We are deeply saddened to share that Tad Taube passed away in September 2025. The article below was originally published in 2023 to announce the launch of the Taube Family Emergency Assistance Fund and to celebrate Tad’s remarkable life, vision, and generosity. May his memory be a blessing. Tad Taube and his wife, Dianne, have been longtime supporters of JFCS and models of philanthropy for the entire community. Because of their generous contributions over the years, thousands of individuals and families have found help in times of personal crises or challenges. Now, with the establishment of JFCS’ Taube Family Emergency… Read More

Yvonne and Ernest Schneider z”l wed in Homewood Terrace’s synagogue in 1951, surrounded by friends they had made in the children’s home. Ernest was six years old when his widowed mother, unable to make ends meet during the Great Depression, brought him to live at Homewood Terrace on San Francisco’s Ocean Avenue. The campus for children in need would become his cherished home, where he would make lifelong friends, deepen his connection with his family’s Jewish heritage, and even meet the love of his life. Founded in 1872 as the Pacific Hebrew Orphan Asylum and Home Society and renamed in… Read More

What can make the celebration of a marriage even more joyful and meaningful? For Evelyn Danforth-Scott, daughter of longtime JFCS friends Gay and Carl Grunfeld, and Mitchel Scott, the answer was including a way to give back to their community. The caring couple invited guests to make a charitable gift to the Danforth-Scott Family Fund, the Named Endowment Fund they established to mark this step in their lives. The couple’s generous act followed the example of Gay and Carl, who requested charitable gifts as part of their own 2004 wedding. Gifts established a JFCS Named Endowment Fund, the Grunfeld Family … Read More

Established in loving memory by the Lasky family, the Henry Brand Lasky Memorial Endowment Fund continues the caring legacy of Henry Lasky z”l. Originally dedicated to supporting palliative and end-of-life care for Sonoma County seniors, the purpose was updated in 2025 to sustain and strengthen Holocaust education through the JFCS Holocaust Center. Henry was born in Troy, New York, and grew up in Albany. After receiving his Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University and law degree from Albany Law School, he was called to active duty in the US Air Force. While serving at Hamilton Air Force Base in… Read More

“JFCS has helped my family and countless others in times of need,” says Howard S. Hahn, when reflecting on his recent decision to leave a legacy to help others facing hard times. “My parents raised me with Jewish values. Tikkun olam was especially important.” A native of New York City, Howard arrived in San Francisco for a visit not long after he graduated from college. He found a city and community he wanted to get to know better. “I never used the roundtrip part of the paper plane ticket,” Howard says. “I quit my job over the phone and stayed.”… Read More

None of us know what life is going to throw in our path. For young people who have experienced loss, trauma, a bad medical diagnosis, or other difficult life events, hope comes in the form of the Sandra L. Schnitzer Resilience Fund—a Named Endowment Fund of Jewish Family and Children’s Services. The fund, thoughtfully founded by Sandra L. Schnitzer of San Francisco in 2021, pioneers a specialized model of compassionate assistance to help children, teens, and young adults up to age 25. Individual grants magnify and enhance the expert services already available through JFCS’ Center for Children and Youth by… Read More