Dear JFS Family,
I’m a firm believer that each day we wake up and have choices to make. It’s up to us how our day will turn out. Personally, I wake up with a huge sense of responsibility to make the most of my day. Especially during a pandemic, because the lives of the people we serve and our staff…depend on it.
Each of you reading this do the same. You wake up with a sense of purpose and then formulate choices that can and will impact others. You decided that Jewish Family Service is making a difference during unprecedented times and, as a result, you have invested your money, your time, and your love for this community and in helping others…to achieve your own sense of purpose. We at JFS are here to assure you we are invested. All in. Helping in ways like never before.
We hope you enjoy reading these updates and share the news with others. I’ll end with a message a good friend shared with me recently and I’m sure you will appreciate it as well.
“This is the beginning of a new day. You have been given this day to use as you will. You can waste it or use it for good. What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever. In its place is something that you have left behind. Let it be something good.” (Heartsill Wilson, circa 1997).
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Cathy Barker
Chief Executive Officer
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JFS Food Pantry Expansion: Coming Summer 2021 |
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“We do a lot with very little space” has been the sentiment shared by volunteers and staff who have worked our Food Pantry the past 10 or so years. "A lot” consists of receiving large shipments of food weekly, processing donations from corporate and community food drives, shopping 180 families three days per week, hosting a large-scale mobile food pantry distribution monthly, providing comprehensive case management and connecting clients to other government benefits.
We’ve been planning for many years how to strategically expand our space and serve a growing number of clients coming to us each year- all in a safer, more confidential manner. The termination of our Plaza Salons lease last January paved the way for us to have space - to the tune of 3,000 square feet - to expand our pantry. This expansion plan will, effectively, separate our distribution and client service areas from where we receive and store our food. In addition, we will be able to be open one more day per week, see more clients during each distribution, and have enough space for volunteers and clients to navigate the pantry safely. Clients will also have a more confidential experience when they are interviewed by a volunteer or a Case Manager.
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Joseph's Career and Financial Success Story as a Man who is Partially Blind and Hearing-Impaired |
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Joseph is a smart man who needed a break. That’s how Allison Harding, Senior Director of Career & Financial Services at Jewish Family Service of Greater Dallas (JFS), would describe the man with a Master’s Degree in mathematics who also happens to be partially blind and hearing impaired. When Joseph’s landlady first took him to the JFS Food Pantry, he had no idea that he could receive wraparound care that would enable him to become self-sufficient within just a year and a half.
Harding helped Joseph to create a new resume, get a Texas ID, and open new checking and savings accounts. She worked to help him replace his stolen hearing aids, to get an updated glasses prescription, and a refurbished laptop with Microsoft Office. She helped him get a full-time job and the non-slip shoes that he needed for that job. In six months, his work ethic earned him a raise and after almost 10 months, a man who had never had more than $50 to his name had over $3,500 in savings.
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Saying Farewell to Marilynn Wohlstadter;
The Secret to Success of JFS Food Pantry
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Marilynn Wohlstadter joined our JFS team more than 8 years ago and since then has completely transformed the way our Food Pantry receives and organizes food. Her incredible contributions are many, including developing strong relationships with corporate grocery partners and small businesses, establishing our Kosher Corner for families who keep Kosher in our community, advocating for a large refrigerated Food Pantry box truck to pick up more donations, nurturing a strong relationship with the North Texas Food Bank, and most recently, sourcing the hundreds of thousands of pounds of food for the drive-thru food distribution.
From the very beginning, Marilynn has had a “Let’s make it happen!” attitude, oftentimes rolling up her sleeves and getting to work organizing our stockroom with volunteers. She has made a tremendous impact on how much food we are able to distribute to our clients.
Marilynn is moving on to her next adventure and is looking forward to new beginnings. We will miss her and would be remiss to not publicly thank her for all she has done to serve this community through our Pantry all these years.
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Goo Goo Eyes & ReadingGlasses.com Gives Eyewear Donation |
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The first of many donations from our newly established partnership, all proceeds from the sale of the glasses will help provide our professional mental health and social services for free or low cost to those in need.
If you or your company is also interested in donating items in bulk to The Resale Shop, please contact Laurie McCarty, store manager, at lmccarty@jfsdallas.org or call the store at (214) 710-1362 Monday-Saturday 10am-6pm.
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Thank you to those who helped make the holiday season a little brighter for more than 200 JFS clients as a part of our Embrace-A-Family holiday gift program. In addition to 75 donors who purchased gifts, more than $2,400 was raised to help make sure every family, military veteran, older adult, or individual in need had a special holiday celebration.
Thank you to the JFS Young Leadership Board and other JFS volunteers for helping to ensure the gifts were distributed to the families in a safe and efficient manner during the pandemic.
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Fund at JFS Foundation Established in Memory of Martin Litwin, Past Board President |
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Ruth and Martin Litwin, long-time JFS supporters, loved the idea of establishing a fund at the JFS Foundation because of Martin’s history serving as Board President from 1985-1987. He and Ruth were passionate about being actively involved in all JFS activities.
After Martin passed away at 91 in January 2020, Ruth and her children chose to establish a General Unrestricted Fund to have the flexibility to direct funds where most needed. “Whatever program is in need of support in the future, I know that this fund will help,” Ruth said.
With 4 children, 9 grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren, creating a legacy through the JFS Foundation was an amazing way to honor Martin’s memory for their loved ones. Martin was a mensch, a good man who prided himself on always doing the right thing. He was as charitable as he was successful, always inspiring those around him. Martin also used his real estate knowledge to help the leadership team with the purchase of our first building.
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Bring your gently-used items to The Resale Shop this winter! We hope you'll stay awhile and see what treasures you can find too!
2120 E. Beltline Road Richardson, Texas 75081
12:00pm - 6:00pm Monday through Friday
Do you have bulk donations or large furniture? Call (214) 710-1362 to schedule a safe donation pick-up from your home! Please anticipate a delay due to volume of calls.
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Designate JFS as your charitable organization of choice on AmazonSmile |
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With everyone shopping online significantly more, we want to remind Amazon users to make sure you are shopping on AmazonSmile, which will donate 0.5% of your eligible purchases to the charitable organization of your choice.
Follow the 3 easy steps above to designate JFS as your preferred charitable organization! For more information click here.
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