News & Impact

KCBS reporter Scott Lettieri interviewed students at City Arts and Technology High School in San Francisco where teacher, Allison McManis, is engaging her classroom in the JFCS Holocaust Center’s The Children of Willesden Lane BAY AREA BIG READ. Click Play to Listen:… Read More

It has never been easy to be a teenager, but JFCS is finding that today’s climate is particularly tough on our young people. Academic success, extracurricular activities, pressure to “package” oneself on social media—and the list goes on. These pressures can be coupled with frequent moves due to housing insecurities, financial stressors to find funds for school supplies and food, plus parents who work multiple jobs to just hold on. It adds up to almost constant anxiety and stress. Teens Report High Stress Is The New Norm The teens we serve consistently tell us about the pressure they feel from… Read More

Do the Good Thing – Please Donate to the JFCS Annual Campaign Growing up is hard enough these days—heavy homework loads, constant peer pressure, uncertainty about the future. One bad thing can stop a teen in her tracks. It was already bad enough for Jessica, who recently reached out to JFCS in distress. Her friends at school were spreading vicious rumors about her—her grades and self-esteem were slipping. Jessica tried her best not to worry her widowed father who had struggles of his own. He hadn’t worked a regular job in years due to debilitating back pain, and the jobs… Read More

Marci began her service on the JFCS Board of Directors last year, but her role as a JFCS lay leader is anything but new. She and her family have been mainstays in the Marin County JFCS community since they made the move from Los Angeles 14 years ago. Marci is adored for her easy-going and warm nature, enthusiasm, and creativity in supporting JFCS’ programs that promote family, community, and caring for those who need an extra boost up. She and her family have been honored numerous times for their exceptional volunteer leadership and she is also a member of the… Read More

This year we are saving paper and have created an online Annual Report. We hope you are inspired by the wonderful stories and videos! Click below to see just some of the impact JFCS had on the Bay Area in 2015 – 2016. … Read More

This Sunday evening we begin the ten day period known as “The Ten Days of Repentance,” which span the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. A lot of meaning gets lost when translating the word “repentance,” however. The word in Hebrew is “teshuva,” which literally means “returning.” Thus this period of time is set aside in the Jewish year for “returning”—returning to our authentic selves, to our relationships with family, community, and God, and to the values and ideals that we strive to uphold.  They provide us an opportunity to stop, look inward, and consider that which is most… Read More