Member Highlights Winter 2019/2020

The best part of our NETWORK is sharing successes. We want to promote your organizations. Let your fellow member agencies know what's going on in your community! Share updates with Megan , Director of Marketing & Communications.

JEVS Launches Gateway Mentorship Program JEVS Gateway mentoring connects young adults ages 18-24 with mentors who can help develop professional skills, and enhance socioemotional learning. This is motivated by the well-researched concept that having a relationship with a trusted adult is extremely beneficial in healing trauma and helping young people succeed. Mentors and mentees will meet twice a month over a six month period to work on goal setting and relationship building, as well as a variety of other personal and professional skills.  Learn more here .

State Farm Provides Grant for Ruth & Norman Rales JFS’ Career & Employment Services Ruth & Norman Rales Jewish Family Services received a grant from State Farm to be used to provide computer training to clients of JFS’ Career & Employment Services (CES). CES provides candidates with comprehensive job readiness training through programs that teach individuals how to develop a personal brand, how to create a resume that packs a punch, as well as how to improve interviewing skills. Learn more here .

FEMA Reimburses County $2 Million for Costs Incurred During Migrant Crisis    The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) helped to establish a humanitarian crisis program this year as a national board member of FEMAs emergency food and shelter program. JFNA was the lead advocate working closely with appropriators to secure the $30 million funding. Learn more here.

JAAN Presents "It Happens Here" Workshop Across the Country The Jewish Addiction Awareness Network offers "It Happens Here: Addiction & Mental Health Issues in the Jewish Community," for clergy, Jewish organization staff, and mental health professionals. The workshop was recently presented in Phoenix and coordinated by JFCS Phoenix and Temple Chai with other organizations sponsoring. Thirty people participated in the workshop and 50+ came for the open evening program. Read about the Phoenix event here and learn more .

JFS Silicon Valley Distributes Thousands of Holiday Gifts Jewish Family Services of Silicon Valley is celebrated its 12th Annual Embrace-A-Family Holiday gift program in November. Each year they distribute 1,000-2,000 gifts to adults and children in need. Dreidel boards with their clients’ gift wishes are in 50 locations around Northern California, including local synagogues, agencies, churches, and businesses. The program utilizes 200 volunteers and engages 500 donors. It is wildly successful – not only for the gift recipients, but also for the donors and volunteers (ages preschool through in their 90’s) who feel strongly connected to others. This is especially welcomed during the winter holidays.

JF&CS Boston's Memory Cafe's Serve as National Leader Jewish Family & Children's Service of Boston started the JF&CS Memory Café and the Percolator Memory Café Network in 2014, and has become a national leader in promoting the spread of cafés. Memory cafés, also called Alzheimer’s cafés, are social gatherings for people living with dementia, along with their family, friends and care partners. Originally developed in Holland, cafés aim to reduce social isolation and stigma, and to ignite joy and new connections. JF&CS has shared a new TEDx talk by the Percolator’s founder/director, and encourages members to visit the Percolator webpage where a free memory café toolkit and many other resources in English and Spanish are available. Watch the TED Talk, "Memory cafes: making space for dementia and joy” here .

JFS Detroit Named Midwest Administrator for Holocaust Claims Conference Jewish Family Service of Detroit has been named administrator for Holocaust Claims Conference for providing compassionate care to Holocaust survivors. JFS Detroit is one of four hubs responsible for multi-state coverage. The aid JFS offers includes facilitating non-skilled homecare services such as personal care, cleaning and grocery shopping. Learn more here .

JFS Colorado Fundraiser ‘ Faces of JFS 2019 Winter Soirée’ Raises Nearly $500,000 Jewish Family Service of Colorado raised nearly $500,000 at its Faces of JFS 2019 Winter Soirée fundraiser on December 5th. After an inspiring video showcasing JFS Board members and cousins Aaron Hyatt and Scott Stillman and why they support JFS, fundraiser Eric Goodman took to the stage for a paddle raise. He asked people to “work as a team” to raise support for JFS’s programs and services. The fast-paced, energetic auction brought in more than $100,000 in mere minutes.

