Reminder: Bring Your Canned Food to High Holy Day Services!

While you are fasting for one day on Yom Kippur, many people in our community experience hunger year-round. This weekend when you attend holiday services at your synagogue, please remember to bring your canned food donations for the Weinberg Food Pantry. This year we are serving a larger number of people at the Pantry. More than ever, we need your help to provide nutritious food to people in need. If you do not attend services, please drop food off at JFS, 3201 S. Tamarac Dr. in Denver.

Below is the Pantry’s Top 10 List. Please add as many of these items to your shopping list as you can to ensure that those struggling in our community can have a sweet New Year.

1. Canned vegetables
2. Canned fruit
3. Protein (such as canned tuna, envelopes of tuna, and canned salmon)
4. Canned soup
5. Spaghetti and tomato sauce
6. Cereal
7. Full-sized toiletries
8. Dry soup
9. Diapers
10. Grocery store gift certificates

The Pantry’s ability to purchase items through Food Bank of the Rockies allows a dollar to go many times further than at the grocery store, so cash donations to the Weinberg Food Pantry are always welcome! Please mail checks to the JFS office or donate online.

If you have any questions, please contact David Rabb, Weinberg Food Pantry manager, at (303) 597. 5000, x359.

Staff Reflections on Rosh Hashanah

This morning, Dawn Richard, JFS development director, sent a very touching email to staff, board, and supporters. We want to share her message with you...

Today is Erev Rosh Hashanah, the start of a New Year. We look back and we look forward. Trying to become better people. Honoring our world and those around us.

This morning when I walked into the JFS building I looked straight ahead and locked eyes with a young single mother sitting on one of the benches in our lobby with her 1 year old daughter. The fear in her eyes could be felt, and I’m not one for the dramatic. I said, “Hello” and made my way to my office to start my day.

Yet their faces stuck. I couldn’t help myself. I went back downstairs and sat next to the scared mother and asked her if she would share her story with me and how she came to be waiting for our intake counselor at the Weinberg Food Pantry. She told me she is unemployed, a single mother, and she was lucky that she had a friend who told her about JFS. She needs help and she is scared. She is hoping we can help her with food and other safety net services to help her get back on her feet. We will. That is what we do. That is what JFS does.

I know the world has changed dramatically for most of us this past year. Thanks to all of you for the support you continue to give in our community. That is what you can continue to do. I am proud and honored to continue to provide whatever help I can through Jewish Family Service and to work with you, our dedicated leadership and supporters. Thank you and L’Shana Tova, a sweet and healthy year to all. -Dawn Richard

Upon receiving Dawn's email, many other staff members responded including Arnie Kover, director of disability services. Here is his message...

I too have similar thoughts today as I read a thank you letter from one of our TANF (Temporary Aid to Needy Families) clients who, along with her husband and two daughters are homeless. She and her husband are both here receiving work experience services at SHALOM, with the goal of being employed in the near future. The letter she and her husband wrote is to a long-time friend and supporter of our agency, who donated 4 tickets to each of two preseason Bronco games. We gave 4 tickets to one of the games to these 2 clients and their kids.

To quote just one part of the letter, “We really enjoyed ourselves in a time of our life when we are struggling in our everyday life, so it was time taken away from our thoughts of struggle. We can not thank you enough for the relief and the fun we had at the game.”

I think this letter says it all…. about how we impact the lives of so many on a daily basis. At this time of year and every day I reflect on my life, how I have treated others and my many blessings, but I am also grateful, every day, for the opportunity, through our work, to serve families like the one who wrote this letter. L’Shana Tova, meaning, have a sweet new year, to all of our board and supporters. -Arnie Kover

JFS Reaches Out to Isolated Seniors During the High Holy Days

During Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the Jewish New Year and High Holy Days, Jewish Family Service (JFS) reaches out to isolated Jewish seniors in a variety of ways to ensure that they have a meaningful holiday season.

Throughout the month of September, JFS has been leading High Holy Day services for Jewish residents of long-term care facilities, assisted living facilities, a mental health center, and four correctional institutions in metro Denver. Services are led by Donna Lutz, JFS Nursing Home Outreach coordinator; Rabbi Eliot Baskin, JFS Jewish community chaplain; and 12 JFS Bikur Cholim volunteer para-chaplains.

Elise Zakroff, a teacher and community volunteer, also wants to ensure that Jewish seniors have a sweet New Year. For many years, Elise and her daughter's classmates have created holiday "goody bags" complete with apples, honey sticks, candy, and homemade cards for JFS to distribute to its senior clients who otherwise wouldn't celebrate the High Holy Days. This year, the 8th grade girls of Hillel Academy created more than 40 bags that the JFS Senior Solutions care managers are distributing to their clients.

JFS Board Member Receives Prestigious Volunteer Awards

Dean Prina, M.D. was recognized as a 7 Everyday Hero last night on KMGH-TV 7's newscast and tonight he will receive Metro Volunteers' Heart of Volunteerism award. We will post a link to the 7News piece as soon as it's available on our Facebook page.

