Connecting us by connecting you

Attending the Home Sweet Home event are, left to right, Susan Odessa, Cheryl Teverow, Cindy Feinstein and Susan Froehlich /Photos | Jennifer ZwirnWhat began as a way to connect new families in the community to all things Rhode Island has since evolved into the vital role of assisting and comforting those in need. In a very short period of time, the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island Community Concierge, Wendy Joering, has become a communal touchstone for individuals requiring immediate and special attention and services across Rhode Island.

Nearly 30 women gathered to share a compelling and heartfelt moment as Joering told her story on Sept. 18 at Susan Froehlich’s home in Pawtucket. Approximately $150,000 was raised for the 2015 Annual Campaign.

The Alliance’s Lion of Judah (for women who donate more than $5,000 annually) “Home Sweet Home” event kicked off the Women’s Alliance 2015 Annual Campaign with Joering’s poignant message delivered through her professional experience and personal anecdotes.

She explained just how essential it is for the community to support her role as it is a life force for so many. “The Community Concierge was initially part of the strategic plan for outreach, but it turned into a crisis management role rather fast in response to the floods that took place over Passover in 2010. People all over the state were displaced from their homes due to Hurricane Sandy, and Nechama, Jewish Response to Disaster, moved into the JCC. Together we worked round-the-clock for six weeks, helping Jewish community members – community members who sit next to us in temple and attend JCC events, community members who were living in motels because they lost their homes to flood damage, community members who were eating fast-food morning, noon and night because it was the only thing they were able to afford. All of this changed when we got involved. We saw progress, and we haven’t looked back.”

And the great need for support continued long after the floods receded.

In December of 2012, an anonymous donor approached the Alliance with the very generous goal of wanting to give away $25,000, all the while Alan Hassenfeld and Jeffrey Savit were creating the groundwork for Living on the Edge, Brandeis University’s Steinhardt Social Research Institute 2013 examination of the economic status of greater Rhode Island’s Jewish community. The Living on the Edge initiative, now co-chaired by Alan Hassenfeld and Susan Leach DeBlasio, will empower the community to assist even more individuals and families with great need.

The donor wanted someone from Jewish Family Service (JFS), Jewish Seniors Agency (JSA), and the Alliance to sit at the table alongside a local rabbi and a few members of the community-at-large. The committee would be called Helping Hands and the premise would be very simple: when an individual shows need and the committee votes “yes,” the rabbi sends a check to the landlord, the insurance company, the electric company, whatever entity requires payment. “We have since helped people avoid eviction, receive necessary medical attention and get air conditioners in the height of summer, and we continue to support those who need an extra hand, not as a Band-Aid but as a means to support long-term solutions. Our relationships have grown stronger with JFS and JSA as a result of this holistic collaboration.”

Often, individuals requiring financial assistance need additional social services though they cannot afford them. “This is precisely where I step in – someone sees my name on the Alliance website or hears about Helping Hands through a synagogue, picks up the phone, and we begin the process of helping in whatever way we can. Whatever it is, we will do it – we are committed to ensuring health, safety, and wellness to as many throughout our community as we can,” said Joering.

Most recently, Joering received an urgent call on a Friday afternoon requiring all hands on deck. An active senior member of the community called after being released from the hospital. She had been hit by a car, was in great pain, and worried about her finances. Joering offered comfort and reassurance to her while contacting JFS and her rabbi. Joering maintained contact with her throughout the process and scheduled a meeting to assess her financial concerns so Helping Hands could offer some peace of mind to a woman who admittedly has little to call her own. “Our community surrounded this woman and gave her the support she needed. She lost a child to cancer and has another son who is disabled. She has no family to help. She has the Jewish community.”

While “Home Sweet Home” focused on the impact of Joering’s role throughout the community, the intimate event also highlighted Vice Chair of Philanthropy Mitzi Berkelhammer’s recent mission to Israel and Greece, and the International Lion of Judah conference in New York City that was attended by Berkelhammer, Alliance Board Chair Sharon Gaines, Mindy Wachtenheim, Susan Leach DeBlasio and Froehlich.

Also at “Home Sweet Home,” Sheila Kaufman, mother of Stacy Emanuel, proudly presented her daughter with a Lion of Judah pin, and remarked how special it was to be able to pass her Jewish values to her daughter.

Berkelhammer commented, “We are so fortunate to be able to assist those in need in Rhode Island and around the world. We support the annual campaign because we believe in taking care of one another, be it nourishing our hungry, tending to our frail, or inspiring Jewish life for our next generation.”

JENNIFER ZWIRN is in Grants, Planning and Endowment at the Jewish Alliance