News & Impact

Services for individuals with disabilities are not always easy to find and while some organizations are reducing their services, JFCS offers one of the most comprehensive programs for individuals with disabilities and their families in Northern California. The determined young woman, Nona Miloslavsky, is living out her dreams while getting the support she needs to thrive. She was recently honored at JFCS’ Fammy Awards Gala. Nona Miloslavsky is a spirited and determined young woman who has benefited from JFCS’ People with Disabilities Program. When Nona was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder at age six, her parents knew that… Read More

The facts are clear: Attending a Jewish summer camp as a child leads to a stronger identification with the Jewish community as an adult. Without the generous camp scholarships provided by JFCS, Micah and Rachel, 10-year-old twins on the Peninsula, would have missed out on this vital experience. The siblings lost their Israeli-born father to multiple sclerosis five years ago. Since then, it has been the hope of their mother, Pam, who is struggling financially, to connect her children to their father’s heritage through the Jewish summer camp experience. “But I could never afford it,” says Pam. “JFCS has helped… Read More

Joe Amaroso will be the first to tell you that he is as surprised as anyone that he is still alive and kicking. He wasn’t supposed to be. HIV-positive for decades, Joe, now 68, was diagnosed with full-blown AIDS in 1993, a few years before the development of effective life-prolonging drug therapies. Joe Amoroso “I was in the hospital with a temperature of 104 – 105,” Joe says. “They packed me on ice. I’d made a will, bought a tombstone, and took care of my funeral arrangements.” As his health has waxed and waned over the past two decades, JFCS… Read More

San Francisco’s Lisa Geduldig has earned a rightful place in the pantheon of Jewish comics whose gut-busting humor helps us forget our cares and sorrows. But Geduldig, whose Kung Pao Kosher Comedy has been delighting audiences during the holiday season for 20-plus years, also wins applause for being a mensch. As in years past, a part of the proceeds from her Kung Pao shows will go to help people in need. This year, JFCS’ Nutrition Programs are a beneficiary. “Food is among the most basic of human needs,” says Geduldig. “I like supporting JFCS’ programs because they address human needs… Read More

A rising star in the high-tech world, Greg had a dream job that allowed him to provide a comfortable life for his family: Jewish day schools, summer camp, trips to Israel and Europe, and leadership roles in his synagogue. But all of that changed late last year, right around Hanukkah, when he had a cerebral hemorrhage at work. It was the last time he’d see his office … and experience the world as he knew it. “Our world collapsed,” says Leora, Greg’s wife. “I remember thinking, ‘Who will help us now?’ Then I answered my own question: JFCS.” Leora knew… Read More

Forty-four-year-old Ben has not had an easy year. Only three weeks after sitting shiva for his wife, Susan, who succumbed to aggressive metastatic breast cancer last December, he was told by his employer that his company was relocating to Texas—without him. “I was dealing with unspeakable grief, trying to take care of my son, and barely holding it together,” recounts Ben, who had worked as a mid-level sales manager for a high-tech firm. “On top of that, my 77-year-old dad, also a widower, had recently had heart surgery and needed help. If my rabbi hadn’t recommended JFCS, I don’t know… Read More