The OJC the Ohio Jewish chronicle. (Columbus, Ohio), 1991-10-31

              THE
The Ohio Jewish Chronicle
Serving Columbus and Central Ohio
lewish Community for Over 60 Years
VOLUME 69
NUMBER 45
OCTOBER 31,1991
31CHESHVAN5752
-DEVOTED   TO   AMERICAN   AND JEWISH- IDEALS
Ground is broken for
Shalom House II
page 2
Schiffs dedicate park
page 3
Israeli art exhibit
open to public
page 4
Temple Israel plans
Project Torah Repair
. -       '■ '     ■. Pa8e 5
AIPAC's Tom Dine to
speak in Columbus
page 6
Volunteers needed
for Super Sunday
page 12
Celebration of life    ; ;
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4 3 211 COMF>
COMMUNITY FEATURE
The Ungars — Making a difference
by helping one family at a time
By Nicki Chodnoff
"This is one easy -way for
people to participate," said
Matt Ungar, referring to how
central Ohio families can help
New Americans by donating
used furniture to Jewish Family Services. Essentials needed to start a new life in Columbus such as beds, dinette sets
and sofas are acquired from
donations.
For the past year, Functional Furnishings, 601 N. High
St., the Ungar family business, has been picking up donated used furniture and
transporting it to warehouses,
where it awaits distribution.
Not only is Ungar cooperating with the delivery end
whenever called upon, he has
streamlined and perfected the
pick-up system. Functional
Furnishings makes phone
calls the day before the trucks
go but, just as if it were a regular pick-up or delivery of furniture from the store. A route
is devised to cut down on drive
time and donors receive
paperwork in receipt of what
they give. Ungar is trying to
set up an inventory system to
keep track of what's going to
the warehouse. The object is
to keep tabs on what's going in
and coming out, trying not to
store too much of one thing,
while not having enough of another.
Ungar feels so strongly
about helping New Americans
that he tells other furniture
stores around the country,
while attending national or regional industry get-togethers,
about Functional Furnishings'
part in JFS' furniture pick-up
program. "There's a real
need for this service, be it in
Philadelphia, San Diego or
Seattle," notes Ungar. "And
other store owners, regardless
if they are or are not Jewish,
are hearing from us what a
worthwhile and important volunteer service this is. I have a
feeling this information will
influence furniture store owners into helping other charities
or Jewish Family Services in
their communities."
Not only does the Ungar
family generously give time
and the use of Functional Furnishings' resources, they have
been participating in. the
"Family Ties" program for
the past 10 months, paired
with Nickolay and Angela
Katz and their three-year-old
son Eric.
For the Ungars: Matt; wife
Susan; daughter Lindsay, age
seven, and son, Nicholas, age
four, being committed to the
"Family Ties" program initially meant helping the
Katzes find an apartment,
providing transportation when
needed, explaining the seemingly strange ways of life in
Columbus and spending time
socializing together. "For the
first few days we were on the
phone with JFS a lot. They
were explaining things to us
and checking to see how
things were going," said
Ungar. "We received support
from JFS when we really
needed it. Being part of the
progam makes you feel like
you're doing the right thing. It
tunes you into the experience
New Americans are going
through."
The "process for the Katz
family was somewhat simplified because Nickls brother
Sasha had relocated to Columbus nearly four years ago and
could relate what to expect
and what was going on.
The Ungars helped their
adopted family in another important way: they acted as
employment mentors. By net
working with friends and family, inquiring about joh openings in line with the Katzes'
former job experiences or interests, the Ungars' strategy
yielded tips that eventually
led to jobs, today Nick is gainfully employed as' a television
repairman at Sun TV and
Angela works as a seamstress
and designer for Sportdeco, a
manufacturer of hand-made
decorative clothing.
The Ungars also tried to focus on the Jewish holidays to
help acquaint the Katzes with
Judaism. They were in for a
big surprise. The Katzes
seemed to know as much
about being Jewish as the
Ungars. "TTiat was one thing
that really surprised me,"
said Susan Ungar. "What we
heard is that a family coming
from Russia wouldn't know
anything about the holidays or
being Jewish. But having
Angela and Nick know as
much as they do is just something I didn't expect."
The Katzes came from a
city in the Ukraine, that prior
to World War n was part of
Hungary and Czechoslavakia.
The area was predominantly
Jewish. Nick's parents were
see UNGARS pg. 3