Page 2-THE NEWS-August, 1984
THE CHARLOTTE JEWISH HEWS
Published monthly by:
Charlotte Jewish Federation
Foundation of Charlotte Jewish Community
Marvin Bienstock, Director
Jewish Community Center Charlotte Hebrew Academy
Martin Schneer, Director Eleanor Weinglass, Director
Editor. Rita Mond
JCC editor. Ann Langman
Advertising mgr. Blanche Yarus
Staff. Doris Edelstein, Lottie Goldman,
Raenea Siegel, Ted Teitelzweig
Copy deadline the 10th of each month
P.O. Box 220188, Charlotte, N.C. 28222
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From the DesR of Marty Schneer
—JCC Executive Director
Editorial
It Is All Coming Together
While the excitement tends to be focused on the
Project site as the facilities are being prepared for
construction, there is a second, equally if not more
important, kind of construction going on — the
building of the community.
When, at the very beginning of the idea of the Pro
ject, a phone survey asked hundreds of community
members what their major concern was about the
concept, the single greatest worry focused on the
ability of the leaders of the various institutions and
organizations to work together.
That response was a sign of the times; times mark
ed nationally as well as locally, by institutions con
cerned for preservation in the face of uncertain
population shifts ard an equally uncertain economic
future. If it remains a concern elsewhere, Charlotte
Jewish leadership has clearly shown it can £uid wants
to work together. The benefits of that spirit of
cooperation are seen in such programs as Israel In
dependence Day, the Joint Jewish Studies Institute,
Joint Teacher Training for Jewish Education, the
sponsorship of the Chassidic Festival and numerous
other ventures and programs of all sizes for all ages.
The two newest examples of cooperative communi
ty building are no small undertakings and their suc
cessful outcome will affect each and every one of us.
The first is an extensive study by the JCC of the
shape and form that institution is to take in the new
facility. Under the leadership of its President, Harold
Josephson, and its Director, Marty Schneer, hun
dreds of volunteers will be divided into committees
to study current needs, future needs and trends on
a local as well as national level. (See Phase-In story
on page 1). The intention is to have the programs and
services established and either in place or ready to
begin at the point the community is ready to physical
ly move into the facility.
The second community effort is Federation coor
dinated and focuses on an outreach to the unaffiliated
and the intermarried. *Unaffiliated' has been initial
ly defined as not belonging to one of the three
Temples.
The project consists of a massive outreach to these
individuals by mail and by phone to leam what they
want and need in order to affiliate. This will be follow
ed by establishment of the most requested programs
and classes, some on a cooperative basis between all
the institutions.
The spirit of trust and mutual respect which allows
for broad spectrum cooperation in these efforts is
deserving of the highest recognition and praise. The
physical Project will draw interested viewers from all
over the nation, but the model of community building
will be much more valuable and will be sought after
around the nation as a Charlotte Jewish community
export.
This sense of building a community was a part of
the original dream of the leaders who created the
Foundation, and it has continued as the goal for each
new institution President or Foundation Board
member. The vision of these dedicated individuals
was amazing and their ability to make it come true
is nothing short of miraculous.
When I first arrived in
Charlotte last Fall after the
burning of the ‘J’ building, one
of the major concerns of the
membership was the future of
the Center’s Day Camp Pro
gram. The Camp Committee
along with Dana Klein, former
Children’s Director, struggled
with the reality of developing
a new program that by neces
sity would have to be geared
to our outdoor setting. While
various alternative arrange
ments were made to help ac
comodate parents and camp
ers such as buying a bus and
erecting tents for each group,
many of us still wonder^
whether the community would
continue to support the Day
Camp program as they had in
the past.
At this point into the camp
session I am pleased to report
that we are witnessing a true
success story illustrated by
the community’s response to
the J’s camp program. Thanks
to a lot of hard work by the
Camp Committee and some
fortuitous circumstances
which brought Cary Bernstein
back to Charlotte to direct the
camp, we anticipate surpass
ing last year’s registration
totals. Cary and her camp
staff, including Israeli
Shaliach and nature specialist
Sarah David, have created an
atmosphere which encourages
youngsters to explore their
natural environment and
develop both their creative
potential and physical
abilities. As one parent put it
“camp is more than just
buildings.”
