A Needy Program

The JCC Special Needs Department is looking to grow.

LONNY GOLDSMITH
StaffWriter

E

fight-year-old Jacob Baron
has a "mish-mash" of dis-
abilities. Some attention
deficit and hyperactive dis-
order tendencies, some learning dis-
ability tendencies, some autistic ten-
dencies.
"He can't be labeled as anything
specifically," says his mother Helen.
Helen wanted her son to go to the
Jewish Community Center day camp
last summer, but was unsure of how
Jacob would handle it. Then she

learned of the Special Needs Depart-
ment at the JCC.
Jacob got some extra attention from
Special Needs staff at the day camp,
and he's going back for winter day
camp over the holiday break because
he enjoyed himself so much over the
summer.
The Special Needs Department is
not new. It started over 35 years ago,
predating the Maple/Drake JCC. It
doesn't have a full-time director,
doesn't get funding out of the operat-
ing budget, and exists on $40,000
per year in private donations.
"It began with the question, 'What
will happen to disabled children

also takes credit for starting JARC
(Jewish Association for Residential
Care), began giving to organizations
that help disabled kids because it saw
that parents could not afford to care
for them.
Thanks to the two major funding
sources, there are now nine major
programs for people of all ages. The
biggest is the Thursday Night Social
Group.
"Sixty-three people regularly show
up for programs," Seidman said. "We
have a lot of dances for them, and a
lot of programs that involve holiday
themes.
Last Thurs-
day, the group
held its
Chanukah party.
One of the
E) important addi-
tions to the
department was
the Samantha
Erin Rosen
Swimming Pool,
which opened in
1994. The pool
is designed like a
beach, where
people walk into
the water, which
ranges in depth
from an inch to
two-and-a-half
feet.
Seidman and
Margo Weitzer,
the director of
programming for
the Center, are
in the process of writing grant pro-
Women was one of the original
posals to various local funds to get
sources of funding that allowed the
more money to operate the depart-
program to get off the ground.
ment.
"The JCC has always
"We know exactly where
Amy Seidman
been our favorite — our
the
money would go if we
works
with
baby," said Helen Rice of
got
it," Weitzer said. "Now
Kaitlin
and
Northwest. "We have an
Adam
Fisher
at
we
are
working on strength-
endowment fund of
a recent JCC
ening our existing programs,
$150,000 and give them
event.
because its amazing how
$20,000 every June. The
many people want to use
money has to be used for the
these services.
Special Needs Department."
"We're spending so much time
The other $20,000 has come from
working
on the grants because we're
the Fame Games, the annual
not
content
on not having money to
Olympic-style event for special needs
work
with."
O
individuals.
Northwest, an organization which

when their parents die?'" says JCC
Director of Development Mort Plot-
nick. "It wasn't discussed as openly
then as now."
. Says Program Director Amy Seid-
man, "The program is at a crossroads
because the needs have grown, and
the number of people who want to be
involved has increased, but we don't
have the funding.
"We've had the same funding
sources for the last two years — The
Michigan Jewish Hall of Fame Games
and the Northwest Child Rescue
Women."
The Northwest Child Rescue

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Orchard Lake Road, North of Maple

(248) 851-7727

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CELEBRATION
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in our Classified Section

12/26
1997

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