News & Impact

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

For Maria Ramos-Chertok and her husband, Keith, one of the best ways of imbuing their sons with Jewish values is by having them help create, assemble, and deliver bags of Hanukkah treats to JFCS clients in need . The Chertok boys—Michael, 10, and Joshua, 12—have been doing so for at least five years. “It is an important part of tikkun olam,” Maria says. “They have had some remarkable experiences meeting the clients who are receiving the Hanukkah bags from us.” The Ramos-Chertok family and many others are part of JFCS’ efforts to reach out to the thousands of clients and… Read More

Seniors At Home, the senior care division of Jewish Family and Children’s Services, has today announced the expansion of its services with the opening of a new Center for Dementia Care. “The population of seniors in the Bay Area who suffer from dementia-related conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, is growing dramatically,” says Traci Dobronravova, MSW, Associate Director of Seniors At Home. “As one of the leaders in senior care in the Bay Area, we are pleased to be able to meet the requests of our clients by starting a new program that provides the specialized support needed for dementia care.”… Read More

The wooden barracks, stretching off into seeming infinity as the gaps between them are shrouded in a thick white fog, the layers of barbed wire fence with pencil-trunked trees and green grass just beyond the environs of the camp. The atmosphere here is just as I’d seen it in the recurring bad dreams I’d had when I first was taught about Auschwitz-Birkena through viewings of the film Night and Fog. Though I understand that this documentary isn’t used any more, it was the educational tool in my generation; and as we enter the galleries with the grotesque piles of… Read More

On the bitterly freezing day when we were on the market in Karzimierz, Daniel pointed me to a table of souvenirs with a curious collectible set: This was a replica of a seal used in the Lodz ghetto.  The text reads: “Der Aeltester der Juden.  Litzmannstadt”  (The Chair of the Judenrat.  Lodz ghetto).   I’ve seen a lot of Polish tchatchkes in my time, but I found this collectible to be especially painful.  As I was wheeling myself away from the table, I reached a bump in the concrete path and had trouble going further.  One of the souvenir sellers, a… Read More