As many of you are aware
the JCC will be moving to the
Armstrong House on the new
site by mid-September. This
realization has led many to
wonder about what facilities
will be completed by next sum
mer. The Center’s leadership
has been working closely with
the Foundation Board to en
sure that everything possible
is being done to hasten the
construction process. We are
keenly aware that any delays
Who Is HOW?
By Elite Katz
A positive approach to life is
my goal. I have decided it is
time to concentrate on my
abilities, not my disability.
This is without a doubt most
important to me.
I reached this conclusion
because feeling sorry for
myself was doing nothing but
adding stress to my
neurological condition. These
negative feelings were only ad
ding unnecessary burdens to
my family. I discovered there
were many ways for me to im
prove my life. I went to
Charlotte Rehabilitation
Hospital outpatient facilities
and entered a water exercise
program which improved my
physical condition, helping me
change my attitude about
myself. By doing something
positive about myself, I soon
realized there were other in
terests that would change my
life.
Last year, I read an article
in the Weekly South
newspaper about a courageous
handicapped woman named
Deborah McKiethan, the
founder of the organization
HOW (Handicapped Organiz
ed Women), an organization
which promotes self-esteem
and self-help for disabled
women.
By chance, while taking
therapy at the Rehabilitation
Hospital, I discovered that
HOW had an office there. I ar
ranged to meet with Mrs.
McKiethan to find out, in
more detail, what it was all
about. HOW has an office
donated by the Rehabilitation
Hospital \ivhere both Deborah
McIUethan and her husband,
Jim, are administering aU the
functions. Mr. McKiethan
recently quit his job to assume
the post of Director of
Development of HOW and is
traveling to promote their con
cepts and raise funding for the
expansion of services. They
have already received caUs
from people in twenty-six
other stat^ to expand HOW
nationally.
I will be helping HOW. H
you need help, let us show you
how.
may not only cause some in
conveniences for the institu
tions involved, but also lead to
increased construction costs.
Contingency plans are being
develop^ by the ‘ J’ to prevent
any interruptions in service in
cluding providing access to a
swimming pool for the
membership if construction is
delayed. The transition period
that we are now facing un
doubtedly will present some
difficulties, however we should
keep in mind that what began
as a grand vision for the future
of Charlotte Jewry has now
become a tangible reality. Our
experience with Day Camp
this summer vividly
demonstrates that with in
genuity and cooperative effort
we can actually benefit from
changing circumstances, as we
work to ‘build’ a Jewish Com
munity that will be unified and
prepared to take fuU advan
tage of it’s new multi-purpose
facilities.
Those of you who attended
the Center's July 4th Celebra
tion know that it was a huge
success. Over 130 parents and
children participated in pool
games and contests of all
sorts, and then enjoyed a
scrumptious chicken barbecue
dinner. What many of you
might not realize is the role
Lynne Sheffer, Vice President
of Progranuning, and Terri
Cathcart, Chairperson of our
Children’s Committee, played
in the planning and implemen
tation of the program. These
two women and the commit
tees they represent have real
ly picked up the slack during
our search for a new Children’s
Director. Our continued suc
cess depends to a great extent
on the work of our lay commit
tees, and on behalf of the staff
at the ‘J’. I would like to thank
Lynne and Terri for their
much needed support.
We are sorry to report that
Abby Hoffman, former JCC
Adult Activities Director
resigned from her position in
June. Abby was employed by
the Center for IVt years and
was responsible for upgrading
many of the Adult Programs.
Under her guidance Senior
Adult progranmiing was also
revamped, enabling our older
adults to take greater respon
sibility for their own program
planning.
Abby will be venturing into
the relatively new field of
employee assistance being of
fered by businesses and
unions; we wish Abby all the
luck in the world in her new
profession. A story on her suc
cessor, Susan Ett, can be
found in this issue.