News & Impact

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

“Service is an important part of our family values and our Jewish values,” says Scott Haber, who was elected to the JFCS Board of Directors in July 2021. Growing up near Philadelphia, Scott observed his family’s active engagement in keeping their temple strong and supporting their community. “For my parents, the ethic of service was fundamental,” says Scott. “From childhood, I knew that giving back was part of life.” As a parent and leader, Scott has set his own example of service to the community. A graduate of Cornell Law School, Scott moved to California to join the global law… Read More

“I am always trying to find ways to engage other Jewish young adults who feel some connectivity with Jewish culture and religion and don’t know where to go to find community,” says Mitch Waxman, who was elected to the JFCS Board of Directors in July. A native of Marin County, Mitch has known about Jewish Family and Children’s Services since childhood, through the involvement of his parents, Barbara and Scott Waxman, and his friends, including Aaron Tartakovsky, son of JFCS Executive Director Anita Friedman. He became personally involved after moving back to the Bay Area with then-girlfriend, now wife Melanie… Read More