Posts Tagged ‘Hebrew Free Loan Board’
Some may say we are a community in chaos, others may frame it as a community in transition. Whatever the case, the community can and will take on a new face as the process to name an executive director moves forward. What will the emphasis be? How will the priorities be determined? Who will partake in the process? Will we rise like a phoenix and encourage the next generation to move it forward?
Will we become a united community or remain fractured remnants of a forgotten community? Many questions plague the elders of the community, who in the past, helped build what has in the present, bit the dust. What do we want to retain of the old? What innovative framework will help reach out to bring together the large unaffiliated group in our community? How receptive will we be to the individual who accepts the position of director? Will we sit with our arms crossed second-guessing the process or will we step up and say, “Here I am, how can I be part of the solution?” One of the aspects of being a growing community is that we are unlike the older rooted communities, run like a well-oiled machine by a leadership ‘clique.’ Newcomers could and did take on leadership roles. Was the inclusiveness in our best interest? How could it not be?
Most of us have plenty of questions but very few answers. Shouldn’t we be grateful that there are eager individuals who hold responsible roles in the community and have stepped forward to get our evolution moving? Kol k’vod to them, let’s not take a ‘wait and see’ attitude; let’s grasp the opportunity to be a part of the solution.
We, as a nation, as well as the rest of the world, have finally become aware of the importance of conserving our natural resources (land, air, water, minerals etc.). It has become popular to not only conserve our resources, but also to extend their usefulness through the simple process of recycling.
Jewish Free Loan lends money, interest-free, to Jewish people who have a variety of worthy needs and to make their life situations better. The process does not stop with the completion of a loan. As the borrower makes each payment on the loan, these dollars go back to ‘work’ making it possible for additional loans to be provided to others.
Thus, we aid the economy by increasing productivity while at the same time recycling mitzvahs many times over.
On Sunday evening, I had an impromptu conversation with a community leader and friend. Like most people living here, she moved here many years ago from another community. When she asked, “Where do you work?” I replied, “Jewish Free Loan.” This leader surprised me when she shared that as a young girl, she recalled that her father sat on the Hebrew Free Loan board in their community in Ohio. “It was the one agency that had such importance to my dad. I recall him going to their meetings and feeling very devoted to the vital services they provided members of our Jewish community.”
That was a legacy and a memory that her father established in their home. That member’s daughter certainly carried that torch of involvement to incredible heights in this community. She has been given the highest award of the Jewish Federation, the Medal of Honor along with many other recognitions. Through the years she has served with excellence, in both secular and Jewish board organizations.
Thank you Judy Ackerman. Sharing this meaningful story of how a father passed on an honorable name to his daughter. We honor you for carrying that mitzvah forward ten-fold.