JFS St. Paul Featured on TCJewFolk As a leader in her field, Jewish Family Service of St. Paul Care Manager Bonnie Jaffe, RN was featured on a TCJewFolk podcast about the generation-to-generation education series being offered at Sholom. Click here to listen to the discussion about aging in place.

JFCS Minneapolis Awarded 2019 Adult Service Partner of the Year Jewish Family & Children's Service of Minneapolis was presented with the 2019 Adult Service Partner of the Year award by the Minneapolis Workforce Development Board and the City of Minneapolis Employment and Training. JFCS Minneapolis was chosen for this award for its work with MSP TechHire, an initiative of the city of Minneapolis whose mission is to close the workforce skills gap in the high-tech economy by building a path for diverse workers to access training, support and tech jobs across the greater Minneapolis region. MSP TechHire partners with JFCS’ IT Pathways Career Training program, which connects individuals with the needed resources to prepare for success in IT jobs.

Yad Ezra Celebrates 30 Years of Feeding Families and Nourishing Hope Over the last 30 years, Yad Ezra has stayed true to its original mission (Provide free kosher groceries to families in need in the community.), while at the same time, being nimble enough to incorporate a variety of ways to address food insecurity and provide an increasing amount of healthy and desirable food choices to its clients (over 22 million pounds of groceries have been distributed since 1990). Continue reading here .

JFCS Mercer County Launches Mobile Food Pantry Jewish Family & Children's Service of Greater Mercer County launched their Mobile Food Pantry! The agency is incredibly proud of bringing this new resource to Mercer County! At each location, they park the fully-stocked truck and distribute groceries to those in need. Similar to JFCS’ brick and mortar pantry, the mobile food pantry will be a nutritionally based choice pantry. Clients will choose from fresh produce, refrigerated and frozen items including dairy, meat, fruits and vegetables, and non-perishable items – based on their family size and any specific dietary needs. This is consistent with the mission of empowering individuals to make informed choices and care for themselves. Watch the video here .

JFCS Pittsburgh Receives Arts Grants from Heinz Endowments Jewish Family and Community Services of Pittsburgh is slated to $30K for its project “Something Old, Something New,” from The Heinz Edowments. Led by artist Blaine Siegel, the project matches five recently arrived refugee families from the Democratic Republic of the Congo with five local Pittsburgh artists or artisans to create artwork for the refugees’ homes. The Heinz Endowments' new Just Arts program is an initiative that supports artists, organizations and communities who use the arts “to respond to social issues affecting the Pittsburgh region and beyond. Learn more here .

JFS San Diego Partners with Avodah to Open New Branch Jewish Family Service of San Diego  is partnering with national anti-poverty organization  Avodah  to open a San Diego branch of the program. Avodah San Diego will be the fifth branch of the program nationally. Program participants will be able to join the  Jewish Service Corps  to help alleviate problems of poverty. Avodah has worked on issues such as criminal justice reform, affordable housing, education, healthcare access and more by providing members of its service corps hands-on, full-time service positions at local organizations addressing poverty and inequality. The San Diego group will be introduced this summer, offering a yearlong program. Members live communally and receive a full curriculum that provides Jewish education and religious context for their work. Learn more here .

JFS Atlantic & Cape May Counties Awarded Community Employment Grant Jewish Family Service of Atlantic & Cape May Counties was recently awarded a $35,000 Community Employment Grant from Kessler Foundation. The Kessler Foundation mission of driving positive change for people with disabilities aligns with JFS’ Vocational Services, specifically by providing access to job opportunities. This funding enables JFS to support, train and place individuals, primarily with serious mental illnesses – schizophrenia, bipolar, depressive disorder, etc. – in cohesive employment as part of their Integrated Case Management Service (ICMS) program. Learn more here .

