Volunteer Opportunity: Fitness Center Volunteers Needed!

Imagine you are 85 and trying to work out at one of the big fitness centers. Would anyone there really understand your challenges and unique needs? How comfortable would you be working out in a room with a group of 20-somethings? 

Luckily, JFS operates two of the very few fitness centers that focus exclusively on fitness for older adults! We have a variety of fitness machines that include important safety features and accommodations for older adults. We need upbeat, "you can do it" volunteers to help encourage our participants to continue to get stronger and stay healthy by following their fitness plan. 

 

If you have formal training as a fitness instructor, PE teacher, personal trainer, PT, or related field, we need YOU to help us make sure seniors stay strong! Please contact our Volunteer Department today by emailing rkraemer@jfsla.org.

A Personal Client Story: Meet Maria

JFS Communications enjoys bringing you important updates about our agency through our blog. This is another update for our new feature, where we share personal client stories and vignettes about how JFS was able to make a difference in their lives. 

We are so proud to be able to help those in our community who need it most! 

Maria's Story: 

Maria is a single mother who had worked for many years as a nanny. Though her job paid very little money, it was just enough to cover her family’s basic needs. After an accident that left her disabled and unable to work, Maria was desperate. She attempted to call DPSS and other programs for help, but had been turned away due to her immigration status. Her call to Jewish Family Service was answered immediately.

 Maria was able to meet with a JFS social worker the same day of her initial call. She was amazed to find that she would be able to receive services that would help her and her two teenage daughters, both honor students who had been having difficulty focusing during school due to their anxiety about their family situation.

Maria told her social worker that she visits multiple food pantries so she and her daughters have enough to eat every month, and that the quality of SOVA’s food was amazing. In addition to the customized order of quality food that JFS { SOVA provided her with, Maria also received food vouchers and Target gift cards to help her buy clothing and toiletries. Additionally, through the JFS { Tools For School program, her daughters will receive backpacks and school supplies for the coming school year. All three members of the family have also been connected with mental health services, and Maria is receiving assistance with applying for a specialized visa.

Maria expressed her gratitude for having found an organization that she can count on for welcome assistance and food.

In order to continue bringing these important programs and resources to those who need it most, we need your support. We cannot do it alone.

You can help by making a donation today! We are thrilled to announce that donations up to $30,000 will be matched by a local supporter!

Please click HERE to help shop our Virtual Food Drive, stock our shelves, and provide the vulnerable members of our community with the essentials they need most!

For more information about making a donation 

to JFS {SOVA, please contact Carol Bar-Or at cbaror@jfsla.org.

Exciting Things Are Happening at the JFS { Israel Levin Senior Center!

It's been a while - did you miss us?!

Now that the Jewish holidays are over for the time being, we're back to regular posting on the blog. Today we have a special update from our JFS { Israel Levin Senior Center, located right on the beach in beautiful Venice, California. 

Below, ILC Director Mina Friedler lists some of the center's most successful events and programs that have taken place so far this year!

 Our Year of Diversity programs, reaching out to seniors of all nationalities in our community, included an exciting, informative and fun New Year’s Party, with storytellers, musicians and dance music and an ethnically diverse menu prepared and catered by Hugo at the Hirsch Kosher Kitchen of JFS. More than 60 seniors were able to attend. 

  In February, we “partnered” with Turning the Wheel,  based non-profit organization, and the Westminster School,  for an intergenerational event  involving movement, spoken word and singing to original movement. It was truly inspiring to see children from all backgrounds connecting with our participants, learning and teaching.

      Our participants have also attended original plays such as “The Indians are Coming to Dinner’ at the Pacific Resident Theater in Venice. Through the magic of theater, they learned about the family in different cultures, political action, and the triumph of the human spirit.
 

Additionally, our trip to the historic Breed Street Synagogue in Boyle Heights and lunch at La Serenata di Garibaldi, an authentic Mexican restaurant and Mariachi music site in Boyle Heights, allowed us to explore the genesis of the immigrant experience in Los Angeles. 

And coming up...

   For our Fall Festival on Friday, October 19th, we will be celebrating the art, writing and singing of Esther and Bob Woolf, who have been married for 74 years, and continue to lead vibrant lives, and Eva Yauchem, who has created a body of amazing art. The collages will be on display.  The ILC Choir will perform, and Sharaai Tefillo from the Fairfax area will be our guests.

