Just dial my number...
Phone line, welcome baskets say hello
STEFANIE L. PEARSON
Assistant Editor
"Welcome home."
That's the message new Valley residents are supposed to get from a new program beginning Feb. 1 through a partnership between the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix and Jewish News.
The "Shalom Newcomers" program begins with welcome kits distributed by real estate agents to Jewish families new to the Phoenix area.
Along with other goodies, the shiny sacks contain phone cards good for 15 minutes of long-distance calls. Perhaps most important, though, is the local number emblazoned on one side of the card: 234-0995 - the newcomer hotline at the Federation.
(The other goodies are an eight-week subscription to Jewish News, the paper's 1997 community directory -which lists synagogues, Jewish agencies and organizations, and other Jewish groups_ a current calendar of community events, coupons for free Jewish baked goods, a tree certificate from Jewish National Fund, information about the Federation and a handmade mezuzah from Israel.)
A phone call away
The new phone line will be staffed three days a week (and hooked up to take messages at other times) to answer the myriad questions newcomers have.
According to Bobbi Kurn, Federation project chair, the line will provide referrals to synagogues, information on schools and will help people find activities in the community of interest to them.
"If people are willing to take a step to get involved in the Jewish community," she explains, "it's very easy. It's all in asking for help."
Project co-chair Micki Zatulove, who came to Arizona 18 years ago, remembers how difficult it was to make connections at first.
"My only friend was my real estate person," she recalls with a laugh. "My biggest thrill was when someone offered to pick me up - I thought I had arrived."
Federation volunteer Brenda Schwartz also co-chairs the project.
Realtor Tina Heinemann-Robbins of Century 21, who is among the two dozen or so real estate agents already participating, concurs that many of her clients look to her for information on the Valley Jewish community.
Her Jewish clients "generally want information about the community," she explains. So she includes showing synagogues as a part of the house search.
"I want to let them know what's available," she says. "I take them to delis for lunch. It sounds simple, but they really look for that in a city."
Kurn and Zatulove agree with many newcomers (see accompanying story) that taking the first step - identifying yourself as a newcomer who wants to become involved - is essential.
Many newcomers become frustrated quickly, Kurn points out.
"A person comes to town and says 'Why isn't anyone calling to welcome me?' It's hard," Kurn says, "because we don't know who they are."
"We're so spread out," adds Zatulove. "There isn't a Jewish (area) where everyone ends up."
"It's easy to hide here, to never become involved," adds Robbins. "That's why it's important for the community to take the first step."
Working with real estate agents, explains Phil Lerner, who staffs the project for the Federation, identifies people as soon as they come to the Valley.
A newcomer to the Valley himself (he moved from Boston last year), Lerner says the project is intended to help newly arrived Jews feel a part of the community as soon as they arrive.
Informed from the start
"We want them to know that there's a community here to provide support for them," he says.
"This is reaching out rather than waiting for people to ask," concurs Flo Eckstein, editor and publisher of Jewish News.
Lerner explains that the contents of the welcome basket - the Jewish News community guide and Federation informational video, for instance - lay out options for connecting to the community here.
He says that the line will provide more than just referrals. "We want to address their interests, not just their needs."
An updated listing of events will be available, in addition to referrals to agencies and organizations.
To help anyone overcome shyness or discomfort, phone staff will be able to set up appointments. Committee members, says Kurn, will be available to acommpany people to meetings with rabbis or communal activities.
The idea, says Kurn, is that callers aren't just told about events in which they might be interested. "We want them to feel wanted - we'll say, 'Come - and sit at my table,' " she explains.
Communal impact
Realtor Robbins says that she thinks the Shalom Newcomers project will help make "a real difference in how people get involved."
Zatulove says she hopes the program will "start off small and successful" and grow as more real estate agents sign on, and more individuals avail themselves of the new services.
The net result will be a stronger and more vital community, she says.
Lamenting the low percentage of Jewish residents who participate in communal activities, Kurn says, "Maybe we can up the percentage of people that get involved."
She and Eckstein point out that newcomers bring with them skills and talents that can help the Valley.
"There are wonderful contributions that people from other communities have to make," says Eckstein, citing Federation volunteer Joe Schwartz as an example.
Schwartz came to the Valley from Grand Rapids, Mich., where he had been involved with the local federation. He has been instrumental in revitalizing the Federation's approach to marketing, she says. "He's an example of the talent people are bringing with them."
Stronger community
Ultimately, the Federation hopes to see the newcomers contributing to its annual campaigns. And Kurn says the effect can snowball.
"If we have more people contributing," she explains, "we have more resources available. If we have more resources, we have more programs." And, a greater level of activity is a greater incentive for unaffiliated Jews to connect with Jewish life here, she says.
The tree certificates in the basket represent that, for every newcomer in the program, Jewish National Fund will be planting a tree in Israel.
"The whole project is about people moving here and putting down roots. Ultimately, their family will be like branches on a tree," says Kurn. "We hope people will really plant their roots and become involved and make Phoenix their home for generations to come."
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