News & Impact

Jewish Journal by Ryan Torok In a separate effort to make sure that voices from the Holocaust are not forgotten, the USC Shoah Foundation Institute and the San Francisco Bay Area-based Jewish Family and Children’s Services (JFCS) are partnering to raise money to support an initiative that will help digitize more than 1,400 Holocaust survivor testimonies that were recorded on VHS tapes during the 1970s and 1980s. Read More from the Jewish Journal… 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

Media Alert What: A Tribute to Holocaust Survivors: Honoring Those Who Gave Their Testimonies When: Sunday, June 9, 2:00 – 4:00 pm Where: The Palace Hotel Why: Bay Area Holocaust survivors will be recognized for the vital role they have played as educators. Now all well into their 80s and 90s, the survivors have shared their stories of moral courage, tolerance, and social responsibility to younger generations in person and on videotape. In addition, the JFCS Holocaust Center, which holds the sixth largest collection of video survivor testimonies in the world, and the USC Shoah Foundation—co-sponsors of this special program—will… 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