Page 20 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN <strong>July</strong>-<strong>August</strong> 20<strong>09</strong>
<strong>July</strong>-<strong>August</strong> 20<strong>09</strong> THE JEWISH GEORGIAN Page 21 <strong>Jewish</strong> THE <strong>Georgian</strong> Twittering goes kosher for Roberta Scher and Lois Held By Suzi Brozman W here do you get your kosher news? From the newspaper? From the Atlanta Kashruth Commission’s newsletter or website? From cookbooks? From friends? From walking up and down the kosher aisles at the grocery store? Today, there’s a new option, called KosherEye—tweet about it at Twitter.com, or follow it on Facebook, courtesy of Roberta Scher and Lois Held. Not too many years ago, we all marveled at something called the Internet; we were fascinated by our cellphones. Before that, we thought Dick Tracy’s two-way wrist radio was pure fantasy, never to be made real. How wrong we were! <strong>The</strong>n came e-mail and instant messaging, and we found communication to be both instantaneous and addictive. Or am I the only one who’ll admit I stay in touch via e-mail far more than I ever did when I had to buy stamps and go to the Post Office to mail a letter? <strong>The</strong>n came Facebook, and suddenly people we didn’t even know were aware of our existence are popping up, asking us to be their friends. Craigslist and e-Bay and internet shopping let us browse without ever setting foot in the mall. And now there’s the new sensation— Twitter.com, a site that lets you “tweet” about anything at all, as long as you can keep your message under 140 characters. Track a person or a product, talk about politics or whatever interests you. And it’s all free. But how to make it matter, and not just substitute for gossip or e-mail? That was the question facing Roberta Scher and Lois Held when they decided to put their many years of volunteer experience to use. <strong>The</strong> two women had been friends for some 39 years, since they met as volunteers in a Hadassah chapter. Like many women, they’d joined to meet people and do good at the same time. Scher remembers, “Hadassah was an outlet for us. Women’s roles have changed. You can judge a person by working with her on a volunteer basis.” Held agrees. “We formed so many friendships in Hadassah,” she says. “<strong>The</strong>n I Atlanta Group Home celebrates its 25th anniversary Lois Held and Roberta Scher went back to school and Roberta went into business. Recently, we’ve worked on Beth Jacob things together, including many things related to food—the Kosher Festival, dinners of honor, and so forth. We love to eat, cook, and read cookbooks. And Roberta has had her kosher food column in T h e <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Georgian</strong> for six years.” After Scher sold Paper Parlour, her store for over 25 years, and Lois retired from her career as an information technology specialist, they began to search for a new project and soon settled on one that had been germinating in Scher’s mind for some months. “We believe there is an audience that wants to know about the newest and the best in kosher products, gadgets, wine, beverages, and edibles,” says Scher. “We decided we wanted to highlight products for chefs, restaurants, foodies, and cooks, both <strong>Jewish</strong> and By Evie Wolfe In 1984, <strong>The</strong> Atlanta Group Home opened its doors to young adults with mental disabilities. At the time, there was no other facility in Fulton County like it. Twenty-five years later, three of its original residents have lived happily in this remarkable home. It all began years earlier, when Harry and Frances Kuniansky were given the news that their newborn daughter, Jill, had Down syndrome. Six doctors strongly recommended placing her in an institution. Harry and Frances followed the advice of a seventh and took Jill home, where she lived until she was 24. In her heart, Frances knew that life at home would be difficult for a child with a mental disability, even though her three siblings adored her. Born in 1959, Jill had a typical child- non-<strong>Jewish</strong>, who are looking for kosher items.” Held added to her friend’s statement, “<strong>The</strong>re is a preconceived notion of what kosher is—Manischewitz—but that’s not the case anymore. <strong>The</strong>re are a lot of mainstream and gourmet products. It’s not like what our grandmothers used.” In the old days, the women point out, you had very few options available, like a single brand of kosher parve margarine. Now there are many, and people need to be made aware of the choices and their advantages and disadvantages. Scher shared her philosophy, “We’re looking for healthy, delicious products for anyone wishing to cook kosher—it’s a whole new world out there—milks, preserves, much more, and they’re not in the kosher department.” Held calls their service an informational network: they walk up and down every aisle in the supermarket, virtually survey products, and contact manufacturers and distributors, looking for new items. <strong>The</strong>ir adviser is Rabbi Reuven Stein, of the Atlanta Kashruth Commission. <strong>The</strong> women decided to test their concept on Twitter.com. It’s free, it’s easy, and it’s open to anyone. It’s a fast and convenient way to communicate and get your mes- hood until it became time for school. No schools would take children known to have Down syndrome, and there were no training centers available. Frances placed a personals ad in the newspaper, in which she encouraged protests, and she was able to convince Fulton County to come up with funds for a day-training cen- ter for children who needed help. Eventually, it became possible to send Jill and others like her to Fulton County schools. At 21, Jill graduated from Northside High School. She announced to her parents that she wanted to move out and live on her own. Frances was against it, but knew change was necessary. Jill and Frances Kuniansky See TWITTER, page 25 See GROUP HOME, page 25
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