NE HIST SOCIETY 1500 R SI LINCOLN NE 6 8 5 0 8 - 1 6 5 1
Vol.LXXV
K-NO. 13
Omaha, NE
Milder Memories Fyod to help singles by Claudia Sherman Foundation Public Relations Coordinator
,.-. byPatnMonsky; :, . . : ; ^ Federation Communications Director--^-
Mike Milder II was dedicated to a number of community projects in his short lifetime. Some of those included the Millard Jaycees' "Beach Bash '95 which raised more than $9,000 for - pediatric AIDS research and treatment as well as Kid Care '95 which sponsored photographing and fingerprinting more than 300 youngsters for emergency situations. Milder also served on the Omaha Hearing School Board and the city's Civil Rights Hearing Board. ' . ' ' • • A graduate of Westside High School who studied political science at the University of Northern Colorado, Milder was Executive Vice President of Milder Oil Company, a business founded by his grandfather. Only two years after graduating high' . school, Milder became involved with the Junior Chamber oC Commerce.; After hisdeath at the age of 37 in January, 1997, . Milder's family arid friends wanted to do something to honor his memory. In addition to approximately 150 who attended a jazz concert last August, more than 100 patrons at the concert raised $5,000. Sponsored jointly by Theatre at t h e ' J ' a n d Jewish Family Service, the tribute featured Matt Wallace, "a close friend of Milder's," noted Gloriann Levy, Jewish Community Center Cultural Arts 'Director, and established an endowment fund in Milder's memory. Milder.was.."a.jazz.aficionado,!',.
Marcia Lipsman, left, presents a check for $5000 to Susy Rubin, of the Over 35 Singles Group, and Sheldon Bernstein, Federation Foundation Director, who will manage the endowment fund. cert, will be administered by The Foundation of the Jewish Federation. Income from the fund will be used for programming, public relations and mailing costs for the "Over 35 Singles Group." Todd Ephraim, director of Jewish Family Service, noted that the Over 35 Singles Group could use assistance with expenses. The group of about 50 people plan Jewish educational and social events about once a month. •'..'• "They're trying to enrich their.lives .within a Jewish;gqntext.jhe^expiaine^^."hoping-to pull Levy added. •.• ! > •'•:•••. themselves together into a cohesive:organization He was also very active in Jewish singles groups, and reach out to all singles who are 35 and older." according to his parents, Ducky and Mike Milder. Milder's family, which in addition to his parents Chairman of the Third Annual Heartland Jewish includes his sister, Emily, are grateful to friends ' Singles Conference which led to the founding of the and family who cared about setting up this fund, Heartland Jewish Singles, Milder was chairman of said Mrs. Milder. • the First Regional Jewish Singles Convention held "Donations of any amount to the endowment ' in Omaha. fund are welcome on a continuous basis to encour; The endowment fund, recently created from pro- age the growth of the fund," said Sheldon ceeds contributed by the patrons of the jazz con- Bernstein, Foundation Endowment Director. >
New Americans call relatives in Former Soviet Union
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State Treasurer offers help to claim assets of Nazi victims
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-Hugh Tinley welcomes Yentl Kulik to the JFS office to place Her call. Some 20 older new Americans were able to call relatives in the former Soviet Union recently, due to the generosity of the Downtown Rotary Club. This project, currently in its second year, is the brainchild bfRotarian Hugh Tinley. Tinley originally came up with the idea as a meaningful way of expressing the organization's appreciation of its Jewish membership. He has worked through the Resettlement and Acculturation office of Jewish Family Service to bring the project to life. Participants expressed gratitude for the opportunity to make contact with loved ones so far away.
College students needed for Israel summer camp The summer1 of 1998 will be an opportunity to experience Israel as a camp counselor for the Kefiada English Speaking Summer Camp, a program of Partnership 2000. / Last year, Omaha sent three students to the camp to work with Israeli children on their English language skills. Stephen Kotok and Lindsay Taxman of Omaha and Ariella Zinn of Lincoln • joined four others from Louisville, KY, Toledo and Columbus, Ohio, cities from our Partnership 2000 Midwest Consortium, as volunteer counselors in the Kefiada English Summer Camp in Israel's Western Galilee, Omaha's Partnership 2000 region. .'..•'*' The Kefiada (from the word "fun") program is run by the Israel Association of Community Centers and the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI). The summer camp is is a thre.e-week, day camp far fifth, sixth and seventh grade Israeli children to help improve their spoken English. Volunteers are between 19 and 25 years old. They are housed with a family of in a Kibbutz in .the Western Galilee. The camp is planned and implemented by the volunteers themselves with the help of a local Kefiada coordinator and junior counselors. It is conducted completely jn English. .• Positions wilib"e;ayailab1le'for ]ttie suinnier'of 1998! For more information on this program, call 334-6431.
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'Rebuilding our families' during workshop at Temple by Elyce Azriel, Director Temple Israel High School
Families afe.differjenta»QW^Lnd valuTEiffl can be grafted'onto-cliildi'eix scgradaalfyi BO cai It is clear that the Jewish family is rapidly becohv' ing a major focus- of Jewish, education4ti America.: , There is hardly an agency or organization, once* again, on the local and national levels which has not issued an alert to the need to do "something* to help the Jewish family. , A family stands or falls on its values: beliefs and behavior that are learned over lifetimes and then passed on, simply strengthened or wisely revised. Inherited habits become our heritage, as customs soon become our culture. What accounts for the "rediscovery" relates to developments Within the broader contemporary society. The result for Omaha was an all-school program at Temple Israel, entitled "Rebuilding our Families." It was geared for students in grades 912 and their parents. More than 120 attended. The purpose was not to add to the compilation ofrthe woes befalling the family but to begin to explore within one's own family. (Continued on page 9)
Heirs have until March 31, 1998, tofileclaims on Swiss bank accounts left behind by people persecuted by the Nazis during World War II Nebraska Stfite Treasurer Dave Heineman is offering help to those who think they may be entitled to part of those assets. '..'... The Swiss Bankers Association has published a list of accounts that have remained dormant since the end of WWII and a panel of international arbitrators is now in the process of resolving claims as a result of the listing. Part of Heineman's official duties is to collect unclaimed property, which includes lost or abandoned bank accounts, and return it to rightfulowning Nebraskans. He said, "While assets of Nazi victims remain in Swiss banks and have not been turned over as unclaimed property,^ Unclaimed Property Administrators in the U.S. have been given information necessary to assist heirs in making claims." The list of dormant account owners IB now thousands of names long and still growing as Swiss banks continue to search their archives. At laBt report, the names represented about $50,000,000 and more than 3,000 claims had been filed since the claiming process began in late July. The forms and the list of account owners are also available on the internet, at www.dormontaccounts.ch Families of Holocaust victims should check the on-line list and follow the instructions if they believe they have reason to make a claim. Any questions may be directed to: Dave Heinemah, State Treasurer, P.O. Box 94788, Capitol Building, Lincoln, NE 68509. Phone: (402) Parents, Jan Egermayer, ieft, and itobyn 471-2455. Freeman, attended the Women Only session.