTHS ....... . ed themselves," said Marion Freedman, incoming director of Neighborhood Project. "Now peo- ple are attracted to those areas." Neighborhood Project is not isolationist. Its members work with the school districts and lo- cal governments of Oak Park and Southfield and with organiza- tions like the Chaldean Federa- tion of America, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the South- field Lathrup Multi- cultural Coalition. It also sponsors com- munity projects like flower and tree planting, the Kosher Food Fair and hous- ing workshops. "People thought this would create an Ellis Island mental- ity," where home buyers would quick- ly sell and move on, said Ms. Freedman. "It hasn't hap- pened." The Levines are happy in their Oak Park house. N ❑ BMW 7401 ENGINEERING PUTS IT AT THE TOP OF ITS CLASS. THE PRICE PUTS IT IN YOUR DRIVEWAY. (Imagine... a $67,270 BMW for only $799* a month!) Advanced safety features and legendary BMW performance make the 7-Series a pleasure to drive. The price, however, makes it even better. Visit us for a test-drive today. OFFER EXPIRES 10-31-95! THE ULTIMATE DRIVING MACHINE s. w fitA NKON w cn LU 50 gdYk1931 31 ........., 3,- e, MAPLE 40 0 642-6:565 Michigan's Largest and Most 4065 Maple Experienced BMW Dealer Just E. of Telegraph Family Owned and Operated Since 1964 Bloomfield Hills OPEN SATURDAY SALES 10A.M.-4P.M. SERVICE/PARTS/SALES Mot & Thurs. 'hi 9 p.m. Lease based on a 30 month term, closed-end lease, subject to credit approval with BMW Financial Service. $2,500 non-refundable down payment required, title, li- cense, and use tax additional. Sec. dep. of $850, 10,000 iniie allowance per year. 15c per mile over limit. MSRP of $67,270 . Option to purchase at lease end for $42,380. Total of pymts. = ad price + 6%x30. Offer ends Oct. 31, 1995. Project Executive Plans On Retirement IR hoda Raderman never says never, but she plans on exiting the workaday world and not returning for a long time. Ms. Raderman, the executive director of the Jewish Federa- tion's Neighborhood Project since 1989, is retiring this year to spend more time with her husband Stanley. The two of them will spend the winter in Florida. She retired once before, in 1988, after serving as assistant executive director ofJewish Vo- cational Service in Detroit for 15 years. She holds a master's de- gree in rehabilitation counseling. A year later, Ms. Raderrnan joined Neighborhood Project, a loan program designed to main- tain the Jewish character of neighborhoods in southeastern Oakland County. "I missed working, being part of the Jewish community. When this opportunity presented it- self, it was really very exciting to me," she said. Her experience at JVS, as well as her personal history, played a role, too, in her decision to join Neighborhood Project. At JVS, she came into daily contact with Jews too poor to leave the city and cut off from services of the Jewish commu- nity. She believed in Neighbor- hood Project's goal — to provide , an opportunity for Jews to stay in older neighborhoods rather than follow the exodus to the northwestern suburbs. Rhoda Raderman: Leaving the Neighborhood. "It was important to have that as an option for people and to finally stop what we had his- torically been doing in Detroit, which was constantly leaving the city behind," she said Ms. Raderman, a West Bloomfield resident, called Mar- ion Freedman, assistant execu- tive director at Neighborhood Project and her successor, "in- credibly wonderful." "She's been with the program longer than I have. I feel so good about leaving and knowing she'll be in charge. There's-going to be the continuity of what we worked so hard to develop." ❑ -.J\/