 Love storytelling?  In December we hope to usher in our Year of the Family with a holiday party, featuring storytellers from all different nations and ethnic groups.

The JFS { Israel Levin Senior Center is a vibrant and exciting community. Click here to learn more about us!

Announcing Our Annual High Holiday Food Drive!

JFS is grateful for your support of our annual High Holiday Food Drive!

The items most in demand at our three JFS { SOVA food pantries are peanut butter, canned tuna, canned meat/chicken, canned soup, and bags of dried beans. 

For more information, please visit www.jfsla.org/SOVA.

L'Shanah Tovah from JFS!

In honor of Rosh Hashanah,

Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles wishes you and your loved ones 

a happy, healthy, and peaceful new year!

May you be inscribed in the Book of Life and sealed for a good year.

 

L'Shanah Tovah from our family to yours!

A Personal Client Story: Meet Ron & Elaine

JFS Communications enjoys bringing you important updates about our agency through our blog. This is another update for our new feature, where we share personal client stories and vignettes about how JFS was able to make a difference in their lives. 

We are so proud to be able to help those in our community who need it most! 

Ron & Elaine's Story:

Ron and Elaine were a comfortable middle-class family when the unexpected happened:  at age 56, Ron was hurt on the job and was forced to retire long before he planned.  At first, their income came solely from Elaine’s wages from her full-time job at a local drug store.  Later, Ron qualified for disability and SSI (Supplementary Security Income) but it wasn’t enough to cover their mortgage, grocery bill, car payment, utilities, clothing and the medical care Ron needs. In a matter of months, the couple used up their savings and even began to dip into their small retirement accounts to make up the difference. 

When even that did not prove to be enough, they did what they never expected to have to do – they came to SOVA. 

In addition to receiving free and nutritious groceries, Ron and Elaine met with a specially trained volunteer in JFS { SOVA’s Resource Center, who helped connect them with on-site representatives from the County DPSS who helped them qualify for CalFresh (food stamp) benefits. They also received assistance with their electric and water bill from a representative from the Home Energy Assistance Program, who was also at the pantry that day.  An on-site job counselor provided Ron with information on a training program for people with disabilities. 

All this help has enabled the couple to begin to get back on their feet. They visit the pantry regularly and no longer have to skip meals or "forget" to fill prescriptions. Ron has also begun to train for a new job that he can do from home and they hope not to need to visit the pantry for too much longer. They are grateful for SOVA’s help at this extraordinarily challenging period of their lives.

In order to continue bringing these important programs and resources to those who need it most, we need your support. We cannot do it alone.

You can help by making a donation today! We are thrilled to announce that donations up to $30,000 will be matched by a local supporter!

Please click HERE to help shop our Virtual Food Drive, stock our shelves, and provide the vulnerable members of our community with the essentials they need most!

For more information about making a donation 

to JFS {SOVA, please contact Carol Bar-Or at cbaror@jfsla.org.

JFS { High Holiday E-Cards Have Arrived!

Send a "Shanah Tovah" that benefits JFS!

Back by popular demand, our JFS High Holiday E-Cards are the perfect way to let a loved one know you're thinking of them over Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur.

Proceeds from each e-card purchase directly benefit JFS and our essential programs and services. 

Click here to send one today!

"My Mission to Israel": Sarah Blitzstein Shares Her Experience

Today's post comes from Sarah Blitzstein, JFS Director of HaMercaz & Special Needs Programs. Sarah recently returned from a weeklong mission to Israel with families, professionals, and other leaders of the disability rights community here in Los Angeles. The goal of the mission was to foster a collaborative relationship with our Israeli partners that will ultimately serve the adults with disabilities in both our communities.

Take it away, Sarah!

On July 20th I joined 35 members of the Los Angeles special needs community on a first of its kind trip to Israel. Sponsored by The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, social workers, therapists, parents, educators, community activists and young adults with special needs embarked on a journey through Israel to learn about programs for young adults with autism and special needs. 

