Focus on Federation
This is the third part of a multi-series of articles to better
By Rita C. Mond understand the importance and functions of The Charlotte
Jewish Federation.
Page 3-THE NEWS-June/July, 1988
Part III
Special program held for children at Gorelick Hall at Shalom Park.
4s. Adrienne Rosenberg is
5 Family Services Director
d may be contacted at
364-6599.
Blumenthal Jewish Home
The Blumenthal Jewish
Home began as a dream to
provide a place for the Jewish
elderly to come to live in digni
ty, a home dedicted to the
highest standards of resident
care and quality of life. The
dream of a medically-oriented,
continuing care complex be
gan to shape into a reality
when an 118-acre site in Clem
mons, NC (outside of Winston-
Salem) was chosen.
The Associations of N.C.
Men and Women spearheaded
the drive to raise the money
and to build a nursing wing for
46 residents (1965).
From the moment one en
ters the tree-lined drive, it is
noted that this is an extraor
dinary place to live. Expansion
in 1974 increased the capacity
to 134 beds. The 1987/88 reno
vation and expansion project
extended care to 46 older
i
i'm
.
League Volleyball at the *J’.
The staff is professionally
trained to supervise its
various departments. Mem
bership is open to the com
munity. Barry Hantman is ex
ecutive director; Scott Snyder,
program director; Larry Ger
ber, president.
Jewish Family Services
The Department of Jewish
Fgimily Services, a constituent
agency of Federation, has an
extremely capable professi
onal casework staff. It pro
vides a full range of social
work services to the Jewish
conmiunity in the areas of
older adult, vocational, and
marriage and family counsel
ing issues, and adjustment to
adults who require an assisted
living environment, FAIR
OAKS. A Commons building,
housing the central kitchen,
synagogue, chapel, auditorium
and meeting rooms, sepeirate
FAIR OAKS from the nursing
wing.
A two-story addition to the
B-Wing nursing units, added
large dining rooms and pan
nursing, social services,
dietary, and resident acti
vities, assures that the needs
and abilities of each resident
are addressed with the ap
propriate plan of care. This
holistic view is aimed at the
physical, mental/emotional
and spiritual well-being of the
residents. One of the big dif
ferences in BJH is that resi
dents are up and dressed dai
ly, unless totally incapaci
tated. A wide variety of ac
tivities are offered both for
cultural enrichment and thera
peutic effect. Increased
volunteer involvement and a
bus have made it possible for
more residents to make out
ings more frequently. An en
dowed concert and lecture
series provides a diversity of
programs in-house, assuring
that even the most debilitated
have the opportunity to at
tend. Staff and volunteers lead
discussion groups from cur
rent events and contemporary
issues to “remembering
when ”
The Craft Shop is always a
beehive of activity. It is a
meeting place for social inter
change as well as having pro
duced numerous Dixie Classic
Fair prize-winning crafts.
The majority of the resi
dents of the Home amd FAIR
OAKS are Jewish, but those
of other faiths are welcomed,
and in recent years have con
stituted 40% of the resident
population.
The Laws of Kashnith are
observed in the kitchen for all.
Sabbath services are held on
Fridays and Saturdays in the
Synagogrue, and major Jewish
holidays are observed
throughout the year. Inter
faith services are held weekly
in Friendship Chapel and ma
jor religious holidays are
observed with special pro
grams.
FAIR OAKS is another step
toward the goal of providing a
comprehensive and progres
sive service delivery system to
View of the Commons of FAIR OAKS; A-wing nursing unit BJH in
foreground.
The Charlotte Jewish
Federation is a part of the
North American Council of
Jewish Federations (CJF) and
the national allocation of Cam
paign monies is extensive with
respect to its recipients. Local
ly, our Federation is com
prised of constituent agencies
to which funding is given ac
cording to need and budget.
There is a strict and detailed
system whereby every assur
ance is given that these funds
wiU be properly administered
through the Federation’s Allo
cation Committee. This com
mittee consists of community
members well versed and
knowledgeable of the Char
lotte Jewish community and
having an expertise in busi
ness practices, accounting and
budgetary responsibilities.
Each group requesting funds
must appear before the Com
mittee with a carefully docu
mented request for funds
which includes an estimated
budget. The representatives of
the various groups must be
prepared for extensive ques
tioning by the Committee. It
is a painstaking and demand
ing schedule to ensure that the
entire needs of the communi
ty are met and each group has
displayed financial respon
sibility in requesting their
respective needs.
Based on a proposed 1988
Allocation of approximately
$1.25 million, $715,000 is to go
to the constituent agencies
and $525,000 to UJA. Some of
the agencies and the amounts
being allocated to them this
year are: Jewish Community
Center, $190,000; Foundation,
$150,000; Jewish Family Ser
vices, $63,000; Blumenthal
Home, $51,000; Charlotte
Jewish Day School, $38,000;
Hillel, $9,000; Lubavitch,
$5,700; Hebrew Cemetery,
$5,000; BBYO, $4,000; ADL,
$2,000; plus various local and
national small agencies,
$9,000. The Federation re
ceives an operating/program
budget of $200,000. Michael
Minkin is the Federation ex
ecutive director; Bobbi Berns
tein is president.
