Andrew
Echt
Women To Women
Jewish Women's Foundation awards first grants to
programs that address women's issues.
Building
A Future
Education fund targets $20 million for this year;
long-term goal is $75-$100 million.
phase," Echt said. "But the prepara-
DIANA LIEBERMAN
tory work is as important as active
Staff Writer
solicitation. There's a good deal of
interest in the community for this
new Jewish Education
project."
Trust for Detroit-area
An advisory committee comprised
Jewish day schools is
of members of donor families and
designed to help ease the
professional and lay leaders with
burden of fund raising while making
expertise in education will determine
it possible for more children to get a
how the money will be used, Echt
day school education.
said.
Details of the trust were
Penny Blumenstein,
announced at the June 19
Federation president, said
combined board meeting of
support for Jewish educa-
the Jewish Federation of
tion through community
Metropolitan Detroit and the
day schools has been
United Jewish Foundation of
among Federation's top
Metropolitan Detroit.
priorities.
The first goal for the endow-
"Our leadership decid-
ment fund is to raise $20 mil-
ed to create a super
lion in donations of $1 million
endowment to ease the
or more by Labor Day, Sept.
pressure of constant fund
3, said Andrew Echt,
Jere y Garden
raising for these fine
Federation's director of major
schools and to help make
gift development. This date
a day school education more afford-
was picked because it is before the
able and accessible to families," she
start of Federation's annual cam-
said.
paign.
According to Federation figures,
The overall endowment need is
more than 2,300 children are
$75-$100 million, Echt said, and
enrolled in Detroit-area Jewish day
Federation hopes to raise the funds
schools, compared to 1,500 attend-
in five to 10 years.
ing 10 years ago.
Interest on the endowment will be
Community leader Jeff Garden of
distributed to the five day schools
West Bloomfield, JAMD's past presi-
already receiving Federation support
dent, called the trust fund "absolute-
— Yeshivat Akiva, Yeshiva Beth
ly fantastic."
Yehudah, Yeshiva Gedola, Yeshivas
"Once again, our Federation con-
Darchei Torah and Hillel Day
tinues to raise the bar and set the
School of Metropolitan Detroit —
standard very high for our commu-
and eventually to the Jewish
nity and for other Jewish communi-
Academy of Metropolitan Detroit
ties throughout the country, with
(JAMD), which is on track to
regard to Jewish education." E
become a constituent agency
next
t,
,
'
year.
"We are still in the development
A
he Jewish Women's
Foundation of
Metropolitan Detroit com-
pleted its first grant cycle.
Founded in 1999, the Foundation
promotes and supports programs that
address the needs and concerns of
Jewish women and girls in the metro
area. The Jewish Women's Foundation
has 85 trustees. Each has an equal vote
in the grant-making process according
to founding chairwoman Margot
Halperin. "The trustees of the Jewish
Women's Foundation are delighted
that with our grants, we will have the
opportunity to make a differ-
ence in the lives of deserving
Jewish women and girls in our
community," said Halperin.
This year's seven grants,
totalin., $50,340, will go to:
the mother, or her absence because of
illness, troubled pregnancy or the seri-
ous illness of a family member.
• The Women's Health Initiative of
Jcare, a health care project for resi-
dents of Jewish Apartments and
Services. Amount: $10,000. The grant
will support preventive care education
and services not covered by Medicare
for residents of the apartments, 89_
percent of whom are women, to help
them age in place and avoid moving
to full care facilities.
• GOALS (Getting Our Jewish
Adolescents to
Learn about
Sexuality), a
project of the
Michigan Jewish
AIDS Coalition.
Amount:
• The Institute for Single
$5,000. This
Jewish Parents, a program of
grant will sup-
the Agency for Jewish
port a program
Education. Amount: $10,000.
for girls set in a
The grant will fund a mother-
context of
child family camp to provide
Jewish values
emotional support for single
and beliefs to
mothers and their children
help them
and enhance their Jewish affil-
understand
iation in a recreational setting.
Jewish societal
The grant will also support a
Margot Halperin
messages about
Shabbat dinner program for
sexuality, self-
single-parent families.
esteem and per-
sonal
power
and
to
develop
strategies
• BBYO-BBG International Mind,
that
will
help
them
during
adoles-
Body and Attitude Convention.
Amount: $10,000. The grant will sup- cence.
port a leadership training convention
hosted by Detroit's local BBG for its
high-school-aged members throughout
the United States and Canada. The
convention will be held at Camp Maas
in Ortonville.
• Sarah's Tent, a support group for
women who are Jews by choice.
Amount: $2,340. The grant will sup-
port a yearlong continuation of a pilot
project that reaches out to Jews by
choice, helping them to understand and
build Jewish tradition into their lives.
The Mothers' Team Project, a Kollel
Ladies Auxiliary League's short-term
crisis intervention program. Amount:
$10,000. The grant will fund a pro-
gram that provides temporary help for
families in crisis due to the death of
• Shalom Bayit, an outreach project that
is a Jewish response to domestic vio-
lence and abuse. Amount: $3,000. The
grant will help educate the Jewish com-
munity and increase its awareness of
domestic violence by paying to produce
and distribute a Shalom Bayit brochure.
The brochure will help women recog-
nize signs of abuse and find help.
The Jewish Women's Foundation
endowment is being built with
$10,000 and $100,000 contributions.
Endowment contributors become
membere of the Foundation's self-gov-
erning Board of Trustees, which evalu-
ates grant applications and disburses
the grants. Li
7/13
2001
15