Beginning in the hills of the Galilee we visited Kibbutz Kishorit, home to over 100 people with special needs where they breeds prize winning schnauzers and beautiful hand-made toys, two of the many micro-enterprises that generate income for the kibbutz. In the Negev desert at Aleh Negev we saw people with severe special needs living productive lives in a long term care facility, each room designed to meet their specific needs. In the coastal city of Ra’anana we toured Beit Issie Shapiro, a world class research and therapeutic facility where children of all faiths and backgrounds are welcome to participate in aquatic therapy, occupational therapy and more. In Jerusalem we visited a sensory garden at Israel Elwyn, engaging each of the senses so that every person could experience the garden in their own way. 

As a group we bonded over delicious Israeli breakfasts and long bus rides through the hillsides and highways of this ancient and yet modern country. We appreciated being disconnected from our work emails and having the ability to experience and learn from the programs we visited and from each other. We came together from different places, looking for magical solutions to the challenges we face here in LA.  

 

There is no magical solution, the answer is in each of us, and as we return to our daily lives here in Los Angeles we know that no matter what happens, we are forever changed from the 7 days we spent together in Israel.  

Please click here to view the daily journals from the trip!

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A Personal Client Story: Meet Deborah

JFS Communications enjoys bringing you important updates about our agency through our blog. Today, we're launching a new feature, where we share personal client stories and vignettes about how JFS was able to make a difference in their lives. 

We are so proud to be able to help those in our community who need it most! 

Deborah's Story:

Deborah, a 35 year-old Jewish woman who lives with her husband and four children in Los Angeles, initially approached JFS requesting financial assistance.

 

Both Deborah and her husband Jacob had been working for many years as professionals, but their family had experienced a great loss of income due to the economic downturn – Deborah was laid off from her job in accounting, while Jacob’s insurance agency had been severely impacted by the recession. Their family was struggling with paying for mortgage, bills and food.

After meeting with a JFS social worker at SOVA, the social worker provided an overview of services that would be helpful for the family to get back on their feet. One of the first suggestions was obtaining food through SOVA. Deborah was initially apprehensive about going to SOVA. She never thought she would be in this situation and was nervous about the process. The social worker was able to personally walk her through the registration process and introduce the client to SOVA services.

As a result, Deborah’s family started receiving groceries immediately. She and Jacob have expressed their gratitude and satisfaction with the high quality and amount of food she was able to receive from SOVA. Their family continues to work with the social worker for short-term case management services, and they continue to receive groceries regularly from SOVA.

In order to continue bringing these important programs and resources to those who need it most, we need your support. We cannot do it alone.

You can help by making a donation today! We are thrilled to announce that donations up to $30,000 will be matched by a local supporter!

Please click HERE to help shop our Virtual Food Drive, stock our shelves, and provide the vulnerable members of our community with the essentials they need most! For more information about making a donation  to JFS {SOVA, please contact Carol Bar-Or at cbaror@jfsla.org.

Another Special Recipe From Our JFS Chef!

We’ve gotten wonderful feedback from the last two recipes we posted from JFS Chef Hugo Perez, so we thought we’d share another one today!

This salad is perfect for the end of summer and as we transition into fall. Here is the recipe:

Summer Grains Salad

Makes 20 servings

Ingredients:

¾ cup EACH brown rice, quinoa, whole buckwheat or kasha, and pearled barley

7 cups of water

For the dressing:

½ cup EACH green bell pepper and red bell peppers

½ cup diced red onion

¾ cup dried cranberries

4 garlic cloves, minced

½ cup lemon juice

1 bunch fresh chopped parsley

2 tablespoons kosher salt

½ tablespoon lemon pepper seasoning

½ tablespoon black ground pepper

¾ cup olive oil

¾ cup balsamic vinegar

Directions:

1. In a stockpot, bring 4 cups of water to boil. Add barley and rice and bring them to boil. Reduce heat and cover; let it simmer for about 30 minutes or until water is absorbed and grains are soft and non-sticky.
2. In another stockpot, bring 3 cups of water to boil. Add kasha and quinoa and bring them to boil. Reduce heat and cover; let cook for about 10 minutes until all liquid is absorbed.
3. Cool grain in shallow pans and keep refrigerated till ready to use.
4. To make the dressing, wash and dice or chop all vegetables. Combine them all with the rest of ingredients in a bowl after tasting to adjust for seasoning.
5. Add grains and toss everything together. Keep salad covered and chilled till serving (note: salad can be made a day in advance – it holds well cold.)

Looks delicious - we hope you enjoy it! 

Shabbat Shalom!