News & Impact

In 2019, Drs. Kathy Fields and Garry Rayant led the launch of the Center for Children and Youth (CCY), the brainchild of Dr. Anita Friedman, Executive Director of Jewish Family and Children’s Services (JFCS). Together they developed a new and more comprehensive approach to addressing services for young people. “JFCS has changed so many lives through their exceptional services,” says Dr. Kathy Fields. “Through serious crises including fires and the pandemic, JFCS has responded with elegance and compassion for all the families involved.” But the problem confronting children and youth is overwhelming. It is a well-known and documented fact that… Read More

Soon after arriving in San Francisco from Ukraine, Kira, then 13, and her parents attended a large, joyous Passover Seder for families who had emigrated from the former Soviet Union. The families were receiving help from Jewish Family and Children’s Services (JFCS) to build new lives in the Bay Area. The holiday gathering was one of the many ways that JFCS created a strong, supportive community for the newcomers. That summer, Kira spent two weeks at Camp Tawonga near Yosemite, thanks to a campership scholarship from caring JFCS donors. The experience was pivotal for the adolescent. Despite the happiness of… Read More

Giving back to the community is a core family value for Vera Stein, a longtime JFCS volunteer and friend. Beginning with her father’s work as a volunteer with JFCS’ Utility Workshop, a pioneering job-creation program for refugees and immigrants, and continuing with Vera and her daughter, Deborah Hoffman—both active committee members and past members of the JFCS Board of Directors—three generations of this compassionate and community-minded family have helped to support JFCS’ mission. Vera and her family had direct experience with JFCS services when her widowed mother, Greta Livingson z’l, needed help at home. “The staff at JFCS’ Seniors At… Read More

Inspired by her grandparents’ experience as Holocaust survivors, Tania Albukerk, a longtime JFCS volunteer, and her husband, Larry, became donors to JFCS’ comprehensive, loving services for local Holocaust survivors. “We want to help survivors have the best possible years,” says Tania, who also helps to strengthen our community by serving on JFCS’ Program & Planning and Loans & Grants Committees. “Growing up, I felt immersed in the visceral, lived experience of those who had been through the horrors of the Holocaust and World War II,” says Tania. Since her three children and their peers do not have this experience, Tania… Read More

My grandparents and parents were always involved in San Francisco’s Jewish community,” says Jeff Hyman, who was elected to the Board of Directors of Jewish Family and Children’s Services (JFCS) in July. “Through their example, I was raised to give back and be of service.” An attorney with extensive legal and executive experience at leading Silicon Valley technology companies, Jeff is CEO of LWD Advisors, Inc. A graduate of Santa Clara University’s School of Law, where he currently serves as an adjunct professor, Jeff has contributed thousands of hours of pro bono legal service throughout his career. He has served… Read More

Building Community through Leadership From a young age, Andrew (Andy) Hess learned the importance of giving back to his community. He had the best teachers: grandparents and parents who embraced the opportunity to be of service. Andy, who was elected to the Board of Directors in July 2021, was introduced to Jewish Family and Children’s Services (JFCS) by Board member David Dossetter, a colleague at Bernstein Global Wealth Management. Andy recalls that David would talk about JFCS in glowing terms. His interest piqued, Andy attended JFCS’ Fammy Gala and was inspired to support JFCS’ humanitarian work. “JFCS helps so many… Read More