The Foundation
The Foundation of the Char
lotte Jewish ConMnunity, Inc.
was chartered October 8,1980
as an independent organiza
tion consisting of represen
tatives of the autonomous in
stitutions of the Charlotte
Federation: The Jewish Com
munity Center, Charlotte
Jewish Day School (formerly
the NC Hebrew Academy),
Temple Israel and Temple
Beth El (now known as Tem
ple Beth El V’Shalom).
Its purpose was to spear
head the planning* fundraising
and construction of Shalom
Park and its facilities.
In May 1986, Shalom Park,
Phase I of which includes the
Blumenthal Education Build
ing and the Leon and Sandra
Levine Jewish Community
Center Building, became a
reality and opened its doors
for service. Since that time the
Foundation has become the
property management institu
tion for Shalom Peu*k. It also
provides the administration
and support services for all of
the participating partners
functioning within this 54-acre
site.
The Foundation functions
through nine (9) working com
mittees made up of represen
tatives of each of the five par
ticipating institutions who are
partners in this joint venture.
These committees are: man
agement, space utilization,
religious practices, personnel,
support services, public rela
tions, visual arts, food services
and library. Through these
committees, space coordina
tion, centralized telephone,
production and office support
along with maintenance,
housekeeping and grounds
upkeep are all provided for the
benefit of the participants at
Shalom Park. The Foundation
also makes facilities available
to other Jewish organizations,
civic groups and outside non
profit organizations thereby
offering conmiunity service
and maintaining a bridge into
the general community.
Phase I of Shalom Park in
cludes the sharing by the in
stitutions of the following
facilities: classrooms, craft
room, library, music room,
lounges, art gallery, meeting
rooms, offices, auditorium,
gymnasium, indoor and out
door pools and tracks, ball-
fields, tennis courts. Health
Club, racquetball courts,
playgrounds, etc. Future plans
are for Phase II which will be
the building of the sanctuary-
social hall of each of the
temples, Beth El V’Shalom
and Israel, on their respective
acreage at Shalom Park.
The Jewish Community Center
The Charlotte Jewish Com
munity Center provides the
recreational, cultural and
educational needs of the Char
lotte Jewish community. It is
located on the campus of
Shalom Park and has out
standing facilities: indoor and
outdoor athletic activities, in
cluding swimming, basketball,
track, tennis and racquetbaU
courts; a health club for men
and women, with weight
rooms, saunas, hot tubs and
steam rooms.
The ‘J’ offers programs and
activities for all ages: an ex
tensive schedule of classes
programmed throughout the
year for seniors, adults (both
married and single), children
and families. It has an ex
cellent summer day camp for
pre-kindergarteners, K-6, and
teenagers, with a variety of
programs; adult softbaU and
tennis teams; youth soccer,
basketball and swimming
teams; Mother’s Morning Out
(ages 6 months to 2 years);
Chai-lites (senior adults.)
Adrienne Rosenberg with Passover
packages for needy and elderly in
nursing homes.
changes. It is involved with in
terfaith support groups, bar
rier awareness, parenting ado
lescents and has a Substance
Abuse Task F(xt:e which meets
monthly. It is involved in
starting a support group for
Jewish single adult women.
Recently JFS added to its
staff Dr. Byron Wilkenfeld,
psychiatrist, as its first
m^cal director.
tries, and much needed ele
vators. Connecting this area to
the Conmions is a wide pas
sageway that houses a new
craft shop, complete with of
fice, bath and kiln room.
Concern for the quality of
life of each individual has
always been paramount in pro
gram planning. Few homes in
the country can boast of a full
time medical director on staff.
In addition, two other physi
cians are on call and make
rounds twice a week. The
Director of Nursing oversees a
nursing staff of 18 other RNs,
11 LPNs, and 62 Nursing
assistants covering both the
nursing home and FAIR
OAKS. The Home maintains
its own pharmacy.
A team approach involving
meet the needs of older adults.
In years to come, it is planned
to add apartments, condomin
iums, and possibly private
homes.
BJH serves and participates
with the entire community en
compassing North and South
Carolina, dreaming, building,
caring, to make life better for
older adults in its charge.
Donald Morris is the execu
tive vice president. For further
information call 919-766-6401.
(Editor's note: Thanks go to
Mike Minkin (CJF), Barry
Hantman (Foundation}, Scott
Snyder (JCC), Ellen White
(BJH) for contributing to this
article. August's "Focus " will
be on the other constituent
agencies of Federation.)