O O CALC corner Sa l l y Na j o r ( l e f t ) , Bu s h r a At t i s h a , Wa f a a Ka s h a t , Ri t a Fo u m i a , Re e m Se s i , La n a Na j o r a n d Ri t a Ab b o ( s i t t i n g ) p r e p a r e g i f t s f o r a d o p t e d f a m i l i e s . NOTE from the PRESIDENT T he Chaldean American Ladies of Charity is heading into 2 0 0 7 geared up for another great year. We are starting out with a new director. I would like to introduce K aren Cl a i r Ko n j a K onj a, who will coordinate and oversee all of our programs. She j oined our organization mid-December. She is familiar with the CALC programs having served as a volunteer for more than four years. She is the friendly voice heard behind every phone call made to the CALC office. I hope you give her a warm welcome to the organization. T his year CALC’s focus is on “ Guiding ur Children,” with many programs geared toward youth. We have a report in this issue on a program from last year. We j ust tallied up the results and thanks to the wonderful volunteers with this organization, we helped dozens of people in need this past Christmas. I want to personally thank Rita and Lisa Foumia for all their hard work with the Adopt-a-Family program, which was a great success. n a side note, there are several letters being sent out to community members that imply they are being sent out by CALC. P lease be assured that any letter that is not placed on CALC letterhead and signed by an officer of CALC is not originated by CALC or supported by us. We hope you are enj oying the winter and we look forward to seeing all of you throughout this year. Christmas Adopt-a-Family Program Jesus is indeed the reason for the season, but we all know how depressing Christmas would be without any gifts to share. That’s why we at the CALC are so proud of our Adopt-A-Family program, which we hope to expand next Christmas. Thanks to the generous support of our donors and sponsors, we were able to provide gifts of new clothes, toys, food and other items to 73 needy families in Oak Park, Detroit, Warren, Hazel Park, Southfield, Troy and Sterling Heights. That is a total of 350 individuals who would not have received anything for Christmas if it wasn’t for the CALC. One couple we helped is having a hard time as they adjust to life in America. They came to the U.S. from Iraq about two years ago. Both in their 50s, they have no immediate family here in Michigan and their sons are all scattered throughout the Middle East. They have no furniture or car, and live in low-income housing in Southfield. When asked what they wanted, they only asked for sweat suits – two sets each, so that they would have something to wear while washing the other set. We were delighted to be able to fulfill that request, and also give them household items such as pots and pans. The wife called and left a touching message in which she thanked everyone and said she would light candles and pray for the volunteers for their kindness and generosity. We also assisted a Detroit family of five with a heartbreaking story. Their house was robbed about four months ago – and as if that was not bad enough, it burned down a few days later. The family lost nearly everything. We supplied coats, scarves and household items such as a vacuum, pots and pans, a coffee pot and towels for their “needs” list. For their “wants,” the kids, ages 3 to 8, asked for dinosaur toys, Barbie dolls and stuffed animals, which we were happy to accommodate. The mother called and was very grateful, and the 5-year-old girl got on the phone to say she loved her doll. These comments make it all worthwhile! Some sponsors of families were so touched by the experience that they want to help them out all year, not just during the holidays. So many of us have so much, it is sometimes easy to forget what a struggle day-to-day life can be for others. The CALC especially wants to thank all those who “sponsored” the families this year; they took time out from their busy holiday responsibilities to shop for families they never met. Thank you to all of those who donated money to the program; $5,060.35 was raised to purchase items for families that did not have sponsors. Without these contributions CALC would not have helped as many people. Rita Foumia and Lisa Foumia, Co- Chairs of the program, shopped for some of the