News & Impact

JFCS is proud to announce that Jacqueline Neuwirth has been elected President of its Board of Directors. A longtime supporter and dedicated leader within the organization, Jacqueline brings both passion and vision to this new role. Service as a Family Value Jacqueline’s commitment to service is deeply rooted in her Jewish values and personal conviction that supporting the community is a sacred responsibility. Her relationship with JFCS spans decades. Together with her family, she has poured her time, energy, and resources into strengthening the agency and uplifting the lives of those it serves. She and her husband, Stephen Swire, have… Read More

For the past fourteen summers, the JFCS YouthFirst Summer Internship Program (now known as the Shmunis Internship Program) has connected hundreds of high school students with Bay Area businesses, offering them meaningful opportunities to explore career paths aligned with their interests. This summer, one of those students joined the JFCS Marketing and Development team with a passion for storytelling. Her project: to interview a Holocaust survivor and transform their testimony into both a written blog and a short video—an unforgettable experience in honoring memory through narrative. We’re deeply grateful for the dedication Poppy brought to her time with JFCS. A… Read More

Simon Miller, volunteer with JFCS’ Legal Services Program: When I first started volunteering with JFCS, I was looking for a way to feel more rooted in my community. I began with grocery deliveries—a simple way to offer help that fit easily into my week. I didn’t expect that a one-off request to accompany a client to the Social Security office would become one of the most meaningful days I’ve spent as a volunteer. The client, Katya, is 77 years old. She recently became a U.S. citizen with support from JFCS and needed to update her records with the Social Security… Read More

With visionary support from the Shmunis family, JFCS is expanding its summer internship program to help more teens prepare for life beyond high school. This summer, high school students across the Bay Area are gaining more than just work experience—they’re discovering purpose, building confidence, and stepping into adulthood with the support of the newly expanded JFCS Shmunis Internship Program (SIP). The program’s growth has been made possible by the leadership and generosity of Vlad and Sana Shmunis, who have established the Shmunis Youth Endowment Fund to strengthen and expand opportunities for local teens. A Transformational Opportunity for Teens The… Read More

My name is Iryna, and I’m from Odesa, Ukraine. I came to the United States in 2022 with my 9-year-old daughter, fleeing the war with nothing but hope—hope to find safety and the strength to rebuild our lives from scratch. The first months were frightening and deeply isolating. I didn’t speak English, and every day felt like a mountain I didn’t know how to climb. That’s when I met Masha Kohn, our case manager at JFCS, and that changed everything. Masha’s empathy and calm reassurance gave me the courage to keep moving forward. My daughter, who was heartbroken over everything… Read More

JFCS has stood as a sanctuary for those fleeing violence, persecution, and disaster, from the pogroms of the 19th century to the ongoing war in Ukraine. Our commitment to the Jewish value of “welcoming the stranger” runs deep in our history—and continues with unwavering purpose even now. A History Rooted in Compassion In the late 1800s, waves of Eastern European Jews fled persecution and poverty, seeking safety in the United States. Many found their way to San Francisco. The Eureka Benevolent Society (the first iteration of JFCS) offered food, housing, medical care, and guidance for thousands of newly arrived families—setting… Read More