The program features 5 components, including On the Go Excursions, providing organized outings throughout the San Diego area and Rides & Smiles volunteer drivers for personal appointments. 


 
Clients pay an enrollment fee and services range from donation-based to private pay, including a premium service offering a distinct pricing package based on distance and duration.  JFS of San Diego has also developed a software program to organize ride scheduling and volunteer hours. To learn more about On the Go, visit the JFS San Diego website or contact Meredith Morgenroth, Director of Transportation.


Older adult services are an ever growing focus of Jewish social service agencies. AJFCA's goal is to highlight exemplary programs across the U.S. and Canada to acknowledge agency expertise and share successful models with our network. Share your programming triumphs with Liz today! 

  

Leah Mueller, LBSW, Senior Services Coordinator at Jewish Family Service of Houston, was recently part of a meeting with Mayor Parker regarding the System Benefits Fund, known as Lite Up Texas. Also attending the meeting was Debra Danburg, Former State Representative Harris County, Carol Biedrzycki, Executive Director Texas Rose (Ratepayers' Organization to Save Energy), Laurie Glaze, Executive Director Texas One Voice and Joshua Reynolds, Director Care for Elders. The Lite Up Texas Fund provides discounts over the summer to help low-income households with electric bills to free up funds for other necessities (i.e. medicine) for our clients.



Leah requested that the Mayor's Office contact the various electric companies serving the Houston area to ask them to join a coalition to recreate the System Benefit Fund outside of the state treasury and to host a working group to draft a new System Benefit Fund statue which would ask other city's mayors and the Houston Delegation (House and State Senate) to sponsor and support this fund. Carol and Debra will go to the mayors of Dallas and Corpus Christi to request their support as these cities represent the other large deregulated markets. Mayor Parker agreed to host a meeting with the electrical companies to begin the process and she also plans to contact Representative Turner's office since he is the lead on this issue.

  

James Klinghoffer, a well-known philanthropist recent made a $50,000 donation to Jewish Family Service of Atlantic & Cape May Counties' nursing and nutrition program that bears his name. A staunch supporter of JFS since the 1970s, he is responsible for initiating the James Klinghoffer Nursing & Nutrition Program, a vital, four-year-old program that provides older adults with support for maintaining a healthy and balance diet. This support includes much-needed dietary assessments as well as help with obtaining groceries.



One important piece of the Klinghoffer Nursing & Nutrition Program involves helping seniors with grocery shopping. Many seniors cannot get to a supermarket, have strained financial resources, and/or have a limited capacity to shop for themselves. Thanks to the program, many such seniors get the assistance they need with grocery shopping and delivery. The program also helps support three nurses on the JFS staff who specialize in diabetes care, heart disease, illness education and nutrition planning. These nurses act as medical advocates, providing seniors with in-home health assessments, ongoing coordination of care, and general assistance with dietary needs. Continue reading here.

Calls & Webinars

Visit  AJFCA's Calendar
to learn more about free calls and webinars. For more information login to the Member Resources section of the AJFCA website, followed by Webinars. Contact Megan at 410-843-7327 with questions.

Sept., 10th, 8pm ET REGISTER HERE

Lee I. Sherman

President/CEO

As I write this week's message, we are nearing the end of a 72 hour truce between Israel and Hamas. We all hope that the hostilities will not re-escalate, resulting in more trauma and casualties for all parties. It is also a time to breathe a little, step back and reflect on the events of the past month. For me, I am not only impressed and thankful for the individual commitment of the Israeli soldiers, but also overwhelmed at the almost unanimous support and concern of the Israeli people for their fighting forces. The funerals of a number of the fallen soldiers were attended by thousands, many of whom did not personally know the deceased. The power of community to embrace each individual has never been more strongly felt.
 
In this week's parashah, Va-ethannan, the people of Israel continue their preparation for entering their new home and their first view of Israel. They are just east of the Jordan River and no doubt anxious for their journey to end. But, despite the years of wandering in the desert, there is still some necessary preparation before they enter the land. This week's reading contains some of the most powerful language in Torah. The words of the Shema are read this week, a prayer that resonates with all Jews and which reinforces the covenantal relationship with God. This week's parashah also repeats the Ten Commandments, ensuring that this new generation which will build a nation in the Promised Land will remember and incorporate the laws revealed many years earlier at Mt. Sinai. The message is clear. The laws of Torah are personal for all, and each individual is equally responsible for the commitment to Torah and to one another.  

There is an ongoing discussion in Jewish organizations about connecting individuals to the broader community. How are Jews across the Diaspora and in Israel, across all denominational lines, connected to one another? What is it that we share, if anything? How do we stay responsive to the individual, but continue to build community? War is the last venue in which we want to search for answers to these questions. But, this is the world in which we find ourselves. This is the situation from which we can rally as a people and support one another. Just as Moses instructs in this week's parashah, it is the mitzvot and their underlying values which were transmitted to us all at Mt. Sinai that bind us. We are all included ; we must all ensure that we forget no one.  

Have a peaceful Shabbat.

Congressional recesses provide an excellent opportunity for you to visit your legislators and their staff in their home offices (or invite them to your own agencies) and talk about your agency's priorities. In addition to your own priorities, we encourage you to ask your Members of Congress to support the Emergency Food and Shelter Program, Holocaust Survivors, the ABLE (Achieving a Better Experience) Act, and funding for the Office of Refugee Resettlement to address unaccompanied children at our border. Please click here for a full explanation of these items including background materials and sample letters. Contact Shelley Rood if you have any questions and let us know about the outcome of your meetings!

Bet Tzedek's Holocaust Survivors Justice Network is hosting a webinar for social service professionals to discuss the recent amendment to the ZRBG "ghetto pension" law, which expands the number of eligible ghettos and allows pension recipients to elect to receive a pension recalculated (and paid retroactively to) July 1, 1997. Click here to learn more about the webinar.

Thursday, August 14th, 12:30pm ET - REGISTER HERE

Join professionals from four AJFCA agencies as they recreate a popular 2014 AJFCA Annual Conference workshop. Presenters will relay their experiences in working with programs at their agencies aimed at teens, families and young adults. Listen to what works to attract and retain young donors to support your agency. The webinar will focus on:

• using an agency program to promote community outreach and engagement,
• creating hands-on experiences to engage younger donors on a deeper level, 
• messaging the value of engaging with the agency in a way that resonate with younger donors, and 
• creating opportunities to link the donor's engagement with their Jewish values.