Quality Of Life
Jewish Fund marks 18 years of helping
people live fuller, better lives.
Stacy Gittleman I Contributing Writer
R
eaffirming its commitment to
projects that sustain the quality
of life in the Jewish community
as well as funding health and wellness
projects for the most underserved
populations in all of Detroit, the Jewish
Fund celebrates its "chai" or 18th anni-
versary this month.
Since 1997, the fund, created from
sale proceeds of Sinai Hospital to the
Detroit Medical Center, has awarded
grants totaling more than $55 million;
with $40 million going back into Jewish
organizations and outreach efforts.
Jewish Fund Executive Director
Margo Pernick said future directions
for the fund include prioritizing grants
that enhance the quality of life for older
adults, including their ability to age in
place, as well as providing health care to
Detroit's most underserved populations.
"Supporting the Jewish community
remains our top priority:' Pernick said.
"We look forward to seeing continued
collaboration between the Downtown
Synagogue and other organizations, such
as Moishe House, The Well, Repair the
World and Chabad, that are bringing
Jewish life back into the city.
"Collaboration is what the fund is
looking for as a criteria when distribut-
ing grant funding. It is in everyone's best
interest to build those partnerships to
reach more people
One standout example is the continu-
ing revival of the Isaac Agree Downtown
Synagogue, Pernick said. LADS, which
reaches out to young Jewish adults
working and living in Detroit, in 2014
received $100,000 in its second year of a
three-year $250,000 grant, enabling the
synagogue to hire a program director,
develop a strategic plan, and support
expanded programs and activities. The
synagogue will also use grant money
for future renovations to its building on
Griswold Street.
New grants awarded in 2015 include
a three-year, $370,543 grant to Jewish
Family Service to enhance and grow
aging-in-place services to better respond
to Jewish communal needs and improve
health, safety and quality of life for at-
risk older adults.
In continuing grants, the William
Beaumont Hospital this year received
$43,812 for the second year of a three-
year, $120,000 grant to increase overall
health of underinsured and uninsured
Top: To ease fears of visiting a
doctor, children in the Brightmoor
neighborhood role play a doctor's visit.
Bottom: Natalie Victor enjoys apple
picking through the Dorothy and Peter
Brown Adult Day Care Program, a project
supported in part by a grant from the
Jewish Fund.
Brightmoor residents through the
Brightmoor Health Collaborative.
According to Laura A. Charbonneau
of the Beaumont Foundation, the col-
laborative was established to address
the many socio-economic factors that
impact the health of one of Detroit's
poorest neighborhoods and to engage
Brightmoor residents in their own
health care. Between August 2013 and
September 2014, the collaborative helped
almost 1,000 residents by providing pri-
mary medical and dental care.
"Many people in Brightmoor do not
have access to regular medical care
Charbonneu said. "This is compounded
with a great deal of misinformation of
what a medical visit entails and mistrust
about health care institutions in general"
She added that the grant received
from the Jewish Fund served as a foun-
dation to spur even more financial back-
ing through other foundations, faith-
based nonprofits, businesses and local
organizations. *
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November 26 2015
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