families with all the donations we received. The generosity and kindness of the sponsors and donors was overwhelming and sincerely appreciated by the families they helped. If it wasn’t for their commitment to the program, it would not have been as successful. The CALC would also like to thank all those who gave the great gift of charity this year and helped us make Christmas special for those in need. Thanks to the following: • Shenandoah Country Club for sponsoring Brunch with Santa, where we collected toys for the Adopt-a-Family Program • Ramy and Reem Sesi, who hosted a Christmas party where guests donated toys to the program • Rudy Kainiya, Hana Manna and Sister Nada for their help • Fadia Nissan • Karen Konja, our office program coordinator Of course, none of this would have been possible without our wonderful volunteers, who helped screen families, sort, organize and deliver the gifts: Mark Abbo, Matthew Abbo, Rita Abbo, Bushra Attisha, Candice Attisha, Cheyene Attisha, Heather Attisha, Heather Boji, Chris Elia, Michelle Gabriel, Julie Garmo, Auday Hadad, Ramon Jiddou, Paul Jonna, Wafaa Kashat, Ann Kassab, Karen Kassab, Ivan Konja, Ryan Konja, Flora Kuza, Amanda Mansour, Kristin Mansour, Hala Meriam, Lindsay Najor, Lana Najor, Sally Najor, Joseph Sesi, Reem Sesi, and Linda Zetouna. <strong>2007</strong> Calendar of Events ONGOING Project Venture: Detroit, Every Wednesday & Thursday, 3:15-5:15 p.m. Project Venture: Oak Park, Every Monday 4:30-6:30 p.m. & every Thursday 5-7 p.m. Empowered Voices: West Bloomfield, every Wednesday, 6-8 p.m. Senior Bingo: First Monday of each month at 1 p.m. <strong>FEBRUARY</strong> Feb 7: Heart Smart, 7 p.m. Feb 15: The Nurse Is In, 10 a.m. Chaldean Manor MARCH March 1: Penny Drive Kickoff, Shenandoah Country Club March 3: Read to Me, 1 p.m. (Oak Park) March 16: Learn to Dance, 7 p.m. March 20: Life Uncluttered, 7 p.m. Shenandoah Country Club March 24: Saturday Dreams (Detroit & Oak Park) MARCH March 30: Easter Basket Drive for Needy Families APRIL April 1: Book Drive Kick-Off Peace Poster Contest Kick-Off April 2: Senior Bingo and Easter Lunch, 1 p.m. Chaldean Manor April 14: Read to Me, 1 p.m. (Detroit) April 17: Historic Church Tour for Seniors April 20: Penny Drive Ends April 21: Saturday Dreams (Detroit & Oak Park) April 21: Family Wellness Walk-a-thon, Drake Park, West Bloomfield April 26: Mother/Daughter Fashion Show April 29: Book Drive Ends MAY May 5: Read to Me/Book Drive (Detroit & Oak Park) May 14: Senior Bingo Mother/Daughter, Chaldean Manor May 18: Peace Poster Contest Ends May 19: Saturday Dreams (Detroit & Oak Park) May 21: Clothing Drive Set-Up 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Oak Park May 22-23: Clothing Drive, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Oak Park May 24: Mass and Annual Meeting, 11 a.m. (Location TBD) JUNE June 3: Read to Me (Oak Park) June 9: Senior Planting (Chaldean Manor) June 16: Saturday Dreams (Detroit & Oak Park) June 22: Learn How to Dance, 7 p.m. (Location TBD) JULY July 7: Read to Me with (Detroit) July 21: Saturday Dreams/Comedy Night/Youth, Shenandoah Country Club AUGUST August 4: Read to Me (Oak Park) Saturday Dreams (Detroit & Oak Park) August 24: Learn How to Dance, 7 p.m. (Location TBD) OCTOBER October 6: Haven Domestic Violence Shelter/Children;s Bingo & Pizza Party, 12 p.m. October 11: Care House Child Abuse & Neglect Council, 6 p.m. October 13: Read to Me (Detroit) October 16: Breast Cancer Awareness, 7 p.m. (Location TBD) October 20: Saturday Dreams/Halloween Bingo (Detroit & Oak Park) October 24: Clothing Drive Set-Up, Warren, 9 a.m. October 25-26: Clothing Drive, Warren, 9 a.m. NOVEMBER November 2: Read to Me (Oak Park) November 6-10: Adopt-a-Family Program begins November 17: Nursing Home Thanksgiving Dinner, St. Anthony, 4 p.m. November 17: Saturday Dreams (Detroit & Oak Park) November 19: Senior Bingo Thanksgiving Lunch, 1 p.m. Chaldean Manor DECEMBER December 4: Advent by Candlelight, 6:30 p.m. Shenandoah Country Club December 8: Christmas Storytime (Detroit & Oak Park) December 15: Adopt-a-Family gift deliveries December 15: Nursing Home Christmas Dinner, St. Anthony Nursing Home, 4 p.m. December 17: Senior Bingo Christmas Lunch, 1 p.m. Chaldean Manor ADVERTORIAL
<strong>FEBRUARY</strong> <strong>2007</strong> CHALDEAN NEWS 19