News & Impact

Melissa, a New Yorker, became concerned when she learned that her only living relative, Aunt Millie, in Palo Alto, was a victim of a financial scam and was experiencing significant memory loss. “I can’t handle my aunt’s affairs long-distance, so I was grateful when a friend found JFCS’ Conservatorship program,” says Melissa. “It has given me peace of mind.” Thanks to the program, all of Millie’s needs—whether they relate to housing, health, finances, or day-to-day affairs—are tended to by JFCS care managers. “To be conserved, clients like Millie have to be shown to be lacking the capacity to make decisions… Read More

When Gabe was 45, he developed adult-onset diabetes, leaving him blind and jobless. “Devastated is an understatement,” says Gabe. “I was panicked and emotionally paralyzed. I didn’t know where to turn. Thank G-d a friend directed me to the People with Disabilities Program at JFCS. It has been a lifesaver and has enabled me to be independent which is really important to me.” Each year, JFCS helps hundreds of adults like Gabe—people with physical, emotional, and developmental disabilities who want to strengthen their lives. Gabe and others meet regularly with counselors from JFCS who offer hope, comfort, and coping tools.… Read More

Loneliness is a major issue for the elderly and has been linked closely with poor health. Debby Katz and John Perkins are volunteers with JFCS’ Senior Companions program. They regularly visit elderly clients and have seen the positive impact of their companionship first hand. They are also getting as much out of the program as the seniors whose lives they touch. Debby and John have found that volunteering is one of the best ways to give back to your community and get connected with others. Both retired professionals, they are among the hundreds of volunteers who have helped our elderly… Read More

On Friday, May 17, JFCS’ Adoption Connection was honored by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) for our work with LGBT families. Ellen Kahn, Director of HRC’s Family Project, came to personally present the All Children – All Families Agency Seal of Recognition*. As many of you know, Adoption Connection has welcomed LGBT families in our adoption program since its inception in 1985.  Being inclusive seemed completely natural and normal to us when we started out, and LGBT outreach has been an integral part of our program for 28 years. Ellen acknowledged that while Adoption Connection has been providing services to… Read More

Philanthropist Bill Lowenberg, who survived Auschwitz, spent much of his life educating children, grandchildren, and countless others about the lessons of the Holocaust. Now, two years after his death, his legacy lives on at the newly named William J. Lowenberg Speakers Bureau of the JFCS Holocaust Center. A significant gift from the philanthropic fund of his daughter, Susan Lowenberg, and her spouse, Joyce Newstat, ensures that young people throughout the Bay Area will hear survivors’ stories of moral courage for years to come. “The two Holocaust-related institutions that my father felt closest to were the JFCS Holocaust Center, locally,… Read More

“He is such a faxxx like i can’t belief his dum stupid shirt. what a xxxx fairy.” Has your child ever received a text like this? If so, he has experienced cyberbullying. “When one child targets another through an electronic device like an iPhone to threaten, humiliate, or torment, he or she has engaged in cyberbullying,” says bullying expert Holly Pedersen, MFT, PhD, Director of the Community Education Center of Parents Place on the Peninsula. “What makes this form of bullying so lethal is that it usually falls under the radar until it’s too late—when the message goes viral. In… Read More