Pattie Martin, M.Ed., has been named Director of Older Adult Services for Jewish Family and Children's Services of Southern Arizona. She previously directed one of those JFCS services, Select Care Managers.
 
"Patti brings an exceptional level of excellence and passion to the job," said Shira Ledman, JFCS President and CEO. "We selected her because her commitment to older adults and people with disabilities is a model for all staff."

Searching for Solace, March 29, 2013, Buffalo News, by Scott Scanlon

WNY provides plenty of places where people can go to de-stress and find peace

When the World Trade Center was attacked by terrorists in 2001 not far from Lauren Belfer's New York City home, the celebrated author happened to be back in her hometown of Buffalo.

As she tried to make sense of what had happened, she found some comfort in the pews at Trinity Episcopal Church on Delaware Avenue, whose stained glass windows were part of the inspiration for her novel "City of Light."

The Rev. Cam Miller understood why she was there. The Trinity rector said he sometimes finds himself in the pews at the back of his church when he wants to collect his thoughts.

"I almost never get to sit in the back," he said with a smile.

Thankfully, not all of our unease is grounded in the kind of tragedy that brought Belfer into Trinity church, but the lesson of her visits remain: All of us need places we can go to peel away our stress and recharge our mental batteries.

"Stress is like the wind. We might not always know where it's coming from but we know it's there, and the fact that it's there means we have to do something about it," said Linda Rumbold, a licensed clinical social worker at Jewish Family Services of Buffalo.

"If people don't learn how to reduce their own stress and what works for them, then they put themselves at great risk," Rumbold said. "People think of heart attack and stroke and chronic illnesses, but something as little as your ability to heal from a cold or a cut on your finger is impaired by the amount of stress that you experience. That's why it's important people learn about stress reduction."

Think of your life as four parts of a pie: your physical self, your thoughts, your feelings and your spirituality. Continue reading here.

Stay updated on AJFCA offerings, agency news & current trends . . .

 

  

The Journal of Jewish Communal Service published their Winter/Spring 2013 edition recently and featured "Innovation and the Jewish Family Services Network" by AJFCA's Lee Sherman and Lisa Budlow. Member agencies will be receiving a copy of the journal soon. Please share your feedback once you've read the article.

AJFCA is working closely with our partners at Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) to highlight the needs of Holocaust survivors in our communities.

A few days ago William Daroff, JFNA's Vice President for Public Policy and Director of the Washington Office attended the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington's Yom Hashoah Holocaust Remembrance Ceremony. While sitting in the audience, he reflected on the many ways we honor and memorialize the victims of this most horrific crime against humanity. Continue reading here.

Repair the World Celebrates National Volunteer Month

Did you know that April is National Volunteer Month? If you didn't, you need to sign up for the Repair the World newsletter. Repair is running all sorts of promotions this month in order to get folks excited about this month-long celebration of service and helping others. They are a fantastic resource for your agency to better connect with your current and potential volunteers. One of the promotions is a photo posting contest which engages participants through various social media outlets with the promise of amazing Repair SWAG. If you have ever seen Lee sporting his Repair ball cap or Jennie giving away tote bags and posters to folks via the AJFCA/Repair the World Volunteer Initiative - you already know we at AJFCA love our Repair SWAG! Is your community featuring your volunteers in a special way this month? If so, please send any write-ups or publicity to Jennie Gates Beckman. You may be featured in AJFCA's next Volunteer Newsletter.

Branching Out: Planning for Satellite Offices

The demographics of Jewish communities often change, so that communities may find their members spread over a large geographical area. When this occurs, nonprofit educational, social, and health organizations face a number of challenges. Among them is how to continue to provide professional and comprehensive services to their members and clients who are now geographically dispersed. Several considerations should be factored into the decision to develop additional sites for the delivery of services to the community. Continue reading here.

The State of the Nonprofit Sector?  Not so Hot., April 2, 2013, Katya's Nonprofit Marketing Blog, by Katya Andersen

The Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) has released its annual State of the Sector survey, and it shows nonprofits are struggling with a tough funding environment and increasing need for the services they provide. This is requiring tough choices - and changing the way nonprofits do business, according to the survey. Continue reading here.

A New Trend in Design Can Help Charities Do Better Work 

Over the past decade, we have seen many important evolutions in the field of design. Fields like "interaction design" focus on making digital and physical products easier and more desirable for people to use. As technology has progressed, it has allowed us to design devices that adapt to how humans naturally use things, rather than forcing people to adapt to technology. Think about how much easier it is to surf the Internet on an iPhone than it was 10 years ago on a flip phone. Continue reading here.

AJFCA encourages member agencies to attend this free webinar offered by our newest Partner Foothold Technology, a leading provider of web-based software developed specifically for human services organizations.

If you're among the hundreds of community-based providers looking to transition to electronic record-keeping without breaking the bank, you cannot afford to miss this webinar. Foothold's software, AWARDS, has helped more than 600 behavioral health and human service agencies track their services and bill more accurately, resulting in increased revenue and a higher quality of care.

In addition to offering all the elements of a full Electronic Health Record -- demographics, service plans, progress notes, outcomes, etc. -- AWARDS can support every aspect of an agency's operations, from facilities maintenance to human resources -- and provide integrated fiscal reports and billing to keep you in compliance with government and other funding sources. And as a vendor certified for Meaningful Use, Foothold can help you collect up to $63,750 in federal incentive funds if you qualify. Join us for this complimentary webinar and see how one hour online could save your agency thousands of dollars.

Cut Costs, not Corners: An Electronic Record that Pays for Itself
Wednesday, May 1st, 2:00pm EDT
REGISTER HERE

Big Duck are fans of the phrase "ladder of engagement". Not just because they love a good nerdy metaphor, but also because the concept is both clear and powerful.

The idea is that your nonprofit will be more successful at getting people to become major donors if you ask them to engage in quick and easy ways first, rather than going for a donation straight out of the gate.

After getting supporters to take small, simple actions, you gradually move them "up the ladder" by asking them to do bigger, more meaningful things over time. Continue reading here.

JobSource: A New Employment Portal for Older Workers

This month, the National Council on Again (NCOA) has released a new website to help older adults find employment and training resources. JobSource includes skill assessments, free and low-cost training, and job search tools. Visit JobSource here.

UJA-Federation of New York's Task Force on Family Violence

• Human trafficking is a $32 billion industry.
• Jewish women and girls were trafficked for sex to the Americans as part of the "white slave trade.
• The average age of entry into prostitution is 13.   

Attend this all-day conference to explore the history and obligation to combat sex-trafficking. This conference is open to all and will provide essential information for social-service, legal, and medical professionals; Jewish clergy, rabbinical students, and educators; lay leaders and all those interested in learning more about this form of modern day slavery.

Monday, April 22, 2013

8:30am-5:00pm

UJA-Federation of New York, Seventh-Floor Conference Center

130 East 59th Street, New York City

Debby Perelmuter, Vice President of Services to the Jewish Community and The Jewish Child Care Association (JCCA) has been involved in the planning of the conference, and one of JCCA's treatment programs, Gateways, for trafficked women is being featured, in the last part of the day.