News & Impact

Have you read Rywka’s Diary: The Writings of a Jewish Girl from the Lodz Ghetto? Edited by Dr. Anita Friedman, it’s the astonishing, must-read diary of a 14-year-old Polish teenager who recounts life—and death—in one of the largest ghettos during World War II before she is deported to Auschwitz. The diary itself is remarkable—and so is the story of how it came to be published. Plucked from The Ashes During the 1945 liberation of Auschwitz, a doctor from the Red Army plucked Rywka’s notebook from the ashes. But it took over 70 years of languishing in obscurity before the diary… Read More

Alex Ingersoll is a quiet motivator who brings an innate charm and warmth that naturally galvanizes others around the causes that matter most to him. His constructive approach and humor put everyone at ease. Since joining the JFCS Board of Directors two years ago, Alex has become an outspoken and empathetic leader. Alex also sits on the JFCS Endowment Committee and, this year, he will chair the Loans and Grants Committee. As Alex prepares for retirement from his long career at San Francisco law firms, his energy and passion to support his Jewish and LGBT community remain unstoppable. A thoughtful… Read More

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Sept. 9, 2016 – Overwhelmed with how to figure out the preschool and kindergarten admissions process in San Francisco? You’re in luck: JFCS’ Parents Place has an upcoming event just for you! The 24th annual Preschool Preview Night is on Wed. is on Sept. 28, 2016, 5:30 – 7:30 pm, at the San Francisco County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park. San Francisco parents will be able to meet and speak with representatives from over 100 local schools and children’s services providers. Parents can get answers about school philosophies, costs, pre-admission visits, hours, and more. This… Read More

Kerri Lehmann was a young working mother when she first walked into JFCS’ Parents Place. What she found was great parenting advice and connections with other parents while she was juggling the demands of career and family life. Fast forward two decades—Kerri is now an ardent and instrumental JFCS leader who is serving in her fourth year on the JFCS Board of Directors and she co-chaired this year’s Fammy Awards Gala along with her husband Mark. Her warmth and magnetic personality made this year’s event a wildly successful one. But it was Kerri’s drive and enthusiasm to do even… Read More

J Weekly By Dan Pines When Bay Area public school students return to class in August, their education on the Holocaust will take a new and decidedly musical turn. The S.F.-based JFCS Holocaust Center has launched “The Children of Willesden Lane Bay Area Big Read,” a course for middle- and high school students. Read more at the J Weekly >… Read More

J Weekly By Patricia Corrigan …S.F.-based Jewish Family and Children’s Services provides respite care four hours a week and Graham visits her parents in San Francisco every weekend. “My father was my heart and soul. He was supposed to teach my kids to play tennis and to play music. And he can’t,” she says. “Because my mom has been bound to her home for three years now, she has lost her youth, her ability to work and all her friends.” Read more at the J Weekly >… Read More