News & Impact

J Weekly By Laura Paull As Sophocles surely knew, people often are able to absorb tragedy much more easily on a stage than in their own lives. That’s the principle behind an upcoming performance at the Castro Theatre, where a New York-based theater collective will guide audiences to reflect on the ultimate drama we tend to avoid. After staged readings of scenes from two plays by the ancient Greek playwright, the ensemble will ask: Is death necessarily a tragedy? “I see it, rather, as a transition,” says Judith Redwing Keyssar, palliative care director at Jewish Family and Children’s Services, sponsor… Read More

J Weekly By Karen Galatz The generation of Holocaust survivors may be passing, but thanks to a just-launched initiative in San Francisco, their testimonies will live on through their children and grandchildren. Called the Next Generation Speakers Bureau, the initiative is the brainchild of Morgan Blum Schneider, director of Jewish Family and Children Services’ Holocaust Center. The bureau is designed to address the challenge of Holocaust education when the last of the survivors are gone. “We want to ensure that the Holocaust remains a story of faces, not just a history of numbers,” said Alexis Herr, the Holocaust Center’s new… Read More

The wildfires that swept through the North Bay last October are out, but the scar on the community is one that will last a generation. Since Day One JFCS has collaborated with many integral organizations in the North Bay to make sure disaster victims are able to access all the help available to them. Last month JFCS honored first responders and survivors at the JFCS Fammy Gala after the deadliest wildfire disaster in California history. First Responders and Victims of the North Bay Wildfires JFCS Fammy Video During the initial days and weeks after the fires JFCS helped people with… Read More

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? It started with revolving loans funds. After the Gold Rush generous donors wanted to help entrepreneurial Jewish individuals specifically for one purpose: to make it possible to grow a small business, especially for those who typically would not otherwise qualify for bank loans. Barriers for Women in Business We’ve come a long way since the early… Read More

In 1941 Eda Pell arrived in California from Germany with her sister, Henni Kuflik, and faced an uncertain future as a young immigrant. Both girls had miraculously received visas to the United States as “wartime orphans” after being smuggled out of Germany to France. When the sisters learned they were going to a place called San Francisco, Eda says, “Quite frankly, it sounded like Timbuktu and the end of the earth to us.” But they quickly learned to appreciate their new home. The sisters settled into life at Homewood Terrace, a new type of child-care campus, which mirrored a family… Read More

Feeling down every so often is a normal part of life. Day-to-day worries are common and can be perfectly normal—who among us hasn’t struggled with bumps in the road? But for anyone experiencing unrelenting sadness or anxiety, it might be time to think about getting help, and JFCS has exceptional mental health professionals who support people of all ages. Whether it is a major life event like a divorce or loss of a loved one, or another underlying stressor, both depression and anxiety can be devastating and may get worse if untreated. The good news is that, with proper care,… Read More