News & Impact

Looking at Helen, you’d think 92 is the new 75. Spry, quick-witted, and intellectually curious, she believed, until recently, she could do it all. But when a pulled muscle in her leg turned out to be severe arthritis in her hip, she acknowledged, “Now I know that I can’t do everything on my own.” That’s when she turned to Seniors At Home, JFCS’ senior care program that had served her late husband so well while in the final stages of Parkinson’s disease. “My laundry was piling up because I couldn’t get up and down the stairs so easily any longer,”… Read More

Josef, an 89-year-old Holocaust survivor, never saw it coming. “I survived the Lodz Ghetto and three camp selections, but I didn’t see that a distant cousin who asked me to contribute to a special fund was stealing from me,” he said. Josef became so distraught that his Seniors At Home homecare attendant, Elvira, contacted his son. “He was very upset,” she said, “and I was worried he would have a stroke.” Son and father talked, and both agreed that the time had come for Josef to have his finances managed by a trusted third party: Seniors At Home’s Fiduciary Services… Read More

When JFCS friend, Board and Committee member, and Fammy Awards Gala co-chair Tammy Crown became involved with the agency 10 years ago, she did so after determining through extensive research that JFCS was exactly the type of organization she and her husband, Bill, wanted to support: JFCS takes a holistic approach, focuses on human services, fulfills its mission to a tee, and spends most of its fundraising dollars on essential services. “JFCS hires and trains great people, and it is constantly looking at itself to see how it can be even more effective,” says Tammy, a former business strategist with… Read More

Sarah Goldwasser is one of 43 Bay Area high school students gaining professional experience this summer through Youth First’s internship program. An incoming high school senior at Larkpsur’s Redwood High School, Sarah is working this summer for the Marin Independent Journal (IJ), where she is writing news briefs and articles. This is a great opportunity for Sarah, who loves to write and serves as Review Editor of her school newspaper. It is also her first real job, and she is thrilled to be getting paid. “My parents are very proud of me,” says Sarah, and “I’m learning what it’s… Read More

On Friday, May 17, JFCS’ Adoption Connection was honored by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) for our work with LGBT families. Ellen Kahn, Director of HRC’s Family Project, came to personally present the All Children – All Families Agency Seal of Recognition*. As many of you know, Adoption Connection has welcomed LGBT families in our adoption program since its inception in 1985.  Being inclusive seemed completely natural and normal to us when we started out, and LGBT outreach has been an integral part of our program for 28 years. Ellen acknowledged that while Adoption Connection has been providing services to… Read More

JFCS’ Food Program, which runs a Food Pantry in each of our five regional offices (in San Francisco, Marin, Sonoma, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties), is seeking volunteers to go to the San Francisco Food Bank on a weekly basis to select appropriate food items for our San Francisco Food Pantry and for our home-delivered meal program serving younger adults with disabilities. Several volunteer openings are available. Volunteers will have: A strong interest or background in health and nutrition. Interest or experience in volunteering in a social-service setting. Strong communications skills. Reliable transportation. A valid California driver’s license,… Read More