JFCS friend Phyllis Friedman z”l felt like support of the agency and the community ran 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, attributed her concerns for family issues… Read More

“She only wanted to get out of the house.” That simple declarative has become a mantra to JFCS donor and longtime volunteer Nancy Epstein—and it clearly and succinctly explains why she has committed her time, energy, and resources to JFCS’ Palliative Care services. 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… Read More

Just as Lonny Darwin z”l shaped the Bay Area Jewish community, many people, places, and passions shaped Lonny. Our entire community has benefited from her work—whether it be youth who can learn about the Holocaust or the elderly who can enjoy a cultural performance. Lonny was a community leader, a true philanthropist, and a dear friend. Living for more than 100 years gave her ample opportunity to learn important life lessons from people, passions, travels, and experiences. Lonny was who she was because of these multiple influences, and none more so than her family that came before her. Indeed, one… Read More

“The Gita and Henry Baigelman Holocaust Education Fund perpetually honors the memory of my parents, Holocaust survivors, while teaching today’s students about the necessity of standing up against discrimination and intolerance,” says Riva Berelson, a longtime friend of JFCS and a dedicated member of the JFCS Holocaust Center Advisory Council In recent years, Riva and her husband, David, have found tax-free distributions from their IRA to be a strategic way to add to the fund. The Gita and Henry Baigelman Holocaust Education Fund sustains innovative and impactful education programs that inspire empathy and social responsibility in youth. If you would… Read More

May his memory be for a blessing. A former administrator with the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Services, at which he oversaw western states’ implementation of the National School Lunch Program and other programs to help families and children, Jim took an early interest in JFCS’ Food Programs to help clients at risk of hunger. This led to his creation of a JFCS Named Endowment Fund, the Let Them Eat Bread Fund. “My main charitable activities have involved feeding people,” Jim said. Over time, Jim’s philanthropic interests and involvement with JFCS broadened. He redid his will and… Read More

“We are interested in providing this legacy because of the great work JFCS does in providing for the wide range of needs within our community—youth, parents, adults, and seniors.” With these words Board member Alex Ingersoll and his husband, Martin Tannenbaum, a strategic planning, business, and training consultant to the agency, notified Jewish Family and Children’s Services that we are one of three major beneficiaries of their estate plan. Their significant commitment has been shaped by each man’s lifelong exposure to, and belief in, the importance of philanthropy. Carrying Forward Deeply Rooted Family Values Alex, who grew up on a… Read More