"The highest degree of charity is to take hold of persons who have been crushed...to find work for them and thus put them on their feet so that they will not be dependent upon others." (Moses Maimonides, 1135-1204) |
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FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S DESK
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With summer just around the corner, I am pleased to share with you some JVS highlights. I would also like to remind you that the JVS annual gala, Taste & Toast!, will be held June 10th at the Crystal Plaza, where we will honor Matthew D. Gewirtz, Senior Rabbi of Congregation B'nai Jeshurun, Short Hills, and will be presenting the JVS Community Partner Award to The Wallerstein Foundation for Geriatric Life Improvement. There are still a limited number of tickets available for this wonderful evening, and we look forward to seeing many of you there. Because of the overwhelming request from members of our community to place ads in the Commemorative Journal, we are extending the deadline, and will print a supplement to the journal this year. For further details about Taste & Toast! please contact Katie Mendelsohn at (973)674-6330, ext. 256 or kmendelsohn@jvsnj.org.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank our outgoing President, Howard Jacobs, who has been an outstanding leader and supporter of JVS throughout his tenure. He has been a tremendous help to me and his input has been invaluable. I look forward to working with Sid Seligman, our incoming President.
In the ever-changing world of connectivity and social media, JVS is constantly upgrading and adapting to the dynamic environment. This means teaching new skills to our clients to help them become job-ready, utilizing the most updated software available for desktop computers, and also introducing apps available on tablets, iPads and smart phones. Through a variety of foundation grants, JVS has purchased 22 iPads over the past year to be used by clients in the Career Center, rehabilitation department and English as a Second Language (ESL) classes.
Keeping the agency on the cutting edge also means that our various social media platforms and our website need to be constantly upgraded and expanded; you can now find JVS on Facebook and LinkedIn as well as at www.jvsnj.org. In the near future, we will add Twitter. We are in the final stages of launching the JVS blog, which will feature articles of interest, along with photos and video, representing all of the agency's departments.
As we begin to plan events to celebrate our 75th year which will begin in November 2014, I am asking that you consider reinvesting in the future of JVS so that we can not only maintain our present level of service, but expand our programs to meet the rapidly changing employment world that our clients are entering. JVS is there to help... whether it is a recent college graduate who is looking for his/her first job and a career path; a mature adult who immediately needs to find a new job to support his or her family and requires upgraded skills; a young adult diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder trying to learn social skills and job-readiness skills on the road to independence; or an émigré arriving in this wonderful land of opportunity and requiring ESL classes and a counselor to help him/her navigate the myriad of paperwork required to apply for services and employment. Also, the agency's Custom Production Services, works with clients with severe disabilities that make it difficult for them to work in a traditional setting. The Joseph L. Weinberg Rehabilitation Workshop is a magical environment for adults who call JVS their second home.
With the realization that federal, state and local funding is being reduced, I am turning to you for additional help. Please consider making a donation, so that JVS can continue to provide services to over 16,000 people annually. Your support is needed more than ever and you can provide it by clicking Donate Now. I truly appreciate anything you can do to help us at this critical juncture. As always, thank you for your continued support of JVS.
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  JVS is honoring Rabbi Matthew D. Gewirtz, Senior Rabbi of Congregation B'Nai Jeshurun, Short Hills on Monday, June 10 at the Crystal Plaza in Livingston. The JVS Community Partner Award will be presented to The Wallerstein Foundation for Geriatric Life Improvement.
To purchase tickets to this event contact Katie Mendelsohn at kmendelsohn@jvsnj.org or 973-674-6330 x256
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As part of their World Autism Awareness Day coverage, CNN broadcast a piece on the JVS Career Center for adults diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder featuring Maestro David Dworkin's Conductorcise® program on CNN Headline News (HLN). Kicking off their ongoing coverage for National Autism Month, the video clip now archived on the CNN website features interviews with Dworkin and Lauren Klein, Coordinator of Rehabilitation Services at JVS, along with clips of clients and staff exercising during the Conductorcise session taped on March 12th at JVS. Click here to view the video.
Dworkin has run sessions for the JVS Career Camp for teens with an autism spectrum disorder in previous summers. With baton (or chopstick) in hand, one moves just like an orchestra conductor during a Conductorcise workout. It has been overwhelmingly embraced by the clients of the camp and now by those of the Career Center. Although designed for people of all ages and abilities, its sensory appeal works well for those with an autism spectrum disorder.
For more information about both the JVS Career Center and upcoming summer Career Camp contact: Lauren Klein, LKlein@jvsnj.org, 973-674-6330 x237.
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A core program of JVS, and a longtime point of pride for the agency, has been its instruction in English as a Second Language (ESL). These classes provide essential language skills for émigrés and other non-native English speakers. JVS teachers have found that many ESL students who are parents of school-age children report difficulty in communicating with the children's teachers and overseeing their schoolwork. The majority of these students are women. That's where the Empowered Mothers Advocacy Program (EMAP) comes in. This new program, funded by a grant from the Jewish Women's Foundation of New Jersey, serves as a model of how the parents can navigate their children's public school system. Using a comprehensive curriculum JVS specifically developed for this program, EMAP teacher Laura DeCesare-Preziosi conducts a series of interactive activities, solely in English, to facilitate this goal. Activities include: discussions about American educational culture, including establishing a homework and bedtime schedule; vocabulary skill-building, in the form of conversations using key words in textbooks from the EMAP students' children; and role-playing focused on the children's education, using schoolteacher/student, school counselor/student and social worker/student pairs. The curriculum is also being used in JVS' ESL classes at the Central Campus Community School in Orange.
DeCesare-Preziosi reports even greater success with the pilot program than she'd hoped for. "Students are coming back to JVS for [EMAP] even though many graduated from the regular ESL classes, and their progress is really showing," she notes. One important lesson learned is the need to make all material topical; a particular focus was placed on social media issues, with mothers receiving guidance on how to spot cyber bullying and advise their children how to avoid it.
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As part of the Wellness Works services available to our clients in the rehabilitation department, Dental Lifeline Network is now coming to JVS and offering dental examinations, routine cleanings and other dental services such as filling cavities and performing extractions. The dentist also participated in the annual JVS Health Fair. One client at the Health Fair was identified with a possible cancerous oral cyst. These on-site preventive screenings and routine medical services continue to help our clients remain healthy.
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JOIN OUR LINKEDIN GROUP
To Enhance Your Job Search | |
Expand your network by joining the JVS LinkedIn group at JVS-MetroWest Synagogue Jobs Connection, where you will find a current list of job openings. JVS will no longer be using MWJobs.org. If you would like to post a job lead, please contact Marty Katz at mkatz@jvsnj.org, 973-674-6330 x270 or Beverly Feldman at bfeldman@jvsnj.org, 973-674-6330 x308
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JVS Through the Years
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2006 JVS Wine & Foods of The World
Honoring Howard Jacobs and Mort Bunis and chaired by Michael Wolfson
Click here to learn more about the history of JVS.
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JVS is a beneficiary agency of the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ
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| :In This Issue |
JVS rehabilitation clients now have a dentist "in the house."
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| Job Seeker Programs
Upcoming Events
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Job Seekers Programs
Held every other Thursday at the Aidekman Family Campus, Whippany.
Contact Beverly Feldman 973-674-6330, ext. 308 to RSVP. Click here for June 11 Where to Go Next Community Career Seminar.
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