Tim and Kathy Mazur establish a Covid-19 Barrier Relief Fund to help individuals impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic
Last winter, JSS supporter Tim Mazur spoke with a JSS staff member about the Covid Pandemic’s regressive nature. People whose jobs were most at risk were primarily those working in fields that prevented them from working from home, and they were less likely to have emergency reserves to navigate a prolonged period without a stable income. Tim immediately articulated his understanding of the potentially devastating impacts of Covid-19. He recognized that, even with an eviction moratorium, people were falling deeper and deeper behind on their rent. Fortunately for our community, Tim and Kathy Mazur responded to these challenges by establishing and funding a Covid Barrier Relief Fund at JSS. To date, Tim and Kathy have contributed $90,000 to be used to help people impacted by the Covid pandemic maintain their housing. And we know that once the eviction moratorium ends, more help will be necessary. Therefore, the Mazurs and JSS are challenging the community as a whole to join us in supporting the Covid-19 Barrier Relief Fund.
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“Coming from Across the Globe to Make Madison Home, Refugee Resettlement in Dane County”
JSS, Dane County’s only refugee resettlement agency, will host a virtual panel on Monday, June 21, 2021 at 7:30pm in recognition of World Refugee Day. The greater community is invited to attend and participate in the event, which will feature a panel of individuals who were resettled by JSS as well as JSS’ Resettlement Director, Becca Schwartz. Attendees will be able to ask questions of the panelists, registration is required to access the event.
This year marks the 20th World Refugee Day and JSS is proud to help raise awareness for the plight of those fleeing persecution or conflict in their home country, and celebrate the refugee communities that are making the Madison area home. For questions or more information about the event, contact Becca Schwartz at becca@jssmadison.org.
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TO JOIN ZOOM PROGRAMS: Watch out for an email, or go to www.jssmadison.org/calendar and choose a program by date. Click on the event title to open up a new window that will have details and a Zoom link for that program. On Monday mornings, we send out an email notice with the link for Yoga From A Chair. If you are not on that email list, but wish to be – please let us know.
Recordings of past Zoom programs are available on JSS’ YouTube channel. There is also a link to the channel on www.jssmadison.org under the Communications menu.
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Join JSS on Mondays for Schmoozing at 11am and
Yoga From A Chair at 11:30am
With Betsy Haimson
Meeting ID: 406 575 567
Join by phone: (312) 626-6799, 406 575 567#
For questions about Zoom programs, call Paul Borowsky at (608) 442-4083.
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Guided Tour at the Arboretum (In-person)
Friday, June 25 from 10:30 – 11:30 am
For further info, transportation options, and reservations – contact Paul Borowsky, paul@jssmadison.org, 608-442-4083
Located on 4 acres surrounding the Visitor Center, the native plant garden includes 15 groups of various garden types and hundreds of native Wisconsin species. The Garden introduces visitors to ecological restoration and diverse communities in the Arboretum and the region.
In the garden, you are likely to run into Susan Carpenter, the Arboretum’s Wisconsin Native Plant Gardener. She teamed up with garden designer Darrel Morrison to create the gardens, and works with staff colleagues, students, and community volunteers to care for and monitor the gardens.
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Volunteer Opportunities
As more of us are vaccinated and COVID restrictions ease and protocols evolve, we want to thank all our volunteers for staying involved, often via telephone, internet and expanded holiday gift giving and deliveries.
Now that there are expanded ways to safely interact, requests for volunteers as friendly visitors, shopping partners, and other tasks are coming in quickly. We will also be having volunteers help with Shabbats and hopefully more in-person events beginning this summer. Also, we are receiving more families for refugee resettlement. JSS has a van that can be used for larger families. If you are comfortable picking up and driving the van or have a larger vehicle yourself, we are always looking to have a good size pool of drivers. Some of you are already engaged in some of these roles – thank you again.
For those who would like get more specifics about these and other emerging volunteer opportunities, or know someone who may be a good fit for our programs – please contact Paul Borowsky via email or phone number below.
We understand that as we move forward volunteers and those we help will have varying degrees of comfort level and needs regarding any in-person visiting or transportation help. We will work together with you and clients to respect that and keep us all safe. We look forward to hearing from you.
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Adult learners need your help with English language and literacy
Thanks to the Jewish Federation of Madison through the Cheryl Rosen Weston Fund – the Literacy Network received a grant to work with adult learners in English as a Second Language, GED preparation, and/or general literacy skills. JSS is partnering with the Literacy Network by helping to recruit volunteers. Eventually, we hope that these volunteers will be able to work directly with JSS refugee clients to provide tutoring support.
Training for volunteers involves an initial training session, gaining familiarity with lesson plans and materials prepared by Literacy Network staff, and weekly meetings with an adult learner. The fall session begins in September and runs through mid-December. Until further notice, all meetings will continue to be online.
Research shows that adult learners with basic skills need individualized support. Through a unique model in which interns plan individual lessons delivered one-on-one by volunteer tutors, Literacy Network provides effective and efficient direct support to hundreds of adult learners each year. Staff creates personal education plans thru a flexible curriculum and provides opportunities for follow-up and feedback between staff, clients, and volunteers.
Thanks to those of you who responded already – we still are recruiting. To get further info about this opportunity, please contact JSS volunteer coordinator, Paul Borowsky, 608-442-4083 or paul@jssmadison.org. Check for further descriptions, specific training dates, applications, and other details on the Literacy Network website: https://www.litnetwork.org/
For further information on programs or volunteering contact me anytime: Paul Borowsky, paul@jssmadison.org, 608-442-4083
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Volunteer Opportunity: The JSS Refugee Resettlement Team is Looking for Volunteers for the Aljirani Madison Refugee Mentorship Program
Volunteers will meet weekly with their refugee partners to help them feel welcome in Madison and assist in reaching their goals. Please contact sam@jssmadison.org for more information.
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A tribute gift is a meaningful way to convey sympathy to the bereaved, memorialize a loved one, commemorate a special occasion or honor a person’s life and accomplishments.
Your gift to Jewish Social Services made in honor or memory of this special person ensures a legacy that extends far into the future.
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PROGRAM EXTENDED!!! Thank You Bader Philanthropies.
Transportation Program for Older Adults:
Significantly subsidized private rides
JSS is excited to have received a grant from Bader Philanthropies of Milwaukee to allow JSS to provide additional transportation support to ALL older adults throughout Dane County, specifically focusing on those with fewer resources. When JSS cannot find a volunteer driver, trips to and from medical appointments, grocery stores, and similar necessities will be made available for a maximum of $8.00, round trip, with fee waivers available.
If you know anyone who may benefit from this program, please let us know. We have it for our community. For transportation assistance, please contact us at (608) 442-4081 or office@jssmadison.org. We will connect you with one of our social workers who will be happy to help you access this service. We thank Bader Philanthropies for their interest in our community.
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Allstate Insurance – Cybersecurity for Older Adults
The one-hour virtual session is highly interactive and delivered by one or two presenters from Allstate and includes conversation, interactive elements and video.
One hour online session – several options including June 22. Here is a link to view the upcoming sessions, which older adults can use to register for a session
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Download or read online our paper Connections newsletter. It has different stories and photos than you see in our electronic newsletter.
To reach our office, call (608) 442-4081*
*Please leave a message, we check the voicemail frequently, even when the building is closed.
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Recordings of our Zoom presentations and programs are available to view on JSS' YouTube channel.
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Do you have a vehicle that you no longer need???
Donate your car to JSS! The proceeds go directly to our programs.
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JSS is proud to be a beneficiary agency of: |
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