A Worthy Cause
United Way makes its biennial allocations.
JILL DAVIDSON SKLAR STAFF WRITER
R
ob Wachter wears a lot of
hats.
He has a full-time job as
a haberdasher, he is the fa-
ther of two and the husband of
one.
While he is proud of those po-
sitions, he also values contribu-
tions he can make to the larger
community. As a volunteer for the
United Way North Oakland
County, he recently was one of 14
members of the chapter's Fund
Distribution Executive Commit-
tee, making the final decisions re-
garding which organizations to
fund and how much the organi-
zations should receive. And that
was a big hat to wear.
"Hove doing what I do," he said.
"I don't know. I just love giving
back."
Mr. Wachter was responsible
for a group of volunteers who
weighed the needs of several fam-
ily service agencies against a
number of dollars to be allocat-
ed to them.
The process, beginning in Feb-
ruary, required several meetings
and evaluations before the fund-
ing was announced at the end of
May.
• In total, $4.1 million was allo-
cated to fund 123 programs ad-
ministered by 41 nonprofit
charities.
Rob Wachter: Giving
back to the
community.
The fund-raising organization
that services cities like Waterford,
Auburn Hills and Pontiac does
not fund programs to aid specific
ethnic or religious groups. In-
stead, it focuses on funding orga-
nizations that benefit the general
community's children, families
and elderly, said Jan Hubbard, a
spokesperson for the charity's
Oakland County chapter.
Mr. Wachler's group of volun-
teers was in charge of a segment
of 31 programs to strengthen fam-
ilies. The group divided
$1,012,622 to fund those pro-
grams.
"The thing about this work is
that you are never satisfied. The
work these agencies do is out-
standing, and it is very rare that
we don't want to give full alloca-
tion for their request," he said. "It
is just that you are restricted by
the amount that is given."
Mr. Wachter has been involved
in the organization since he re-
turned from an overseas assign-
ment in the Peace Corps in 1977.
He decided to give his time to the
North Oakland chapter because
his family's business, Osmun's
Men's Clothing Stores, was based
in Pontiac until the stores closed
in 1990.
Not many Jews are involved in
the North Oakland chapter, he
said. However, a number of Jews
benefit from the communal ser-
vices funded by the United Way.
"Jews are not excluded from be-
ing deaf. Jews are not excluded
from being blind or [disabled]," he
said. ❑
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A Birthday Gift
Thiry-four U-M students will participate in the
Hermelin Zippori excavation.
JULIE WIENER STAFF WRITER
I
ast fall, community leader
David Hermelin's friends
were struggling to come up
with an appropriate way to
honor his 60th birthday.
At the same time, Bob Aronson,
the Jewish Federation
of Metropolitan De-
troit's executive vice
president, was looking
for someone to under-
write University of
Michigan student par-
ticipation in an ar-
chaeological dig at the
Zippori excavation site
in Israel's central
Galilee region. A
David Herme
match was made.
"[The project] incor-
porated all the things David cares
about: young people, Israel, the
University of Michigan," said Pen-
ny Blumenstein, a friend of Mr.
Hermelin and one of the vice pres-
idents of Federation.
According- to Ms. Blumenstein,
Mr. Hermelin's friends were so ea-
ger to support the project that she
raised $80,000 in two weeks. "I
had people calling me and asking
if they could contribute," she said.
The money subsidizes 34 U-M
students, who will go to Israel for
five weeks this summer. Students
will participate in the ar-
chaeological dig in the
mornings and attend:lec-
tures on archaeology in
the afternoons under the
auspices of the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem.
A fee of $1,300 will
cover airfare, room and
board and U-M credits
for course work complet-
ed.
n
Rabbi Rich Kirschen,
assistant director at the
U-M Hillel, said there was so
much student enthusiasm for the
dig that spaces filled up within a
month. "It has shown us how
much interest there is in Israel
programs," he said, adding that
U-M Hillel is hoping to organize
additional Israel programs for stu-
dents in the future. ❑
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