C O MM U N I T Y Making
C O MM U N I T Y Making a difference Partnerships in compassion uphold Jewish and Chaldean values By Alan Stamm and Justin Fisette Above, from left: Participants in Walk for Project Chessed raised funds for the nonprofit to provide pro-bono care to medically uninsured Jewish adults. CALC volunteers gather at World Refugee Day to raise awareness and show support to refugees worldwide. For Chaldeans and Jews, true faith involves more than weekly worship, holiday festivities and other family rituals. Community services are as integral as religious services. “In the community, our focus is to strengthen Jewish identity, build Jewish community and grow Jewish philanthropy to help those in need,” says Scott Kaufman, CEO at the Jewish Federation of Metro Detroit, a fund-raising hub in Bloomfield Hills for 19 agencies providing social services, education, health care and recreation. Chaldeans embrace the same sense of responsibility. “In terms of giving, people are still donating to the church, but seeing the other community organizations and giving to them as well,” says LeeAnn Kirma, president of the Chaldean American Ladies of Charity (CALC), a 500-member group in Farmington Hills that turns 50 next year. “Each organization does something another doesn’t, so we all work together.” These Metro Detroit communities, which share historical and cultural overlaps, also exchange compassion and charitable experiences. “It’s been part of our mission since Day One to help everyone, regardless of nationality,” says Beverly Fine, president of the Greater Detroit Chapter of Hadassah, part of an international Jewish network dating to 1912. Two areas in particular provide a natural meeting ground – refugee support and health care. Basil Bacall, founding chairman of the Adopt-a-Refugee-Family Committee at the Chaldean Federation of America, describes diverse support for Iraqis arriving to build new lives. “A lot of Jewish families have taken notice,” he says of the three-year-old program. “It wasn’t that long ago when a similar thing was happening in the Jewish community – refugees persecuted because of religious beliefs.” Refugee saga echoes The modern-day resettlement is aimed at helping families that fled to Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and other countries because of discrimination and civil war in Iraq. The nonprofit committee here matches displaced Chaldeans with U.S. donors of money for housing, food, clothes, furniture and other essentials. Donations also are collected in canisters at shops, salons and restaurants. “We’ve helped more than 50,000 people,” Bacall says. “We have tremendous community support, inside and outside [Chaldean circles]. We have high school kids who band together to donate per month to help sponsor a family together. One individual sponsors 33 families by himself.” The Chaldean Federation absorbs most administrative costs, with several donors earmarking their gifts to cover the rest. “The backbone of our organization really is that 100 percent of donations go directly to help displaced families,” stresses Bacall, who visited refugees in Syria at the humanitarian initiative’s start. Starting this summer, generosity without borders also brings health care to local Chaldeans – just as it does to Jewish residents under a similar charitable model. Chessed inspires Bismutha The original template was framed in late 2004, when Jewish Family Services in West Bloomfield created Project Chessed with more than 50 doctors who volunteered to see uninsured patients without cost. (Chessed is Hebrew for kindness.) The program, which has served 3,200 people, now has more than 700 doctors. Nine hospitals and two diagnostic centers also participate. “We grew in response to demand for ac- 24 CHALDEAN NEWS JULY 2010
cess to health care,” explains founding director Rachel Yoskowitz, one of eight full-time staffers. “As community awareness increases, more physicians come to the program. The Jewish community has the same issues as the greater Detroit community – unemployment, lack of insurance. We’re just a microcosm.” To help address that universal need, Yoskowitz and her team are working with Dr. Nahid Elyas, a Southfield internist who is president of Chaldean American Association for Health Professionals. He leads the new Project Bismutha, which adopts the Aramaic word for healing. Support comes from the Chaldean Federation, CALC and churches. “This is a project for free health care for the community for those who don’t have it,” explains Elyas, whose initiative has accepted 100 uninsured patients for a six-month trial that includes discounted prescriptions. “Refugees coming from back home lose insurance after only a few months here, and they need healthcare. Bismutha aims to fill the gap between government assistance and work-related healthcare.” The Chessed approach is “a very replicable model,” comments Yoskowitz. “Every community just needs to fine-tune it.” At Bismutha, Elyas voices gratitude for “a great partnership and friendship with Jewish Family Services and Project Chessed.” Meaningful roles for women Parallel paths also are taken by CALC and the Greater “A lot of Jewish families have taken notice. It wasn’t that long ago when a similar thing was happening in the Jewish community.” – Basil Bacall, Chaldean Federation refugee program chairman Detroit Chapter of Hadassah, which each have an impact greater than women’s groups in past decades. Anti-drug programs and youth mentoring are among programs developed by CALC, the nation’s longest-serving Chaldean service organization. “Our role has changed drastically through the years from a more social gathering and behind-the-scenes work to increased community activism,” says Kirma, the president. Similarly, Hadassah provides a GirlForce esteem-building focus for 10- to 14-year-olds and Check It Out breast self-exam lessons for high school junior and seniors. It also finances medical research at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem. “Over the years, our community service projects have definitely blossomed,” says president Fine. “Our women enjoy being involved in the community.” For Metro Detroit’s 121,000 Chaldeans and 72,000 Jews, commitment to helping those in need is a matter of faith. Alan Stamm and Justin Fisette are writers for Tanner Friedman, a marketing communications firm in Farmington Hills. P R E S E N T I N G S P O N S O R G O L D S P O N S O R S S I LV E R S P O N S O R S Rooted in faith For thousands of years, Jews and Chaldeans have given back to their communities. For many, it’s simply a way of life and rarely questioned. “We always paid our dues and got involved, just thought it was something you do,” said LeeAnn Kirma, president of the Chaldean American Ladies of Charity. “We younger women became a part because our mothers were members.” But if you look deeper into both faiths, you will see the sense of community and giving lies in the bedrock of both Judaism and Catholicism. In Judaism, two Hebrew phrases, tzedakah and tikkun olam, symbolize the importance of building a strong community through taking care of your fellow man. Tzedakah, which translates loosely to “charity,” is actually much more than that. Charity evokes the thought of generosity, while tzedakah describes a ladder of giving — initially giving begrudgingly and transitioning to giving willingly and anonymously. This relates directly to tikkun olam, or “repairing the world,” in which giving is designed to help others be self-sufficient to create stronger communities. The Chaldean community follows closely in the footsteps of Jewish charitable giving by focusing on building a strong community through ties with the church. “Through conversations and meetings, certain programs in the Jewish community have successfully transferred to the Chaldean community in order to help their people,” said Scott Kaufman, CEO at Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit. As the accompanying story describes, initiatives like Project Bismutha and the Chaldean Federation are modeled directly after their Jewish counterparts. With most Chaldeans living close to their church and family, the embrace of strong community relations and support for neighbors clearly are rooted in faith. “The act of giving should be based on the inner person, when they feel that what God has given them should be shared with others,” says Father Manuel Boji of the Chaldean Catholic Church. – Justin Fisette