He serves as a board member and development chair at JFS. Dr. Prina was one of the first non-Jewish board members and plays an integral role in planning and executing our annual fundraising events, Reel Hope and JFS Executive Luncheon.

Dr. Prina, a pediatrician at Partners in Pediatrics, is well-deserving of these awards as he has been involved with numerous nonprofit boards including The Denver Foundation, The Women's Foundation of Colorado, The Rose Community Foundation, The Chinook Fund, The Girl Scouts Mile High Council, Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, The Denver Film Society, Colorado Public Radio, Judi's House, College Summit, the Lab for Art and Ideas at Belmar, Project PAVE, Metro Volunteers, and The Logan School.

We're proud that someone so well-known and active in the community has chosen to volunteer at our agency. Congratulations, Dr. Prina! We love your style and appreciate all that you do for JFS!!!

September 11th: National Day of Service and Remembrance

In April 2009, President Obama signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act into law, which states that September 11th be officially recognized as Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance.

According to serve.gov, "The tragic events of September 11, 2001 inspired Americans to come together in a remarkable spirit of unity and compassion. It was a stark reminder that our fate as individuals is inherently tied to the fate of our nation. Eight years later, September 11 continues to evoke strong emotion and is an homage to sacrifice and a call to action."

If you are looking for ways to answer the president's call to serve your community, you can check out the volunteer opportunities at JFS.

The Jewish Disabilities Network's Picnic at Westlands Park

The Jewish Disabilities Network (JDN) hosted its fifth annual summer picnic at Westlands Park in Greenwood Village on Sunday, August 30th. JDN provides a single-point-of-entry to case management, information and referral, recreational activities, and Jewish cultural and educational opportunities for Jewish individuals with disabilities, and provides associated services to their families.

About 55 people – 15 families, four of the JFS Group Home residents, and a few staff members – attended the late-afternoon picnic. Participants ranged in age from five months to 80 years old! A couple families also brought dogs, which were a big hit. The weather was a bit ominous that day – it threatened to rain all day and did rain for the first half-hour of the party, but it didn’t deter people from enjoying the festivities. It helped that they were under a covered shelter, too!

Everyone was asked to introduce themselves and share something with the group. Some brought a meaningful item to show, such as a favorite book or photo, and others told interesting tidbits about themselves. After this ice breaker, everyone enjoyed the delicious, authentic Jewish food from East Side Kosher Deli that the JDN provided. Since this event is a true community effort, each family brought a non-food item such as a tablecloth or paper goods. The beautiful park setting with flowers and a lake, Jewish music playing in the background, and bubbles on the tables created a fun party environment.

“This picnic is one of our most popular events of the year because people love the relaxing atmosphere of the park and hanging out with other families,” says Adina Krausz, JDN coordinator. “It is like a casual support group where participants get good tidbits from each other about navigating the disability systems.”

In addition to socializing with old friends and meeting new friends, the guests created picture frames out of plastic CD cases by decorating the cases with jewels, tiles, and mirrors. JDN staff then took family portraits so everyone would have a photo for their frames!

One parent who attended the picnic said, “Thanks for another great event. It is always nice to get together with the other JDN families. How very relaxing to be in a social situation and not have to worry about how others view you.”

Men's Groups, Walking Programs, and Barbeques, Oh, My!

This summer has been busy for the senior residents of Sheridan Glen and Edgewater Plaza thanks to Colorado Senior Connections. Colorado Senior Connections is a program that enhances the physical and emotional well-being of elderly apartment residents by providing wellness, recreational, social, physical, and mental health services, as well as resources to outside community agencies.

Through Colorado Senior Connections, seniors continue to grow and learn, remain independent, and enhance their quality of life by making new friends and creating a sense of community. Some of the activities occupying the Sheridan Glen and Edgewater Plaza residents’ time over the past few months include:


Coffee and Conversation with Big Ron
Some of the men at Sheridan Glen and Edgewater Plaza requested that a community program be created that focused on their needs. Starting in June, Ron Crowell, the home-based services coordinator at JFS, began the group, “Coffee and Conversation with Big Ron.” This men’s group meets once a month to discuss a variety of topics that range from their families to being war veterans, and often includes field trips like fishing at Georgetown Lake. This group not only offers much needed support, but provides the participants with the opportunity to socialize with other men living in their community.

Sound Steps Program
At the beginning of summer, a walking program dubbed “Sound Steps” was created to encourage seniors to get exercise while socializing. The seniors received incentives such as reusable tote bags, pedometers, and id wallets for meeting their fitness goals. The residents recently celebrated the end of this successful program at an end of summer barbeque.

Barbeque Parties
Edgewater Plaza and Sheridan Glen both had their first-annual barbeque parties in August. The residents were encouraged to play horseshoes while munching on hamburgers and hot dogs. Both facilities celebrated the end of the Sound Steps program and Edgewater Plaza welcomed its new manager, Jennifer Saenez-Rico. Nearly 30 residents attended each barbeque party and both were deemed a success!