Editor's Letter
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Spotlighting Jobs
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f we're going to beat the scourge of Michigan's broken
economy, the Detroit Jewish community is going to have
to stand tall with each other and also extend helping
hands where we can. Caring communities do that sort of
thing for one another.
Finding work is a key component of getting jobless Jews
of all socioeconomic backgrounds back on track and again
feeling independent.
Enter Parnossah. That's JVS' new
central job bank. It's designed for
job seekers to post resumes and for
employers to post opportunities. The
idea is to make matches — a lot of
them amid these troubled times.
Parnossah means livelihood in
Hebrew. The Web site boasts an array
of work options for men and women,
from entry level to managerial and
executive positions.
Southfield-based JVS has been a
lifeline for career and employment
services since 1941. Over the years, war veterans, Holocaust
survivors, teenagers, heads of households, people with dis-
abilities and young or middle-aged adults looking to settle
on or change a career path all have benefited.
Jobs — they're the centerpiece of President Obama's eco-
nomic stimulus package.
Art Of The Letter
In a Feb. 19 letter sent to community
leaders, the top professional of Detroit
Jewry's chief planning and fundraising
agency made a passionate plea to "help
get our unemployed Jewish community
members back to work."
"Due to the worst economic decline
since the Great Depression, unprecedented
numbers of families in our com-
munity are experiencing job losses
and diminished investments and
savings:' CEO Robert Aronson of the
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit said.
He called for a collaborative effort to
assist our relatives, friends and neighbors
who are struggling because they can't land a
job. Many lost longtime jobs suddenly. Others
are trying to crack the job market for the first
time.
Aronson's timely pitch is a byproduct of Federation's "No
Family Stands Alone" community service campaign. It's a
campaign born from good intentions that now resonates
in earnest. The need to match prospective worker with job
recruiter has never been greater or more urgent. Meanwhile,
the days of picking up a newspaper or logging on and seeing
potential jobs galore are long gone.
People facing hardship typically worry about losing their
dignity. It's an even bigger concern for the person newly
unemployed, but ready to work.
Parnossah allows JVS clients to access job leads from the
privacy of their homes. JVS screens all online applications
before forwarding them to employers. JVS also helps clients
you
heights
hone their resumes, play up transferable skills and navigate
the job search maze. Workers older than 50 can receive spe-
cial support.
JVS provides the resources to help in a job search. What's
needed in ever-increasing numbers are job leads. JVS can't
possibly generate enough itself. Aronson stressed, "It's going
to take our community to get our community back to work."
Employers with leads, whether for full- or part-time work,
can post them directly on Parnossah. To access the job bank,
go to www.jvsdet.org or wwwParnossahWorksDetroit.org .
Or you can call JVS' director of career and business services,
Paul Blatt, at (248) 233-4230.
Stepping Up
Act now if you can help. You could fill an opening and put
someone to work by next week. Nothing will happen in a
vacuum. Using our networks and resources, together we can
help ensure that no family stands alone.
Aronson's letter is an important comment on the kind of
Jewish community ours is. We're not one of the larger com-
munities — at least 20 others in America are bigger. But
we're among the highest producing in total contributions to
Federation annual campaigns. And our education programs
and eldercare services represent national models.
Aronson wouldn't have taken the time to write the letter if
he wasn't certain that it would generate a positive response.
I'm sure of that. He knows we come together like no other
Jewish community when there's a pervasive need.
I share Aronson's sentiments in the spirit of the
Festival of Purim, the most joyous of Jewish holidays,
which begins at sundown Monday, March 9.
I love how the Jewish Family & Life book
Traditions, Holidays and Values describes Purim:
cca good opportunity to affirm the uniqueness of
being Jewish, the values that we cherish
and the values that set us apart. So
even in the midst of raucous good
cheer, we remember our obligation
to do good deeds and to stand up to
tyranny"
Purim celebrates one of the first
battles for religious freedom in record-
ed history. It celebrates Queen Esther,
who saved the Jewish people from the
evil schemes of Haman, the vizier of the
king of Persia.
Notably, the holiday promotes tzedakah
— not only money, but also mishloach manot,
or gift baskets chock full of food. We give these
gifts of bounty to family, friends and people in
need.
The gift of a job through the matchmaking power of
Parnossah is a higher form of tzedakah because it allows
recipients to provide for themselves. 17
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Do you have a job opportunity to share?
Is tzedakah on your to-do list for Purim?
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March 5 2009
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