News & Impact

Amy’s family was in trouble. She and her husband, Bill, argued constantly—mostly about how to raise their son, Ben, now 9. “I felt that Ben was playing off of my and Bill’s differing parent styles,” Amy recounts. “Whenever I said ‘no’ to Ben, he’d run to Bill, who would invariably say, ‘yes.’  We needed help, but given our tight budget, I didn’t know where to turn. Thank goodness for Parents Place, which stepped forward with a scholarship for counseling for us. Otherwise, I’m not sure the three of us would still be living under the same roof.” “It’s surprising… Read More

When Rose Ludwig was growing up in a rural part of Riverside County, she was never taught about the Holocaust in school. That’s why, as a teacher at San Francisco’s Visitacion Valley Middle School, she makes sure that her students learn the Holocaust’s lessons. Her efforts earned her JFCS’ Holocaust Center’s 2014 Morris Weiss Award, which yearly goes to an exemplary educator dedicated to teaching about the Shoah and other forms of genocide. Morris Weiss, a founder of the Holocaust Center, was a survivor dedicated to fighting anti-Semitism. His family established the award in his memory.   “As a… Read More

Danny K. and Ron C. with their son, Beckett, 3 “Adoption Connection did a great job in preparing us to become dads. They took us through every possible adoption scenario—from the smoothest to the most challenging. The more we learned to let go and allow things to unfold naturally, the more relaxed we were.  We felt totally supported. “We also learned during the adoption process how important it is to understand what the birthmother is going through, which helped us to be sensitive and thoughtful in our interactions with her. Beckett was born literally hours after we had an… 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

Anita and Ronald z”l Wornick sat for this interview in 2014. May his memory be for a blessing. Over many years, Ronald and Anita Wornick touched the worlds of art, medical research, education, and Jewish philanthropy through gifts that made a difference in the lives of many. But few of their gifts have meant as much to them personally as the Harry & Florence Wornick Endowment Fund for Youth Loans, which they established at JFCS as a tribute to Ron’s parents. The fund supports the education of promising students. “My reverence for my father is beyond containment,” said Ron, a… 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