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Making A
Difference
National Council of Jewish Women

Greater Detroit Section

for openers

Stay Ahead Of The Game

I

t would not be a good headline to
note that someone has a good head
on his shoulders or that he was
capable of heading a new company. Yet
each of those references makes use of a
word that finds multiple references in
our daily conversations. So, heads up!
Because it
resembles a head,
the iceberg lettuce is
referred to as a “head
of lettuce.” (Notice
that most others in
that family are mere
“bunches”.)
When you find
Sy Manello
yourself
ready to
Editorial
go
(to
dinner,
to an
Assistant
adventure, to a picnic,
etc.), you may say that
you are going to head out. If you are try-
ing to leave a situation (a possible fire, a

perceived danger, etc.), you should head
to the nearest exit, hopefully in a con-
trolled manner.
Wearing a heady perfume or cologne
may turn someone’s head, but it may be
in disgust if you are sensed to be swim-
ming in the fragrance.
When supervising a group of very
young people on an outing, you should
make a frequent head count. To “mis-
place” a child would cause you to hang
your head. (Children often wander
on such trips because they can make
neither heads nor tails of what they are
seeing.)
Witnessing the sights at the head of a
river can be breathtaking. Some sights,
you will find, are head and shoulders
above others.
In any stressful situation, it is vital
that you keep your head; doing so, you
will stay in control (keeping your head

Sandi Matz

above water) and never feel that you are
in over your head.
The head of a country may be elected
after he/she gets up a head of steam
during campaigns. Often, the candi-
date will confer with party heads (put
heads together) to come up with a good
platform on which to run. In debates,
the candidates will often butt heads.
Can you recall any recent candidate for
which the populace fell head over heels?
Hmmm.
Before I head off, I should like to offer
a bit of advice to any architect who is
planning lavatories for a new venue.
Consider the female patrons’ needs and
remember that two heads are better
than one.

*

letters

Federation Is
Very Transparent

As an active Federation volunteer for
more than 25 years, I was surprised to
read the Jewish News’ Sept. 1 editorial
“Federation: Choose Transparency”
(page 8) because it does not describe the
Federation that I know.
There are many recent examples of
Federation’s efforts to be more, not less,
transparent that community members
should know about. Below are just a
few.
• First, in addition to the JPM com-
munity forums that were intended to
publicly and transparently share infor-
mation about the JCC’s finances and
allow community members to com-
ment and share their ideas, follow-up
meetings held by the “Save the Oak
Park JCC” committee were regularly
attended by Federation staff who were
there to answer questions and share
information.
• Second, Federation is demonstrat-
ing greater transparency concerning
its total yearly financial achievement
and total yearly support for agencies.
Federation’s fiscal year 2016-17 Budget
and Allocations Report includes two
attachments to the report that provide
much more detail and transparency
about allocations than in previous
years.
• Third, and perhaps most important-

ly, transparency continues to be a subject
that is regularly discussed at both the
committee and executive level. My expe-
rience is that Federation staff members
are very serious about the need to bal-
ance frequent communications with not
overloading the community with emails
and mailings.
The editorial states “there are many
recent examples (of a trend toward
secrecy at Federation)” but only cites
one, which it describes as “… virtual
disappearance of a once-widely shared
Federation community Annual Report.”
In fact, Federation’s annual reports in
addition to its bylaws, financial state-
ments, allocation reports, population
studies plus other materials and infor-
mation are all accessible online via the
Federation website. That’s hardly the
mark of an organization operating in
secret.
The Jewish News’ editorial correctly
points out that transparency is critical to
the long-term health and vitality of our
community. Without it, Federation risks
alienating community members who
will no longer trust the organization. But
based on Federation’s actions, the com-
munity should feel confident that this
vital institution understands the value
and importance of transparency, which
it continues to demonstrate.

Letters to the Editor: We prefer letters that relate
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Funny Jewish Tweets

NCJW/Greater Detroit President

On behalf of the NCJW/Greater Detroit family,
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members.
To register for the above programs or to join,
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Warmly,
Sandi Matz, President

Sam de Leve
@ChaiKovsky

My entire day has
been about telling
people “I’m sorry, my
October schedule is a
trainwreck on fire.” Jewish
holidays, yo. It gets REAL.

Rachel Federman
@rach_fed 3h3 hours ago

Join NCJW/Greater Detroit today.
Become a new annual member and
take advantage of our special $25
annual membership fee in honor
of our 125th Anniversary.
Call us at (248)355-3300 ext. 0

MISSION:The National Council of
Jewish Women (NCJW) is a grassroots
organization of volunteers and advocates
who turn progressive ideals into action.
Inspired by Jewish values, NCJW strives
for social justice by improving the
quality of life for women, children and
families and by safeguarding individual
rights and freedoms.

I’m currently wearing
Christmas underwear. It’s
September and I’m a Jew. I
really need to do laundry.

Stewart Weiner, Franklin,
chair, Federation’s Planning
and Allocations Steering Committee;
member, Federation’s Executive Committee

2057610

September 29 • 2016

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