News & Impact

An outstanding student with a knack for business, Mark Khavkin was accepted into MBA programs at Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, and Northwestern. As pleased as he was by his choices, he remained concerned about financing his education in a way that would allow him to go to school full-time without falling into debt. Fortunately, he knew about JFCS’ Educational Loan and Grants Program. JFCS provided Mark with a generous deferred-interest loan for his two years at Harvard, where he excelled academically. “The MBA program was an amazing, transformative experience,” says Mark, who now works at eBay. “It developed… Read More

What do Zoe Schwartz, Marsha Jacobs, Lynn Ganz, Miriam Sparrow, Ellen Mundell, Marlene Stein, and Bonnie Lasky all have in common? The dynamic septet are part of the Sonoma Leadership Council, a JFCS affiliate group that has come together to support JFCS’ outstanding services. “JFCS is like my favorite Jewish mother and father,” said Lynn, “tenaciously protecting, loving, nurturing, and strengthening their family.” The Leadership Council members are among many in the Bay Area who want to improve the lives of tens of thousands yearly through exceptional programs like Parents Place, Seniors At Home, Dream House, and… Read More

Finding a place to live is one of the Bay Area’s greatest challenges. For Molly, a 29-year-old with significant learning differences, the perfect home has been JFCS’ Gary Shupin Independent Living Community, which offers residential and comprehensive services to young adults with developmental and other disabilities. “Shupin is ideal for Molly,” says her mother, Margaret, a former psychiatric nurse who helped her daughter with her housing search. “Molly wants to be independent, and Shupin provides the support so that she can remain so,” continues Margaret. “When Molly went to San Francisco City College to enroll in the CNA program,… Read More

Aaron, age 4, was a chronic poker, hitter, and biter. His favorite targets: his mother and fellow preschoolers. “My child was beating me up,” said Laura, a domestic abuse survivor. “He saw what his father did to me, and he started to behave the same way.” Aaron’s pediatrician sent the child and his mother to JFCS’ Parents Place program. Its Child Trauma Training Institute trains professionals and also directly assists children who have been exposed to severe stress and significant violence, such as domestic abuse. “The therapist at Parents Place helped Aaron work through his rage at his father and… Read More

Shana was 14 when her parents divorced. Angered by their break-up, and deeply hurt when her dad left California, she felt her life spiraling out of control. “I started acting out—small things at first, like smoking,” Shana recounts. Fortunately, her mother encouraged her to get involved with JFCS’ YouthFirst program, which grounded her through service learning and leadership activities. “When I started going out into the community and helping others in need, like senior citizens and people with developmental disabilities, I began feeling better about myself,” says Shana. “It seemed like I had a purpose, and it was great being… Read More

A survivor of Auschwitz, Sam came to this country in 1947, the only member of a large extended family to have escaped death. After many years as a shipping clerk, he finds himself frail and alone at 89, living on a modest income and the support of JFCS’ Seniors At Home program, which provides him with subsidized home care and care management.”I don’t know how I’d carry on without this help,” says Sam, who has diabetes and gout and still suffers nightmares from the war. “The people at the Seniors At Home are angels and JFCS is an absolute… Read More