Recently at our Annual Meeting, I shared exciting program updates that Jewish Family Service has seen over the last year. It is no secret that JFS is a rock solid agency that provides invaluable services to this community. Our staff has proven that it can overcome any challenges that come our way. We have the resources, expertise, an engaged board of directors to help us continue our mission to help anyone in need in Dallas. I’d like to share a few program highlights that I found to be particularly important this year.
There is a lot of great work happening in clinical services, but I’d like to emphasize services for early identification and treatment of children with autism. In 2018, 1 in 59 children have autism. JFS is the only center in DFW that completes evaluations for families with Medicaid, which has allowed us to become the destination resource for autism evaluations. In fact, families travel from all over the region and spend the night to get an appointment with our staff. It is clear that we have a world class team serving our community.
With the aging population on the rise, so are the needs for older adult services. Our professional Older Adults staff are rising to the occasion to serve our clients. The City of Plano more than doubled our grant for in home services to Plano residents and AWARE (Alzheimer’s Women’s Association for Research and Education) almost tripled their allocation to us to provide services to people affected by Alzheimer’s and related dementia.
Career and Employment Services has implemented a new service model called Working Families Success, where the client’s whole situation is evaluated. Do they have the skills to find a job that will cover their monthly expenses? Do they know how to do a monthly budget? The goal isn’t just to find them a job, but to give them the tools they need to be successful.
This past year, the JFS Food Pantry served 4000 individuals, which was a 25% increase over the prior year. We are now serving a total of 204 families per week. This, of course, creates a greater need for volunteers and food sourcing. We are certainly up for the challenge.
While the first year of my tenure as CEO had its challenges, one thing always remained clear - Everyone involved loves JFS, our mission, and wants to help find new ways to better serve the community. I would like to express my deep appreciation and gratitude to each and every person who has and continues to help move JFS forward.
Warmly,
Steve Banta
Chief Executive Officer
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Check out our new agency video!
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Transitional Housing Update
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JFS has made extensive progress in fully furnishing and housing 16 of 20 families through our Transitional Housing Program, after originally only expecting to be able to accommodate 10 families in total.
This supports victims of crime by providing up to 18 months of housing combined with access to our other comprehensive services. The program was established following the best-practice “Housing First” Transitional Housing model for victims experiencing physical, emotional or sexual abuse with the goal for victims to be able to transition to safe, more self-sufficient lives. Thank you to our dedicated staff and volunteers who are working hard to house these additional families in need!
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Save the Date: SNP Honors Event
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Thursday, October 11, 2018
7:00 -8:30 p.m.
Congregation Shearith Israel
An event of the Special Needs Partnership at JFS, SNP Honors highlights the important accomplishments and honors outstanding
contributors, Melissa and Baer Ackerman & Judy and Jeff Kogutt,
for their work in advancing the special needs movement in our community. The event also raises important dollars to support the Partnership’s work year round.
Sponsorship information will be available
in July!
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New Resale Shop in Garland
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Thanks to our loyal donors, customers, and supporters, our second Resale Shop location has opened in Garland, TX! When you give good stuff, we can do great things!
New Store Location:
The Resale Shop – Garland
3338 Broadway Blvd., Suite #314, Garland, TX 75043
Volunteer to Help spread the word about our great deals
We need help hanging door hangers with coupons and store hours within a 5 mi radius of the store. This is a great project for teens needing volunteer hours this summer! Email
kjackson@jfsdallas.org if you're interested!
Write a google review about our two stores
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JFS Staff Speaker Series:
Program Education for our Community
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Volunteers and Community Members are invited to the inaugural Staff Speaker Series at Jewish Family Service. Hear from the professionals about services JFS has to offer and important topics that may be valuable to know in your everyday interactions. Sessions are free of charge, one hour long, and will be held in the JFS Board Room.
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Dr. Biden’s keynote focused on her notable personal accomplishments as a life-long educator, military mom, and advocate for many issues that impact JFS clients. We hope all who attended left feeling inspired, empowered and uplifted.
1100 guests attended, over $850,000 raised, and 119 volunteers helped make the event run smoothly!
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Thank you to everyone who donated and volunteered to make this event a success!
We could not do what we do without your support!
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JFS Young Leadership Board Initiative
The Young Leadership Board (YLB) supports the mission of Jewish Family Service of Greater Dallas by engaging young adults to enrich the community.The YLB is made up of a diverse array of young adults (21-35) who live and work across DFW.
Like us on Facebook
The YLB's goal this year is to provide as many backpacks stuffed with school supplies as possible to local children in need for the 2018-2019 school year.
Join us throughout the year at happy hours, volunteer events and more to help make next school year the best ever for DFW area kids! Contact Director of Marketing and Communication, Leah Guskin, at
lguskin@jfsdallas.org
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City Council member, Lee Kleinman and the Apartment Association of Greater Dallas (AAGD) are joining us June 7th to celebrate the completed renovations at JFS!
Over the last several months, projects included renovations to the Food Pantry, staff and volunteer break room, installing a new handicap-accessible bathroom by the waiting room, and adding building safety measures. We are thrilled with the changes and hope you'll stop by to see for yourself!
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PLAN Clubhouse Coming Soon!
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Our Lease is officially signed for our new PLAN Clubhouse
location:
Arapaho Gardens
1121 Rockingham Dr.
Richardson TX 75080.
The Clubhouse Recovery Model
The Clubhouse Recovery Model is based on the ideas that adults with severe and persistent mental illness deserve to be part of a community that cares, and that they have skills and talents to share (even if they don't know what those talents are yet!). As a member of the Clubhouse, they'll get support in meeting their goals and be able to help other members reach theirs!
PLAN Clubhouse of North Texas
The PLAN Clubhouse of North Texas is part of the International Clubhouse movement. We are a professional self-help program operated by men and women recovering from mental illness in collaboration with a caring staff. The emphasis at the Clubhouse is on relationships--member to member, and member to staff members, who engage with each other to regain productivity, promote independence and work to erase the stigma that may cause separation and isolation.
The PLAN Clubhouse will be the only nationally accredited Clubhouse in all of North Texas!
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Join our Volunteer Community
We now have a Facebook group for all active volunteers! Our hope is that it will be a useful and easy way to stay up-to-date on current volunteer needs at the agency. We will also be posting special event sign ups including Volunteering for Special Events, Delivery of Holiday Packages, Special Needs Inclusion Experiences, and more. Feel free to "like" the general JFS Facebook page for agency updates as well!
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