Barbara and Douglas Bloom support Federation's new Centennial Fund with $1 million. Douglas and Barbara Bloom's Centennial Fund gift will provide aid to the most vulnerable seniors. Ted Cohen Special to the Jewish News F ederation President Douglas Bloom and his wife, Barbara, share a deep awareness and concern for the welfare of older adults in the Detroit Jewish community. In 1985, following a Federation-sponsored trip to Israel, they first visited Jewish Senior Life's (then Jewish Home for Aged) Fleischman Residence and immediately were impressed by the warm, welcoming atmo- sphere — the freilach — as Barbara says. Later, Barbara's late father, Manny Shapiro, lived at Fleischman, and the Blooms say they greatly appreciated the quality of care and support he received. With those experiences in mind, the Blooms wanted to offer an endowment to support the critical needs of seniors in our community — and to do it now, while they could see the impact of their gift. Federation's newly conceived Centennial Fund offered them the perfect opportu- nity. The Centennial Fund is a major fun- draising initiative designed to secure the resources necessary to ensure the long- term security of the Detroit Jewish com- munity. The Centennial Campaign, which seeks to raise $250 million, will support four major areas: social welfare, Jewish identity and education, global Jewish 32 April 5 • 2012 responsibility, and permanent ongoing support for Federation's Annual Campaign and the community at large. "I know how critical the Centennial Fund is for our community',' says Douglas Bloom. "We must do this because those with significant wealth are getting older and, if we don't endow their gifts now, I don't know if we're going to be able to maintain the levels that we've raised in the past. "The Annual Campaign and Challenge Fund are not going to be enough to meet the needs alone. The Centennial Fund is going to be of major importance to our community, and we are really happy that we are able to be part of it:' The Blooms have given $1 million and, in doing so, are amongst the first individu- als to support the Centennial Campaign. Their gift will impact the Acts of Loving Kindness-Gemi/ut Chasadim program for indigent elderly living at JSI's Fleischman Residence. "Both of us are really aware of the needs of people who are aging:' says Barbara. "People are living longer and there needs to be quality places to live, places like Fleischman and the other JSL residences. I was just there, and I got the same feeling I did when I first visited — the warmth, the color, the way people greet you. We're very lucky to have that." "We don't want to see people in trouble because they run out of money:' Douglas said. "It's much easier for that to happen today. Before, people could sell their house and have enough money to live at a place like Fleischman for the rest of their lives. That's not the case anymore' Through the Acts of Loving Kindness program, JSL has never had to send a resident elsewhere due to lack of funds, a truly remarkable achievement given the recent economic challenges in our region. Unfortunately, programs such as this one are becoming increasingly difficult to maintain. "The need is really growing:' says JSL CEO Rochelle Upfal."The dollars we have in place only last for so long. People are requiring more services at the end of their lives. Without a gift like the Blooms' to the Centennial Campaign, we simply won't be able to provide the high-quality care in a Jewish home environment our residents need." In addition to critical care and support, Fleischman, like the other JSL residences, provides extensive social, cultural and educational programming. "We joke that Fleischman is like a cruise ship that never sets sail:' says Carol Rosenberg, director, JSL Foundation. "There is programming here from 9 to 9. Unfortunately, as they live here over time, many residents spend down on their resources, especially as the economy has changed, and the ability of their family members has changed. As long as they still meet our criteria, they stay here through the Acts of Loving Kindness program." Adds JSL President Nancy Heinrich, "The Blooms' contribution to the Centennial Fund will help us continue to provide dignity and loving care for these elder scions of our community" Douglas and Barbara have supported older adult services in the community for many years, having previously established the Bloom Resident Assistance Fund that provides sundries for residents in need as well as generously supporting a number of other initiatives, including the Promises Kept Fund and the 2003 Design for Dignity renovation project. "The Blooms are no strangers to phi- lanthropy on behalf of seniors:' says Rosenberg. "They are the benchmark of care and sensitivity to older adults in our community, and they are our family" One of the key factors in the Blooms' decision to contribute to the Centennial Fund was their desire to see the benefit of their gift now and to inspire others to do the same. "Looking ahead, we envision a very dif- ferent world and are concerned about the values that people will have' says Barbara. "It's important that those values include being part of the community and giving, no matter what monetary level. It isn't just financial — it's emotional. We feel so fortunate that we're able to do what we do while we're alive says Barbara. Adds Douglas, "And if we can influence one, two or three couples to contribute to this important fund, we would be so happy." Indeed, giving to the community is essential to the Blooms, which is illustrat- ed by a story Douglas recently shared. "When I was Federation Campaign Chair, there was an intifada in Israel, and I was over at the JPM JCC campus exercis- ing one day and on the way out someone said, Can you come into the Prentis building? We have something for you. So I went into the lobby and was handed an envelope stuffed with ones, fives and tens. I guess there was $1,100 or $1,200 dol- lars that the residents had collected from the money they had left over from Social Security that they wanted to donate to help people in Israel. That just broke me up, these gifts from people who barely could afford them." "There will always be people for whom it's inherent to give and to do:' says Barbara. "Another way of saying it is that people will always have this sense of com- munity. Community is just part of their being, and it's part of being a Jew." ❑ Ted Cohen is senior director, marketing, at the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit.