News & Impact

“JFCS has helped my family and countless others in times of need,” says Howard S. Hahn, when reflecting on his recent decision to leave a legacy to help others facing hard times. “My parents raised me with Jewish values. Tikkun olam was especially important.” A native of New York City, Howard arrived in San Francisco for a visit not long after he graduated from college. He found a city and community he wanted to get to know better. “I never used the roundtrip part of the paper plane ticket,” Howard says. “I quit my job over the phone and stayed.”… Read More

Zhenya Friedman believes that the line between giving and receiving is very thin. For over a decade, Zhenya has dedicated her time to volunteering and helping others, and in that time she has touched countless lives with her warm presence and kind spirit. Yet Zhenya believes that she definitely gets back more than she gives. Originally from the Soviet Union, Zhenya volunteers mainly with JFCS’ Emigre Services, supporting members of the Bay Area’s Russian-speaking Jewish community. As a ‘Master Volunteer,’ she leads fifteen other volunteers with JFCS’ Food Bank in Marin County. Somehow, in between coordinating deliveries, managing client… Read More

Two Stories of Hope and Healing Seven-year-old Maddie didn’t leave her house for an entire year during the pandemic. While her classmates returned to school, Maddie continued learning remotely and recently, everything from schoolwork to getting dressed in the morning has become a painful power struggle with her parents. Anxiety is running high—even though Maddie’s parents are vaccinated against COVID-19 now, the family feel afraid to leave their home. Stephanie Agnew, Interim Director of Parents Place at JFCS’ Center for Children and Youth, is hearing from many children and parents who are suffering from anxiety as life begins to… Read More

None of us know what life is going to throw in our path. For young people who have experienced loss, trauma, a bad medical diagnosis or other difficult life events, hope comes in the form of the  Sandra L. Schnitzer Resilience Fund—a new permanent  Named Endowment Fund of Jewish Family and Children’s Services. The fund, which has been thoughtfully founded by Sandra L. Schnitzer of San Francisco, will pioneer a specialized model of compassionate assistance to help children, teens, and young adults up to age 25. Individual grants will magnify and enhance the expert services already available through JFCS’ Center … Read More

Hannah*, who is 82 and lives alone in San Francisco, was eager to get the COVID-19 vaccine so that she could go out and have some pieces of her pre-pandemic life back. But Hannah doesn’t have wifi or a computer, and like many local seniors who lack access or familiarity with technology, she was unable to use the websites that California provided to book an appointment. Not only was her internet connection unstable, Hannah found the websites so confusing to use on her cell phone that she stopped searching altogether.   Fortunately for Hannah, a volunteer named Suzanne Mankoff is one… Read More

JFCS’ Gary Shupin Independent Living Community provides connection, community, support, and independence for adults with developmental disabilities. As a Shupin Club member since 2018, Heather loves trying new activities and one day hopes to have a job and help others. Read on to learn more about Heather and her favorite things about the Shupin Social Club. Tell us about yourself! My name is Heather Ostrau. I am from Palo Alto originally and lived in Napa and Concord at other independent living programs until I found Shupin House. When did you join Shupin Club? What were things like before you joined?… Read More