Community

Spirituality

A Small Miracle

New group is providing Chanukah gifts for needy children.

SHELLI LIEBMAN DORFMAN

StaIf Writer

F

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Paul Finkel and daughter, ennifer 6

or a small local group, helping the needy
has gone beyond providing the necessities of
food, shelter and clothing.
"It's great to feed and provide essentials,
but what about those who don't ever get to experience
the joys of life?" asks Paul Finkel, founder of A Small
Miracle, an organization that will provide Chanukah
gifts this year for children from low-income Jewish
families in our community.
Finkel's participation in communal service orga-
nizations led to his decision to begin A Small
Miracle. He already was involved with the
Southfield-based Jewish Association for
Residential Care, which provides group homes
and independent living services for adults with
developmental disabilities, and the Finkel
Family Foundation, established by his family
members to provide camp scholarships,
when he formed a strong connection to
Yad Ezra. Seeing the direct benefits of
donations to the Oak Park-based
kosher food pantry, Finkel wanted
to provide similar immediate and
direct results for those in need of
other things in the Jewish commu-
nity.
Finkel presented his thoughts to
a committee of interested friends,
including some Yad Ezra board
members. After a first meeting in
May, the group contacted local syna-
gogues and Jewish charitable organiza-
tions to see if their idea duplicated
any existing services. Finding no
conflict, A Small Miracle was
born. Board member David
Altman named it for the
Chanukah project that would
be the organization's initial pro-
ject.
Along with Finkel, who
serves as president, other
members include Howard
Zoller, secretary; Kathy Finkel,
treasurer; and David Altman,
Michael Eizelman, Fern Kepes,
Lea Luger and Steve Schanes,
board members.
The organization was imple-
mented with the help of Lea
Luger, development director of
Yad Ezra.
"If it wasn't for Lea, we

would not have gotten off the ground," Finkel says. "She
provided the how-to expertise — and made it work." Luger
also helped compile a list of names of possible recipients for
the Chanukah gifts, beginning with clients of Yad Ezra who
have children. Local synagogues also were contacted for
recipients names.
Next, forms were distributed to those expressing interest
in receiving gifts. The forms asked for the age, gender and
gift-choice information for the children in their families.
Many also included handwritten notes of thanks, Finkel says.

Giving And Receiving

The original plan called for helping 200 children. As of
Dec. 1, 225 children were in Finkel's database.
An optional space on each form asks for recipients' birth
dates so Finkel can take the organization to the next stage.
Beginning Feb. 1, clients also will receive birthday gifts.
Monetary contributions to A Small Miracle's Chanukah pro-
gram will be used to purchase gifts, with most of the shop-
ping done by Finkel and his wife, Kathy.
Gifts will be distributed from the Yad Ezra warehouse,
while the Finkels' West Bloomfield home is the base for the
volunteer-run organization. The Finkels' home will be the
site of a gift-wrapping party later this month.
Volunteers, including pre-teens fulfilling mitzvah-project
requirements, will distribute the presents. Finkel's mother
Beverly of West Bloomfield is helping out by baby-sitting
grandchildren Jennifer, 6, and Rachel, 2, while their parents
shop for gifts with donated funds.
"It has been a rewarding experience to work on the
launching of A Small Miracle," says Kathy Finkel. "This
effort has helped remind me how fortunate we as a family
are. I knew for sure this project was worth the undertaking
when my daughter Jennifer, a first-grade student at Hillel,
told me we were doing a mitzvah."
For A Small Miracle, brightening Chanukah for area chil-
dren is only the beginning. The group hopes eventually to
provide gifts for seniors. Long-term plans are for the organi-
zation to include the opportunity to attend sporting events,
plays, concerts and the circus.
"My goal is to help all people celebrate life-cycle events —
holidays, bar and bat mitzvahs, birthdays," Paul Finkel says.
"We want to be a place for scholarships, to help people go
out and succeed, and to provide not necessarily the essentials,
but the beauty of life."

❑

For information on receiving Chanukah gifts or to
make a donation to A Small Miracle, call (248) 737-
5231.. Tax-deductible checks may be mailed, and made
payable, to: A Small Miracle, 4391 Forestview Drive,
West Bloomfield, MI 48322.