In Shifra’s Arms: 10 Years of Supporting Pregnant Jewish Women in Crisis The Baltimore Jewish Times recently featured an article on In Shifra's Arms (ISA). In Shifra’s Arms is named after Shifra, the biblical midwife who tenderly cared for Jewish women enslaved in Egypt thousands of years ago. ISA strives to follow Shifra’s lead by embracing Jewish pregnant women in need of support. The article includes some client stories and statistics about how many people ISA has helped over the past 10 years.  Read the entire article here .

JFS Houston's "Celebration Coompany" Offers Wearable Art Products Jewish Family Service of Houston's Celebration Company is now offering wearable art products! Celebration Company provides life skills and meaningful employment to individuals with disabilities who — with joy and purpose provide services and create products that celebrate the good of life. Celebration Company is a faith based organization run by JFS Houston that is open to all. The employment programs deliver tools for mind and body fulfillment. Clients are able to learn life and social skills in a supportive group environment.

JCS Baltimore Introduces "New Family Navigator" Program Jewish Community Services of Baltimore introduced its new Family Navigator program, designed to assist families who have a loved one dealing with substance abuse issues. A pilot project, funded by the Jill Fox Memorial Fund, it is one of the only programs like it in the country. The Family Navigator is based on a patient navigator model, used to assist patients with follow-up care and resources after leaving the hospital. Learn more here .

JFS Columbus Provides Health Care to Holocaust Survivors OhioHealth and Jewish Family Services of Columbus teamed up in late October to provide health care to Columbus-area Holocaust survivors with regular Monday visits to JFS by area doctors in a mobile medical unit. Some Holocaust survivors are reluctant to seek out health care, as memories of concentration camp doctors haunt them. A lack of transportation or language skills also may prevent patients from getting the medical attention they need. This is a great new service. Continue reading here .

JFS Delaware Allows the Entry and Resettlement of Refugees This fall, the president signed an executive order requiring every state to opt-in to allow refugees to resettle into their chosen state. States that opt-out would be closing its doors on refugees who wanted to enter or resettle there. Jewish Family Services of Delaware signed letters informing the president that they are opting in, allowing the entry and resettlement of refugees into the  City of Wilmington, Delaware  and New Castle County. Wilmington is continuing to move forward to become a just city which promotes equality and fairness for all. Read more here .

Samost JFCS Benefits from New NJ School Mental Health Initiative Samost Jewish Family & Children's Service of Southern NJ 's Executive Director Marla Meyers, Associate Executive Director Beth Wynne, and Director of Outreach and Compliance Meredith Cohen attended Governor Phil Murphy's announcement about a new school mental health initiative ! Gov. Phil Murphy is moving to spend $6 million to train at least one teacher or education support professional from every school district in the state of NJ on ways to recognize youth mental health issues.

Ken Moskowitz Named Nevada's Communal Professional of the Year Jewish Family Service Agency of Las Vegas' Dr. Ken Moskowitz was honored with Jewish Nevada's Communal Professional of the Year Award.This award is presented to an outstanding community professional and is awarded with a $1,000 cash prize to be donated to a Jewish Organization of their choice. Congrats to CEO Ken Moskowitz! Watch Ken's reaction to the award here.

Keshet Opens Quick Mart to Assist with Life Skills On January 29, Keshet opened the newest addition to the skills lab—Keshet Quick Mart, a simulated store for students to practice merchandising with actual products in a real world setting. Where most mini-marts offer snacks, gum, batteries and drinks, Keshet Quick Mart offers so much more with cross-curricular learning in both academic and social skills. While students are learning and completing tasks in Keshet Quick Mart, teachers and vocational staff are watching to see where students excel and what areas are of particular interest to them. Keshet staff will use these observations to find the best possible employment placements for students when they are ready to venture into the community. Learn more here .

Share exciting news with the Network about innovative, sustainable, programming and events, awards and grants and timely highlights. Email Megan .

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