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Throughout the pandemic, many folks in our community have struggled with food security. Having children home all day, every day, rather than in school, can stress tight family food budgets, especially when the goal is to provide healthy, nutritious food to promote long-term health. Many of our community members also struggled to feed themselves and their families due to loss of wages, and oftentimes, employment.
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As more in-person activities become possible, PJ Library is excited to announce that Parent Connectors program will continue |
By Carrie Fink • PJ Library Coordinator
Raising newborns and toddlers is challenging regardless of circumstance, but doing so during the pandemic has been especially difficult. So many of the normal activities for parents with kids this age – playgroups, Early Childhood Family Education classes, coffee meet-ups, etc. – had to be put on hold.
However, hundreds of Jewish families in the west metro this past year were still able to connect and participate in social and educational activities with each other thanks to the amazing work of the Parent Connectors in JFCS’ PJ Library program. The “double” great news is now families are able to engage in in-person activities more easily, and thanks to The Jacob Garber Endowment Fund, we have the funding to continue our Parent Connector program!
PJ Library Founding Sponsors: Harold Grinspoon Foundation, Harry and Sandy Lerner Family Foundation
Lead Sponsors: The Richard and Beverly Fink Family, Jacob Garber Endowment Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation of the Minneapolis Jewish Federation, Susie and Hart Kuller
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Many job openings, yet elevated unemployment – breaking down what is happening in the job market |
By Sheilah Howard • Career Services Director
There are two truths about the job market right now. One – there is a near-record number of jobs available. Two – the unemployment rate remains higher now than before the onset of the pandemic. Simple logic suggests that unemployed workers would be filling these available jobs, especially as wages grow. Yet we are seeing a number of participants in our Career Services programs who are taking longer to get employed.
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Help shape the future of our Jewish recovery community |
We invite you to provide some feedback to help shape the future of our Jewish recovery community! Below is a link to a brief survey for individuals who have an addiction, those who are in recovery, and their loved ones. We hope that you will respond to the survey, and/or invite others who meet these criteria to respond. Information gathered through this survey will help us develop programs and services that are aligned with the needs and preferences of the community.
Your responses to this survey are completely confidential. At the end, you will be given the option to enter contact information in order to receive future updates from Jewish Community Addiction Services, but you are not required to provide this information in order to participate in the survey.
The survey takes approximately 5-10 minutes to complete. We sincerely appreciate your input and value your suggestions.
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Powerful Tools for Caregivers |
JFCS will host a six-week class, “Powerful Tools for Caregivers.” The class is designed to provide you with a wealth of self-care tools that will help you take care of yourself while taking care of others. You will learn to reduce stress, improve your self-confidence, bring more balance to your life, better communicate your feelings, and increase your ability to make tough decisions.
Tuesdays, July 27 through August 31, from 10 to 11:30 a.m.
Virtual on Zoom
The class is free, but there is a $25 charge for the course book. If you are unable to pay the $25 fee, please contact Lindsay Kant at lkant@jfcsmpls.org about receiving a donated book.
The class is limited to 10 participants. The deadline to register is Tuesday, July 20. Please call Senior Services at 952-542-4868 with questions.
Senior Services Lead Sponsor: Drs. Howard and Wendy Bach
Sponsors: Kelen Family Foundation, The Oren and Sharron Steinfeldt Foundation
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Exploring gender with young children: Going beyond the pink and the blue |
By Leah Persky, PhD & Certified Family Life Educator • Family Life Education Manager
As we celebrate Pride month, this is a perfect time to focus on engaging with our children about what Pride month is all about, and specifically how children can be brought into discussions that focus on understanding and celebrating the diversity of gender expressions and identities that exist. Many parents wonder how to start discussions about gender and what age these discussions can begin. The answer is to start now!
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Volunteer Opportunity: Drivers to provide rides to appointments |
Due to growing needs, we are seeking new volunteers to join our staff and other volunteer drivers in providing rides to Garber Transportation clients.
Garber Transportation volunteer drivers get to sign up for rides that work for their schedule and use their own car to pick up clients who need rides to appointments and errands.
JFCS strictly follows CDC guidelines. One of the changes made during COVID-19 is that clients sit in the backseat on the opposite side of the driver. We also limit the cars to one client, and our current safety protocols require all clients and volunteer drivers to wear face masks.
To learn more about the program, check out these links:
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A special acknowledgement of dedicated volunteers Jory Herman, Alan Ingber and business partner Affiance Financial |
On June 9, JFCS hosted its 111th Annual Meeting on Zoom. At the event, we acknowledged the contributions of dedicated volunteers Jory Herman and Alan Ingber and generous business partner Affiance Financial.
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Stay informed about volunteering at JFCS through our quarterly volunteer e-newsletter. Click here to view the most recent edition. Let Dana Shapiro know if you would like to be added to the list to receive updates on volunteer involvement at JFCS.
For more information about volunteering at JFCS click here, or contact Dana Shapiro, Community and Volunteer Engagement Coordinator & Intake Counselor, at dshapiro@jfcsmpls.org or 952-417-2112.
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Kadima: Building Our Future |
Kadima: Building Our Future is a major community-wide philanthropic and planning campaign. Coordinated by Minneapolis Jewish Federation, Kadima rests on two pillars: Providing planning and funds for COVID-19 recovery and enhancing community security.
With its recent second award, the Kadima Distributions Committee has awarded a total of $71,000 to JFCS. We are grateful for this funding that will cover costs associated with COVID-19 in these areas: Mental Health Education Conference, Hag Sameach, HVAC upgrades, PPE, and Virtual Communications investments
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