MAY 13 • 2021 | 15
who will complete her two-year
term as president in June. She was
impressed by how quickly staff and
volunteers adapted to
remote operations.
“They didn’t miss a
beat,
” she said. “The
office ran like clock-
work, and we didn’t
have any layoffs or
furloughs.
” And HFL
gave borrowers a three-
month extension on
repayments, if request-
ed.
One thing hasn’t
changed over the years:
Hebrew Free Loan col-
lects on 99 percent of its
loans.
Incoming presi-
dent David Kramer
of Bloomfield Hills is
looking for ways to
expand HFL
’s reach. He
hopes to establish loan
opportunities that will encourage
young Jewish adults to remain in the
Detroit area — or to relocate here.
Executive Director David
Contorer, who succeeded Keane in
2011, agrees. He says Hebrew Free
Loan wants the public to know that
“interest-free loans are like stem
cells. They can be used to help with
almost anything.
”
HFL
’S OFFERINGS
The organization’s activities fall into
four main categories, said Contorer:
• Personal loans can help appli-
cants buy a car, cover medical
expenses, send a child to camp or
celebrate a bar mitzvah or wedding.
After the Detroit area’s big flood
in August 2014, HFL made many
loans for home repairs. In 2018, HFL
launched a program to help appli-
cants consolidate high-interest debt.
Most personal loans are $10,000 or
less, though HFL will consider up to
$20,000 help with the cost of adop-
tion or in-vitro fertilization.
• The William Davidson Jewish
College Loan Program offers stu-
Carolyn
Tisdale
David
Kramer
David
Contorer
Hanna Berlin:
Financing
Medical School
Hanna Berlin was thrilled to be start-
ing medical school at the University of
Michigan but a little concerned about
how to come up with $36,000 for tui-
tion, not to mention additional funds
for living expenses.
“My parents generously contributed
to my undergraduate education, but
we had agreed early on that I would
be responsible for any post-graduate
training,” said Berlin, 28. She is about
to graduate with her M.D. degree and
move from Ann Arbor to Royal Oak
to begin a residency in obstetrics
and gynecology at William Beaumont
Hospital.
She had a bit of an “in” at Hebrew
Free Loan: Her mother, Cheryl Berlin,
has worked there as a loan program
officer for more than 10 years. There’s
another family connection: Cheryl
Berlin discovered that her grandfather,
Maxwell Berlin, took out a loan from
Hebrew Free Loan in the 1930s to
make a house payment.
Hanna Berlin had borrowed $7,500
every year from Hebrew Free Loan’s
William Davidson Jewish College
Loan Program to pay for her under-
graduate degree at U-M.
“After graduating, I worked as
a medical assistant and saved up
money while applying to medical
school,” Berlin said. “I was able to
defer on paying my loans at that time,
and thankfully did not have to worry
about interest accruing while I worked
on getting my footing in the profes-
sional world and pursuing my dream
of becoming a physician.”
For medical school, Berlin was
able to borrow $10,000 a year from
Hebrew Free Loan. It didn’t cover
all her costs, but it gave her some
breathing room.
“I was able to focus on my studies
and wellbeing rather than suffer under
crushing financial stress,” she said.
“Perhaps, even more importantly, I felt
invested in by my community, and a
duty to fulfill something larger than
myself.”
Berlin expects to pay off all her
loans within 10 years. She looks for-
ward to being able to give back to the
Jewish community someday by con-
tributing to Hebrew Free Loan herself.
continued on page 16
Mongers Provisions
gourmet cheese shop
and more of Ferndale
and Detroit got some
“cheddar” from
Hebrew Free Loan to
start its business.
Loan applicants have always been treated with respect at HFL.
Over 125 years, HFL’s proccesses have changed, but not its core values.