Adults & Families

Mark Bely says that what he knows about JFCS is that it is a go to organization. When you need help, have questions, or want to give back to the community, you go to JFCS. Mark was nine years old when his family left Russia for a new life in San Francisco. His parents, Boris […]...

Just last year, Sarah escaped from a decade-long, abusive relationship with the father of her two young children. She was finally making ends meet on her own when she lost her retail job due to the pandemic. Sarah called JFCS in tears, worried that her sons—who had already experienced so much pain...

Anna P, Recipient of JFCS Educational Loans and Grants, Found Herself on the Front Lines of the COVID-19 Outbreak When Anna P received the JFCS educational loans and grants that allowed her to attend the University of Massachusetts, she never would have believed that she would enter the nursing fiel...

When COVID-19 hit the Bay Area, Israeli-American Jessica Hare knew she wanted to do something to help keep older adults safe. She immediately started looking for ways to volunteer and reached out to her friends at the Israeli American Council for ideas. They pointed her to JFCS, and after her firs...

Upon receiving the news that he had been chosen to receive a scholarship by JFCS’ Financial Aid Center, Avery Cruz was at a total loss for words. But his mother, Deborah, was able to find some, saying, “You have no idea what this means! I was so worried about how we were going to afford [&hellip...

For most of us there will be a time in our lives when a personal crisis shakes us to our very core, and what felt like solid ground under our feet suddenly feels like sinking sand. JFCS’ Emergency Family Assistance Program works with people who are in such a dark place—who are struggling to get ...

Artisanal food products—everything from the tastiest mandelbrot cookie imaginable to the most delicious small-batch jams—are more popular than ever in the Bay Area, but did you know that since day one—that’s almost 170 years ago—JFCS has been supporting just these types of small businesses...

Moving from Emergency Response to Long-Term Recovery Two months have passed since fires swept through the North Bay, leaving in their wake incredible destruction and thousands homeless, jobless, and emotionally scarred. JFCS hit the ground running, working to support the community. Thanks to generou...

“I want to die with dignity.” Nora is a client of Jewish Family and Children’s Services whose story and strength I find inspiring. She has not only survived the Holocaust, she’s outlived her husband and son. Now, at 93, she’s been diagnosed with cancer. When Nora reached out to JFCS, she t...

For most of us a good quality of life means enough healthy food to eat, a safe place to live, a nurturing community of friends and family, and people who care about our physical and mental well-being. But many in the Bay Area do not have even their basic necessities covered. That is why JFCS [&helli...