MARCH 23 • 2023 | 29

“It’s an amazing family taking control 
of their own lives,” said Harvey Somers, 
who serves as a coordinator for JCOR. 
“We want them to be our independent 
neighbors.” 
JCOR volunteers report that it has 
been an eye-opening and transformative 
experience to be able to have a direct, 
tangible impact on a family, and one that 
hooks deep into Jewish values. 
Do not oppress the stranger — the 
Torah repeats 36 times, or 46 times. It’s 
not clear. What is clear is that there is 
an appetite among Jewish congregations 
to make an impact when it comes to 
welcoming the stranger. 
These days, volunteers are still helping 
the family with various efforts. As for 
the family, their journey to become 
“independent neighbors” is well under 
way. They will continue to get some 
help and support from JFS for another 
few months, but the bulk of their 
resettlement has passed. 
In the coming weeks, JCOR volunteers 
will be reflecting on the process to 
capture the lessons learned that they can 
share with others. In the coming months, 
JCOR volunteers hope to start the 
journey all over again to welcome a new 
family under the JFS co-sponsorship 
model. 
Somers recommends that anyone 
wanting to get involved can contact 
JCOR through its website, jcorannarbor.
org, where they can donate to JCOR 
or volunteer to get involved in the 
resettlement efforts. They can donate 
funds, critical supplies or even donate or 
offer to sell (at a reasonable price) their 
reliable, used car. Landlords can help by 
offering housing. Donations to JFS can 
be made at jfsannarbor.org.

“THE POWER OF 
COLLABORATION”
It was no small feat to bring together 
these varied Jewish congregations to 
work together on this issue. When 
rolling out this pilot program, Fahim 
initially had five religious congregations 

committed to the program. JCOR was 
the sixth participating group. 
“I was hearing from quite a few groups 
that they didn’t have the capacity to raise 
$10,000 to $20,000,” Fahim said about 
the co-sponsorship model more broadly. 
In January 2022, Fahim reached out 
to Beth Israel Congregation and Temple 
Beth Emeth separately — the two largest 
Jewish congregations in Ann Arbor. 
While there was immediate interest, they 
wanted to be sure they would be able to 
meet the requirements of the program, 
according to Somers. 
These two congregations then reached 
out to some smaller congregations, and 
soon a movement started among lay 
leaders, endorsed by their boards, to 
come together and work in collaboration 
to support a refugee family. 
“Eventually, they came back and 
expressed that they wanted to make it 
happen,” Fahim said, but with the help 
of six of Ann Arbor’s established Jewish 
congregations. “It shows the power of 
collaboration.” 
“This is one of the most broad, lay-
led efforts in Ann Arbor,” said Mira 
Sussman, Resettlement Resource 
Development manager at JFS. “It’s a 
labor-intensive endeavor and a very 
Jewish one,” she said. 
Michael Appel, a Beth Israel JCOR 
volunteer, points to Jewish history and 
family histories as to why this issue was 
so resonant with the Ann Arbor Jewish 
community. “My father came over as 
a refugee in 1938 from Germany,” he 
recalled. He cites “protecting refugees 
and providing them with a welcoming 
space and letting them know that our 
community — as Americans and Jews — 
supports them” as motivation for being 
involved in JCOR. 
“JCOR has benefitted from a very 
generous community,” Somers said, a 
community that helped JCOR meet 
the minimum fundraising requirement 
set by JFS early on. The group held a 
well-attended fundraising concert at the 
Jewish Community Center in December 

that supplemented this fundraising.
Drawing from their various congre-
gants, JCOR easily surpassed the mini-
mum requirement for volunteers. “We 
had over 60 volunteers sign up,” Somers 
said. This included interpreters and 
drivers, and eight teams covering a 
host of other tasks. Volunteers received 
training from Fahim and then met 
weekly on Zoom to coordinate efforts.
To Somers, this showed how amenable 
the local Jewish community is to this 
effort. “For everyone that’s raised on 
the values of tikkun olam, it stands out 
as a unique opportunity,” Somers said. 
“My grandparents got to the United 
States and someone had to help them. 
Here is one family we can have a direct 
connection to.” 
Fruma Taub, JCOR representative 
from the Ann Arbor Orthodox Minyan, 
said, “At a time when there is so 
much that can potentially divide us, 
it’s beautiful to see us come together 
around the mitzvah of hachnasat orchim 
(welcoming travelers).” She added it 
was fulfilling to join together with other 
Jewish congregations. 

LABOR-INTENSIVE ENDEAVOR
There are many pieces involved in 
successfully resettling a refugee family 
and integrating them into a new life in 

FACING PAGE: Several JCOR volunteers gathered for a photo after a December 2022 
fundraiser concert at the Jewish Community Center in Ann Arbor. From left: Rob 
Deschaine, Renee Robbins, Michael Appel, Fruma Taub, Midge Cone, Deborah Greene, 
Jeff Basch and Harvey Somers. RIGHT: The father of the newcomer family and a JCOR 
volunteer move a donated dresser up the stairs into their apartment. 

DEBORAH MEYERS GREEN

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