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Discussing plans for Travelers Aid are Henry Winernan II, N. Brewster Broder and Nathaniel Warshay.

MEGAN SWOYER

Special to The Jewish News

T

he Travelers Aid Society
of Detroit (TASD)
recently celebrated its
75th anniversary at the
historic Wayne County Building
downtown to commemorate the
association's fascinating history and
honor several people responsible for
I the success of the organization.
The TASD, an independent
_agency that assists people to return
'home when caught in a crisis, and
helps with family reunification and
the homeless, has transformed itself
into a multi-faceted service organi-
zation with Jewish support. Some
20 employees annually help about
55,000 people, 15,000 more than
the agency served in 1963 when it

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celebrated its 40th anniversary.
"At airports, we're everything
from 'which way is the bathroom' to
`where's my luggage' to helping
seniors and those with special
needs," explains Nathaniel Warshay,
the group's director of resource
development.
The TASD budget this year is
$1.4 million, up from $1.1 million
last year and $712,000 the year
before. These increases are due
mainly to the grants and contracts
that Warshay has developed since
joining the agency.
"People think we're just booths at
airports," says N. Brewster Broder, a
TASD board member and former
national board member. "But we
manage a whole casework program
that goes on with the unemployed
and homeless in the city of Detroit."

Broder was chairman of the 75th
anniversary celebration and has
served as a board member and on
various Travelers Aid committees for
close to 30 years. He points out
that the society has changed drasti-
cally since its early days, when it
operated mostly as an airport assis-
tance program. Its four booths ar
Detroit Metro still play a major role
in the TASD's mission.
"Airport duty was its core mis-
sion in the early years," says Broder,
an insurance executive for Financial
Advisory Associates in Southfield.
Some of those airport duties
include a volunteer-run program
that helps 250 runaways return
home each year and introduces 150
foreign adopted children annually
to their American families. Volun-
teers also help senior adults, people

with special needs, children travel-
ing alone, business and foreign trav-
elers needing language assistance
and those looking for a friendly face
in the crowd.
Travelers Aid also assists the
homeless and at-risk families in
Detroit. Transitional housing, too,
is available through the organization
for homeless individuals relearning
the life skills necessary to become
self-sufficient.
Being associated with such an
effective group as the TASD has
been extremely inspirational for
board members such as Joel Kell-
man of Huntington Woods. "It's a
privilege to work for the communi-
ty and for those lacking means,"
says Kellman, an attorney at Dyke-
ma Gossett in Detroit.
Kellman says that unlike some

12/18
1998

Detroit Jewish News

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