gefilte fish and canned
tuna, kasha, cold cereal,
ground meat, soup mix,
eggs and Shabbat can-
dles. On holidays, extra
items come in the pack-
ages, like honey cakes
for Sukkot, and apples,
honey and an addition-
al chicken for Rosh
Hashanah.
Lugar says anyone
who turns to Yad Ezra
is quickly processed for
assistance, which is
based on the person's
income. To qualify for
help, Yad Ezra takes the
national poverty guide-
lines and boosts them
by 150 percent. Clients
include New
Americans, seniors,
10/1 141*Teri
:
those who have lost
safety Tips
their jobs and others
who are mentally or
physically disabled.
"None of this
Lilly Zolle r, 12, of Huntington Woods, sorts bag for
would be possible,"
Lugar repeats on sever- delivery to clients.
al occasions, "if it
weren't for our volunteers." She
boasts of 125 regular volunteers, "a
dedicated core," helping out week-
ly or monthly. Local synagogues
also volunteer their services; 14 to
16 have members who rotate mak-
ing the monthly deliveries of food
packages to clients unable to get
themselves to Yad, Ezra.
"I didn't realize what people
would do for others until I worked
here," says Elaine Ryke, client ser-
vices director. "They do everything
that's necessary, from sweeping the
floor to packing large quantities of
food, to taking a client's hand."
Ten years ago several men, some
connected to the Food Bank of
Oakland County, started Yad Ezra
with individual contributions and
grants from the Fisher Foundation
Diane Rimar of Oak Park moves cans to a
and from Mazon, a national food
sorting area.
organization that provides for the
needy.
"The first month we opened our
doors in February 1990," says Lugar,
Yad Ezra invites the public to
we serviced 230 families."
its annual fund-raising dinner 6
What happens to those they've
p.m. Oct. 30, at Adat Shalom
helped?
Synagogue in Farmington Hills.
"We have clients who have made it
The event raises one-third of the
and then return to volunteer for us,"
kosher food pantry's yearly bud-
says Lugar. "On the other hand, there
get. Tickets are $136.
have been former donors who have
For information, call Yad Ezra,
become victims of downsizing or a
(248) 548-3663.
marriage ended, and now we have to
help them."

"

Righteous Diplomats Honored

Extra chairs had to be carted into
Handleman Hall at the Jewish
Community Center in West
Bloomfield to accommodate the
crowd of more than 500 who came to
hear about righteous diplomats
Chiune Sugihara of Japan and Dr.
Feng Shan Ho of China. Both saved

the diplomatic Jewish rescuers. She
delighted in meeting several people in
the audience who had been helped by
her father's visas. She chatted with
Marion Alfen of Southfield, whose
father and uncle left Vienna on Ho
visas. (bottom photo).

thousands of Jewish lives during the
Holocaust by writing visas that would
give them safe passage out of danger-
ous countries.
Hiroki
Sugihara of Japan
has - been living
temporarily in San
Francisco, travel-
ing across the
country talking
mostly to Jewish
groups, telling of
his father's heroic
act — one that
forced his resigna-
tion from diplo-
matic service. He
signed copies of
his book about his
father in the Janice
Charach Epstein Gallery
(top photo), where pho-
tographs documented his
father's bravery while
consul in Lithuania. The
exhibition is called "Visas
for Life," and runs
through Nov. 22. (middle

— Keri Guten Cohen,
story development editor

photo).

Manli Ho of San
Francisco spoke of her
father's actions while he
was Chinese consul gen-
eral in Vienna. He is
credited with being one
of the most successful of

❑

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