Established in 2025, the Jeri J. Masters Carob Tree Fund honors a remarkable life while strengthening expert services for people with disabilities. Jeri J. Masters z”l lived a life of intellectual curiosity, creativity, resilience, and care for those around her. A college physics major who left school to marry and raised three children, Jeri had rich musical talent and devoted time to Jewish and other causes. Once her children were older, Jeri returned to college, eager to begin studies in sociology. “My mother had a keen interest in people throughout her life,” says her daughter, Nancy Masters. “She saw people’s… Read More

In 2023, Dianne and Tad Taube spoke with us about the launch of the Taube Family Emergency Assistance Fund. It is our privilege to share this article in tribute to Tad’s remarkable life, vision, and generosity. His remarkable legacy continues to improve lives every day. May his memory be a blessing. Tad Taube z”l and his wife, Dianne, have been longtime supporters of JFCS as well as models of philanthropy for the entire community. Because of their generous contributions over the years, thousands of individuals and families have found help in times of personal crises or challenges. Now, with the… Read More

Yvonne and Ernest Schneider z”l wed in Homewood Terrace’s synagogue in 1951, surrounded by friends they had made in the children’s home. Ernest was six years old when his widowed mother, unable to make ends meet during the Great Depression, brought him to live at Homewood Terrace on San Francisco’s Ocean Avenue. The campus for children in need would become his cherished home, where he would make lifelong friends, deepen his connection with his family’s Jewish heritage, and even meet the love of his life. Founded in 1872 as the Pacific Hebrew Orphan Asylum and Home Society and renamed in… Read More

What can make the celebration of a marriage even more joyful and meaningful? For Evelyn Danforth-Scott, daughter of longtime JFCS friends Gay and Carl Grunfeld, and Mitchel Scott, the answer was including a way to give back to their community. The caring couple invited guests to make a charitable gift to the Danforth-Scott Family Fund, the Named Endowment Fund they established to mark this step in their lives. The couple’s generous act followed the example of Gay and Carl, who requested charitable gifts as part of their own 2004 wedding. Gifts established a JFCS Named Endowment Fund, the Grunfeld Family … Read More

Established in loving memory by the Lasky family, the Henry Brand Lasky Memorial Endowment Fund continues the caring legacy of Henry Lasky z”l. Originally dedicated to supporting palliative and end-of-life care for Sonoma County seniors, the purpose was updated in 2025 to sustain and strengthen Holocaust education through the JFCS Holocaust Center. Henry was born in Troy, New York, and grew up in Albany. After receiving his Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University and law degree from Albany Law School, he was called to active duty in the US Air Force. While serving at Hamilton Air Force Base in… Read More

“JFCS has helped my family and countless others in times of need,” says Howard S. Hahn, when reflecting on his recent decision to leave a legacy to help others facing hard times. “My parents raised me with Jewish values. Tikkun olam was especially important.” A native of New York City, Howard arrived in San Francisco for a visit not long after he graduated from college. He found a city and community he wanted to get to know better. “I never used the roundtrip part of the paper plane ticket,” Howard says. “I quit my job over the phone and stayed.”… Read More