Friday, June 25, 2010

A Match Made at JFS!



Last weekend, JFS staff members helped orchestrate a marriage proposal for one of our volunteers! The romantic tale began on a Sunday morning in November 2007 when Mark Schwartz came to JFS to sort food at the JFS Weinberg Food Pantry through the Jewish Hikes and Fun Stuff Meetup Group. While he had participated in activities with this group before, he had never met Tracy Levy until this day. They became friends and ran into each other a few times at various events over the next couple years. Then, Mark and Tracy both attended a hiking group potluck this past October and began dating.

During their whirlwind romance, Mark also started volunteering with JFS on a regular basis as a Friendly Visitor to a man living with AIDS. "Mark was so dedicated to this client right up until the man passed away in November," says Nancy Benyamin, JFS director of volunteer resources. "The two became very close and Mark even wrote a very touching eulogy for the client."

"It was such a rewarding experience and I look forward to volunteering more in the future with JFS," says Mark. Tracy also plans to be a Friendly Visitor volunteer in the near future.

"Because I am sentimental, I decided to propose to Tracy at the location where we met - in the JFS lobby!" says Mark. "I called Nancy Benyamin last Thursday and asked her to help me set up the proposal." So Nancy sent an email to Mark and Tracy with an urgent plea for volunteers to come sort a large (and fictitious) shipment of food on Sunday morning. Mark promised to get Tracy there at 9 a.m. on Sunday and we would help with the rest of the plan. He also had a beautiful bouquet of roses sent to our office on Friday to present to Tracy after the proposal.


Jari Thymian, our database manager, jumped at the chance to help with the proposal on Sunday morning. She unlocked the door for Mark and Tracy when they arrived and then acted very perplexed when no one else showed up to volunteer. She told them she was going to her desk to see if any of the other volunteers left messages for her. Her exit was Mark's cue to do his thing! He got down on one knee, Tracy happily accepted his proposal, and Jari emerged from around the corner with the bouquet of flowers.

"It was so fun to play a role in their engagement!" says Jari. "I was honored to help and it was fun to 'ham it up!'" Mark adds, "Jari was awesome! Thanks to her and Nancy, the surprise went off without a hitch."


Congratulations to Mark and Tracy! Hmmmm....maybe a JFS wedding is in their future? The upstairs atrium is pretty big! :)

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Youth Corp Volunteer Gives Tour of Weinberg Food Pantry

Enjoy this video of one of our Youth Corp volunteers, Emma Theis, giving a tour of the Weinberg Food Pantry and sharing some of her volunteer responsibilities!




Friday, June 11, 2010

Two Cities Across the Globe Working Together for the Same Cause: Disability and Employment Services


On Wednesday, June 2nd, SHALOM Denver enjoyed a visit from Alejandra Goldschmidt, CEO of IDEL in Buenos Aires, Argentina. IDEL is a fellow member of the International Association of Jewish Vocational Services (IAJVS). IDEL provides employment and training services to Jewish people with developmental disabilities in Buenos Aires and is supported by Israel Elwyn programs, based in Philadelphia and Israel.

While in Denver with her son, Juan, to visit family, Alejandra spent a few hours at SHALOM Denver learning about its Disability and Employment Services. Arnie Kover, Director of Disability and Employment Services for JFS, proudly showed Alejandra around the facility so she could see clients working on mailing, packaging, and assembly projects. He also described the agency's long and rich history of serving people with disabilities in Denver. Alejandra met many of SHALOM’s clients and staff and was very impressed with our services and our facility, saying that "she hoped that her small program in Argentina could someday serve so many people in so many ways."

Arnie says, "We are always proud to show people what we do here at SHALOM Denver and to have an 'international' colleague tour our facility was extra special for all of us." We look forward to trading information with Alejandra and helping each other in the future.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Spring Has Sprung at the JFS Group Home!

This spring, the JFS Group Home had several visits from elementary student groups. In April, Risa Aqua brought kids from her 6th grade religious school class at B'nai Havurah to hang out with the residents. They brought snacks, played Bingo, and chatted with the residents. "I enjoyed the field trip!" says Risa. "It was my first time to the Group Home. It was a delightful experience and I would take other classes back in a heartbeat."

Later that month, Samantha Baumgarten brought her 5th grade religous school class (also from B'nai Havurah) to do yard and patio clean-up and get the flower beds ready for planting. Herzl 4th graders took over where they left off by going to the Group Home to plant flowers in early May.


You may remember our blog post in April about Herzl 4th graders choosing JFS as their mitzvah project for the year. Planting flowers at the Group Home was the culmination of this year-long project. Rayna Halzel, a parent who went on the field trip, says, "I found this to be one of the more useful and meaningful field trips to date. It was informative for both students and parents and the kids enjoyed planting the flowers to make the yard look pretty."

Last Friday, Dawn Richard, JFS development director, attended a Kabbalat Shabbat service where all the Herzl classes presented checks to the organizations for whom they raised money during the school year. The 4th graders gave Jewish Family Service a beautiful poster (shown below) and a check for $113, which was the remaining money after they bought the rice they bagged for the Weinberg Food Pantry.


As a way to thank and recognize the Herzl 4th graders, we invited them to come to our Annual Meeting on June 28th to share their experiences with our supporters. If you haven't already RSVP'd for this event, please do so now so you don't miss out!