For Michael Rolnick and Linda Himelstein, community service is an essential family value. As they were raising their children, Jillian and Ben, in Hillsborough, Michael and Linda made it a priority to model the importance of giving back. “We wanted to nurture in our children a lifelong habit of giving back—not just money, but also time,” says Linda, an award-winning author and journalist. “This should be a vital part of life.” They began volunteering as a family at the JFCS Peninsula Food Bank. When Jillian and Ben were in high school, they participated in the YouthFirst service-learning and leadership development… Read More

May her memory be for a blessing. Brooklyn-born and Vassar-educated nonagenarian Judy Moss believes that, in many ways, she has always been “a woman ahead of her time.”  Over the course of her career she was a pioneer in the male-dominated computer information systems realm.  Each time she left one place of employment, which included stints at Port of New York Authority, Revlon, and General Electric, she was offered a more advanced position at the next.  She came to California because Lockheed encouraged her to leave New York.  To fill in some spare time Judy decided to enter the political… Read More

Norman Schlossberg attributes his success in the insurance industry to his empathetic ear for people in crisis.  He was no stranger to the devastating effects of illness on a family. “I have seen a lot of life people shouldn’t see,” says Norm of his Brooklyn childhood.  His older sister developed diabetes at 12 and died prematurely—at 47. Norm’s mother died of a stroke at 38, six months after his bar mitzvah. One of the bright spots for Norm during these times of loss was summer camp.  When Norm and his wife, Adrienne, decided to create a Named Fund at JFCS,… Read More

“JFCS is an organization that I have been fortunate to participate in with my children and grandchildren. Through our donor advised fund and our “Morris Family Endowment Fund” for children and seniors our family is confident that JFCS is providing important services for our community—one individual or family at a time.” —Natalie-Ann Morris, Marin County  … Read More

May her memory be for a blessing. For JFCS friend Phyllis Friedman, support of the agency and the community runs in her blood. Her mother, Eleanor Haas Koshland, was the inspiring first female president of the Jewish Family Service Agency (now JFCS), and her father, Daniel Koshland, was a founder of the San Francisco Foundation. Her late husband, Howard, an architect, designed the rebuilt Jewish Home in San Francisco and served as its board president. Looking back upon many decades of philanthropy and civic involvement, Phyllis, who established the Phyllis Friedman Endowment Fund for Children and Families at JFCS, attributes… Read More

“She only wanted to get out of the house.”  That simple declarative has become a mantra to JFCS donor and volunteer Nancy Epstein—and it clearly and succinctly explains why she has committed her time, energy, and resources to JFCS’ Palliative Care Program. Some years back Nancy regularly shuttled between the Bay Area and Los Angeles to care for her mother, Elaine Epstein, an advanced Alzheimer’s patient.  As Nancy was leaving her mother’s house one day to run an errand, her mother begged to go along for the ride. “I told her, ‘No, no, there’s no need for you to come.  … Read More