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x•w

MmanDmalaam..

RONELLE GRIER

Special to the Jewish News

ORT

campaign

concentrates

on providing

students with

hot meals and

trauma

counseling.

E

ope comes in many forms
and, for many Israeli stu-
dents, it's as simple as a hot
meal or a sympathetic ear at
the end of another war-torn day.
Trauma counseling and hot meals for
more than 100,000 students affected by
the recent violence in Israel are part of
the current worldwide ORT Israel Hope
Campaign, implemented to raise funds
for these efforts. More than 100
Women's American ORT supporters
learned more about what's needed at a
"Visions of Hope" reception held May
22 in the Bloomfield Hills home of
Betty and D. Dan Kahn.
"This year, a great financial burden
has been placed on our schools because
so much of Israel's budget is going
towards defense," said Dana Burnstein,
president of the Michigan Region of
Women's American ORT. "We've been
thrilled with the response to this cam-
paign. People are really opening their
hearts to the kids, and that's what it's all
about. For some of these students, this is
the only hot meal they get all day."
Speakers for the evening included
Yoav Nimron, a student at the ORT
Braude College in Karmiel, Israel, and
Carol Linch, national president of
Women's American ORT.
"We thought it was imperative to ini-
tiate a campaign for the emotional well-

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being of the students," Linch said. "So
many of our students are affected; they
come to school and the person who was
sitting next to them yesterday is gone
the next day"
ORT, which stands for Organization
for Educational Resources and
Technological Training, supports 800
schools and programs in 60 countries
throughout the world. More than
100,000 students attend its 140 Israeli
schools. In the last 20 months, 32 of the
victims killed in terrorist attacks were
ORT students or graduates.
"This is a somber time to be presiding
over ORT," Linch said. "Israel is our
flagship. We've always been partners
with the Israeli government, but now
additional resources are necessary. None
of us knows what the future holds, but
we do know it lies in the hands of our
young people today."
"Don't feel sorry for us; we are not
complaining," said Nimron, who also
attended ORT elementary and high
schools in Israel. "If we get depressed
and feel sorry for ourselves, then we're
giving the other side what they want.
"We must invest in Israel's main
resource — its human capital — and
the best way to do this is through educa-
tion. I hope my future children will find
themselves in ORT institutes someday,"
added the 27-year-old student, whose
trip to the United States included visits
to ORT volunteers and staff members in
Cleveland and New Jersey

"I love Judaism, and I love Israel, and
I have not found anything that has
affected me like ORT," said D. Dan
Kahn, who became involved with the
organization through his daughters, Patti
Aaron and Andrea Wolfe of West
Bloomfield.
"At the end of the day, ORT measures
its success one educated, self-confident
individual at a time," said Patti Aaron.
She serves as national vice president of
Women's American ORT and chair of
the National Fund Development
Committee.
"ORT is the ultimate charity, because
it believes in teaching people the skills
they need to become self-sufficient," said
Marlene Borman of Bloomfield Hills.
"ORT was my first women's organiza-
tion."
Co-chairs for the "Visions of Hope"
evening were Sandy Stark of -
Bloomfield Hills and Linda Sahn of
Orchard Lake. ❑

Clockwise from top left:
Israeli student Yoav Nimron
addresses the ORT group.

Betty and D. Dan Kahn hosted
the ORT event in their
Bloomfield Hills home.

Event co-chairs Sandy Stark and
Linda Sahn with Michigan
Region ORT President Dana
Burnstein.

6/7
2002

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