News & Impact

When Jessica Youngman had the chance to go Columbia University,  she needed a way to finance it. So she contacted JFCS’ Financial Aid Center, which has existed for many decades to help the people of our community get a start in life. The Center is supported by many JFCS friends, including JFCS Financial Aid Committee member Dr. Carl Grunfeld, along with his in-laws, Albert (z’’l) and Janet Schultz (z’’l). They created the Miriam Schultz Grunfeld Scholarship Fund for Youth in loving memory of Carl’s late wife as a way to pay homage to a beloved individual and former JFCS… Read More

On Wed., Aug. 20, from 12:00 to 1:30 pm, experts from Jewish Family and Children’s Services (JFCS) and its Seniors At Home Division will present Helping Our Aging Community Live Safely, a free talk that will focus on the ways that concerned community members can ensure the physical, financial, and emotional well-being of loved ones as they age. The lunch-and-learn presentation—attendees are encouraged to bring their own brown-bag lunch—will learn if there are any red flags or markers they should look for in attempting to identify possible abuse and what they can do to help if they suspect that their… Read More

Each summer, JFCS’ YouthFirst program provides paid internships to Bay Area high school students seeking valuable work experiences. This summer, we have welcomed approximately 60 outstanding young people to the program. They are gaining important skills at various departments throughout the agency, as well at many local businesses and organizations pleased to work with us to help our young people hone their vocational abilities. We’re pleased to introduce one of them to you here. Stay tuned for more profiles! Domenic M, incoming sophomore, Archbishop Riordan High School, San Francisco Where are you working this summer? In JFCS’ Seniors At Home’s… Read More

JFCS is proud of our Loans and Grants Program graduates. Here are updates on two of our many successful alumni: Andrea Bouch-Dimondstein What do you do? Andrea Bouch-Dimondstein I’m a senior account manager at Fluxx, a San Francisco-based company that provides customized software to grant makers. I work closely with large and small foundations. Before that, I worked at Google, and I was a Kiva Fellow in Guatemala. Kiva is an international nonprofit whose Fellows oversee improvement projects worldwide through microfinancing institutions. Where did you go to college? I received my bachelor’s degree from the University of California, San Diego.… Read More

The last thing Gillian remembered was crossing the street on a green light. When she woke up, she was in the ICU, hooked up to machines and in a body cast. Doctors told her she’d never walk again. “I cried for my mum,” Gillian recalls. “I wasn’t thinking straight. My mother had died years ago in Johannesburg.” After months in the hospital, Gillian tried to get back to her life. “But I couldn’t,” she says. “I was angry, confused, and paralyzed—literally and emotionally. I remember when a friend wheeled me into the JFCS building.  I felt at my lowest. I… Read More

By the time Jonah was 30, he’d had more than a dozen surgical procedures to treat Crohn’s disease, a chronic disorder that affects the gastrointestinal tract. The surgeries prevented his debilitating condition from worsening, but they didn’t cure him of it. Because of Crohn’s, he has been unable to have a career. “I was deeply depressed by the way my life was turning out,” he says. “Fortunately, a family friend told me about JFCS’ Disabilities Program. It has been a lifesaver. I’ve not only received emotional support, but also solid, practical guidance and other services that have kept me… Read More