Last week was very exciting for me. I began my week by
attending our Holocaust Survivor Advisory Committee meeting. The group meets
quarterly and is required for our agency to work with the Claims Conference.
Additionally, my work as a VISTA requires that I have a committee comprised of
the community I am serving to help provide direct feedback on my efforts. The
first meeting went incredibly well. My supervisor introduced me briefly and I
continued, explaining the new federal initiative started by the White House,
the deployment of AmeriCorps VISTAs around the nation to help with the effort,
and what my plan was here at JFS of Metro Detroit.
Following my brief introduction, I was able to show the
committee the flyers, advertisements, and needs assessment survey I have been
working on for the last week or so. They were able to give feedback on parts
they liked and did not like. They provided candid feedback and were not afraid
to ask questions about why certain parts of the flyers were worded the way they
were. They were very curious about why I specified both “Holocaust Survivors”
and “Victims of Nazi Persecution” in the advertising materials. This brings up
a very interesting part of my job here. Something I have learned since joining
the team is that while many would consider a Holocaust survivor to be someone
that survived a ghetto or camp, the definition we, and many others, use is not
that clear cut. JFS uses the definition put forth by the Claims Conference.
While it is very technical and varies based on different funds, essentially
survivors did not have to have spent time in a camp or ghetto to be eligible
for financial support or services through JFS. Because of this many people that
do not consider themselves survivor would actually fit the broadened definition
by the Claims Conference. For this reason, we decided that we should list both
“Holocaust survivors” and “Survivors of Nazi Oppression” in an attempt to reach
those that are not currently receiving assistance because they do not know about
it. I am constantly reminded that my job here is not only to help those we are
currently helping, but to also reach out and find those that need help, but do
not know they are eligible to receive it. Overall, the meeting went well and
the survivors seemed very excited about what I am doing here and were willing
to help in any way possible.
The following day I was able to participate in the Jewish
Senior Life Networking Professionals Meeting. This meeting allowed a variety of
agencies that work with older adults in the Jewish community to come together,
share resources, network, and learn about the special needs these clients have.
This particular meeting focused primarily on the Holocaust and indemnification
for survivors. This allowed me to introduce myself to the variety of
organizations, etc. and let them know that I am here to help if they have any
questions. I enjoyed the opportunity to
meet a wide variety of people that all work for one common cause, though it is
through many different ways.
Finally, the highlight of my week was our all staff meeting
at JFS, which is conducted annually. While I was at first a little unsure about
the prospect of a 4 hour meeting, it ended up being a great opportunity. We
spent the time meeting new people at JFS and working as a team to build better
communication skills. We were able to see how interconnected various parts of
JFS are, how many people it takes to do something as simple as get a flood
victim a new furnace, and we even took time to discuss communication styles and
how to ease tensions with those we work with that communicate differently than
we do. Additionally, we rolled out our new mission statement, which I am a big
fan of. It says, “Inspired by the wisdom and values of Jewish tradition, we
strengthen lives through compassionate service.” I think that this new mission
statement really does a great job of putting into words the general feeling
that I get when working here. It is not just another office place. Yes, people are
stressed, have hard days, and are eager for the weekends, but the atmosphere
here buzzes with the excitement that every day we get to put ourselves out
there and have a direct impact on people’s lives. As for compassionate service,
I can say without a doubt this is something that is imbedded into the
foundation of this organization. Every day my co-workers, supervisors, and
peers are willing and eager to help me in any way possible. Whether it is
answering a question, listening to a concern, or just providing feedback when I
am not sure what to do next. If my co-workers can do this for me when I am new
and doing a job that is a little outside the box, I have every confidence that
they actively provide compassionate service to those they serve.
This post is for the previous week, but because our work week was shorter here due to the Jewish New Year I'm just now getting a chance to publish it. Since last week was only a couple of days long, and most of it was spent building a list of places for me to flyer for the new initiative I will just start with a new post next week about what I'm doing this week!
Until next week…
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