His daughter gave him the slim Nexus tablet a couple of years ago. Fred Kanter already was using a computer with ease - but somehow, that knowledge didn't translate to the handheld device. "Every once in a while, she'd ask me about it," he said - and that was a little awkward. "I'd try to play with it, but I never succeeded."

All that changed in February when Fred, 90, met 18-year-old Nathan Dahlen, co-founder of the Collat Jewish Family Service of Birmingham Cyber-Seniors program.  Five weeks into the eight-week program, Fred was using his tablet to track his investments, exchange emails, keep up with the news, play solitaire and Google whatever he pleased.



The class came about through pure serendipity:

CJFS supporters Lyons Heyman and Ricki Koslin wanted to find a way to bring the transformative power of the Internet to more older adults in Birmingham. Learn more here.

Jewish Family Service of Cincinnati was recently awarded a $15,000 grant to help low-income seniors receive nutrition assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). JFS is one of three Jewish agencies nationally selected for the initiative, called Solutions to Senior Hunger.



"We're all about social justice and making sure there's equity for all people," said Beth Schwartz, president and CEO of the family service. "If we don't speak loudly about our elders and make sure that we're raising
awareness about these issues and these barriers for them, who will? Food insecurity among seniors is a hidden but prevalent problem, JFS says. One in seven U.S. seniors over the age of 60 live in poverty, and 5.4 million seniors are food insecure, according to statistics from Mazon, a non-profit Jewish organization committed to ending hunger in the
United States and Israel. Learn more here.

For more than 30 years, Ohef Sholom Temple Men's Club has bestowed the Henry B. Kaufmann Award upon a congregant for extraordinary service to the temple and the Community at large. Henry B. Kaufmann, an accountant by trade, was extremely active in Men's Club and the temple and was a devoted volunteer for civic clubs throughout the city, as well as an active fundraiser for the Heart Association, Cancer and Arthritis Foundations. The Men's Club established this memorial to him to honor his exemplary service to the community, his devotion to Ohef Sholom Temple and his love for Judaism.



This year, the Men's Club will honor Linda S. Spindel, AJFCA Board Member and former Board President of Jewish Family Service of Tidewater, VA, as the 2016 Henry B. Kaufmann Award recipient. She and her husband Ron Spindel, who is an extraordinary volunteer in his own right, are the parents of Jeff Spindel, of blessed memory, and Kevin and wife Jennifer Spindel, and the very proud grandparents of Jordan Brooke and Jacob Tyler Spindel.