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Caring for the Vulnerable
Employment & Workforce Development, Jewish Vocational Service
Demand for services from JVS has doubled this year. Actual client intake at JVS is up 50% and JVS is now carrying a caseload of more than 2,000 clients. To meet the rising needs, JVS requires additional employment specialist staff to provide job placement assistance to laid off workers and others affected by the region's skyrocketing unemployment.
Assistance to Families in Crisis, Jewish Family and Children’s Services
Requests for help to JFCS have increased by more than 25% as a result of the economic crisis. More than 4,000 Jewish families are receiving assistance including crisis counseling and emergency financial aid for food, shelter, medicines, and other urgent needs as part of a personalized plan designed to help each family regain their self-sufficiency. In Sonoma, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties, JFCS provides comprehensive care to our community’s most vulnerable children, families and elderly, and ensures that no one is alone in their time of greatest need.
Community-wide Senior Transportation Voucher Fund, Jewish Community Federation
Senior transportation is a matter of health and survival, as it enables seniors to get to core activities such as medical appointments, support services, and grocery shopping. It also enables our seniors to maintain quality of life through active engagement and participation in the community. Support in any amount can be directed to the community-wide voucher fund, which enables seniors to access specialized programs and activities.
For information on these and other current grant needs in caring for vulnerable individuals, contact JCEF Program Officer Laura Mason at 415.512.6273 or
lauram@sfjcf.org.
Scholarship & Tuition Assistance, Jewish Community Federation
All of the Federation-area day schools have experienced significant increases in demand for tuition assistance, and mid-year scholarship funding will be needed. 25% of Jewish pre-schools already report withdrawals due to financial hardship. JCF is stepping up to meet these growing needs with increased scholarship funding for:
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Colleges and universities
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Jewish Pre-schools and Day Schools
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Residential, specialty and day camps
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Israel experiences
Since more Bay Area Jewish children are educated by congregational schools than other Jewish institutions, with adequate funding, tuition assistance could be provided for congregational schools as well.
For information on supporting scholarship needs, contact us at 415.512.6211 or
jcef@sfjcf.org.
Educating & Engaging our Diverse Jewish Community
Investing in innovative approaches to communal issues remains vital to the strength and vitality of the Jewish community in future generations. The Jewish Community Federation is leading initiatives in the following areas:
The Early Childhood Education Initiative
Currently, only one-third of Jewish children in our community attend a Jewish preschool due to limited space, affordability, or lack of Jewish connection. The Federation’s Early Childhood Education Initiative creates a strong network of “Jewishly-rich” preschool programs staffed by highly qualified teachers and increases the number of young Jewish families choosing Jewish preschools for their children. The initiative also seeks to create innovative ways of engaging parents of young children during this most promising period, even if they are not using a Jewish preschool. This ECEI initiative is in partnership with the Jim Joseph Foundation.
For additional information, contact JCEF Senior Program Officer Amy Rabbino at 415.512.6212 or
amyr@sfjcf.org; or JCF Director of the Early Childhood Education Initiative Janet Harris at 415.499.1223 x8104 or
janeth@sfjcf.org.
Jewish Community Relations Council Intergroup Relations Project
Engages Jews in building relationships with members of diverse ethnic populations, including Christian, Asian, Latino, Muslim, and African-American communities. This program reaches hundreds of Jews and individuals from other ethnic and faith communities to develop cross-cultural understanding and coalitions around public policy issues of common concern.
Youth Philanthropy Initiative
The Endowment Fund’s direct support of Youth Philanthropy, through its award-winning Jewish Community Teen Foundations, and support of Jewish day school and congregational school Seventh Grade Philanthropic Projects, trains hundreds of local teens in philanthropy — making them aware of current needs as well as helping them think about big picture issues as well.
Additional funding is needed to support the Jewish Youth Philanthropy Initiative which offers year-long Teen Foundation programs in San Francisco/Marin, the North Peninsula, the South Peninsula and the East Bay. This funding will help involve even more teens in the hands-on practice of Jewish values through philanthropy, from developing the missions of their foundation boards to reaching consensus on grant decisions that beneļ¬t both the general and Jewish communities.
For additional information, contact us at 415.512.6211 or
jcef@sfjcf.org.
Promoting Israel & Jewish Peoplehood Around the World
Gvanim is an intensive Israeli educational program that spreads the message of Jewish pluralism to ever-widening circles of Israelis by developing and implementing projects across the country. Each year, Gvanim chooses 20 participants who reflect the entire mosaic of Israeli society – Orthodox through Secular – all of whom are leaders in their professional field. The program includes a visit to the Bay Area to showcase pluralistic Jewish life in the community. Gvanim remains the only program which links study and social action and requires its participants to develop community-based action programs to foster Jewish identity and promote pluralism.
Are you interested in helping to build infrastructure in the Jewish community?
The JCEF works in partnership with many local agencies and synagogues to develop and sustain capital projects. For additional information, contact Mark Reisbaum, Chief Endowment Officer at 415.512.6251 or
markr@sfjcf.org.
