Weinberg Food Pantry Becoming More Like a Supermarket!

Did you know that the JFS Weinberg Food Pantry provides emergency food assistance to an average of 1,800 individuals per month? Until now, we have given every individual a pre-packed box of food according to family size. However, the Pantry manager realized that giving everyone the same box of food is like giving everyone a size six shoe; one size does not fit all. Plus, statistics show that an average of 40% of each pre-packed food box gets wasted because recipients don't like the same kind of foods or have specific diet restrictions.

Beginning next week, the Pantry will become a "choice" pantry, allowing clients to "shop" for their own food and choose the items they want and will consume. "Not only does this new system cut down on waste, but gives clients more dignity by allowing them to select the items they know they will use," says David Rabb, Pantry manager.

The Pantry staff and volunteers have been busy this week reorganizing the shelves and hanging signs that indicate the items and how many of each the clients will receive (based on family size). David also conducted a staff and volunteer training to ensure a smooth transition. "We are very excited about the new Choice Pantry, but we are prepared to handle challenges associated with the new system of operations," says David. Once everything is running smoothly, David plans to host a grand opening in the next couple months to showcase the new Pantry for donors and board members.

Is One of Your New Year's Resolutions to Start Volunteering?

So you answered yes to the above question, but you don't know where to start? JFS is currently seeking volunteers for our Bikur Cholim (Visiting the Sick) Para-chaplain Program.

Bikur Cholim para-chaplains provide spiritual support and a Jewish connection through holiday services and regular visits to isolated members of the Jewish community, such as residents in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, prisons, and hospitals.

In order to be a para-chaplain, volunteers must be Jewish, but do not need an extensive Jewish education. If you wish to lead services, you will need a more extensive Jewish background, but there are other rewarding options available such as being a visitor in a nursing home, assisted living facility, or private home.

You may still be wondering if this volunteer opportunity is for you. To help answer this question, we asked some of our current para-chaplains to share their stories and experiences. We hope you enjoy the following excerpts:

"I've often wondered about the statement that I heard in para-chaplain training and at other times that 'I get more out of doing this than the clients I serve.' But after doing this for several years, I understand it, because it's true. It's very rewarding work. People really appreciate what you do for them and I'm always learning something new and interesting."
-Jay Miller

“I just love veterans, especially the Jewish veteran I visit at the State Veteran’s Nursing Home! He and I celebrate Shabbat together every Friday, which is a gift to me to meet with him. We sing loudly and others just look at us wondering what we are singing as we light electric Shabbat candles, drink grape juice, and eat challah together. I bring one of my dogs along each week. Just to see his face light up when he sees me with the dog is such a joy to my heart! My visits remind me to cherish the simple moments; they are indeed the most humbling and the most treasured. I adore being a para-chaplain with Jewish Family Service. These, too, are the special moments in my life.”
-Anshel Bomberger

“I am assigned to visit a gentleman at a nursing home who is 99. One day, I went to visit him and he said ‘I am so glad that you called and came to see me, I was hoping that you would.’ Before that I really didn’t know how he felt about my visits. On another recent visit, he had this huge chocolate bar and he said that he remembered that I like chocolate (his mind is really sharp - it amazes me) and he was waiting to share it with me! He does talk a lot about being ready to die and I assure him that he is entitled to those feelings, and that it’s okay for him to tell me about it. To me it is so rewarding that I can fill the extraordinary need to be the person with whom he can share these feelings!”
- Barbara Goldstein

If this volunteer opportunity appeals to you, we urge you to sign up for the 2010 para-chaplain training on April 14, 21, 29, and May 6, 5:30-8:30 p.m. at JFS, 3201 S. Tamarac Dr. Training is provided by Donna Lutz, Nursing Home Outreach coordinator; Rabbi Eliot Baskin, JFS community chaplain; Nancy Benyamin, JFS director of volunteer services; and expert guest speakers.

For more information or to sign up for the training, please contact Nancy Benyamin at (303) 597.5000 x369.

If being a para-chaplain doesn’t suit you, check out the host of other exciting and rewarding volunteer opportunities at JFS!

Yeshiva University Students Visit SHALOM Denver

As part of a recent leadership trip across the Midwest, 19 students from Yeshiva University in New York toured SHALOM Denver, a division of Jewish Family Service. While the students enjoyed kosher pizza, Ezra Shanken, Allied Jewish Federation’s senior manager of the Young Adult Department, presented information about young Jewish leaders in Denver.

Arnie Kover, JFS director of disability and employment services, talked about JFS’s disability services including SHALOM Denver, SHALOM Jeffco, the JFS Group Home, and the Jewish Disabilities Network. Two SHALOM Denver employees and former TANF (Temporary Aid to Needy Families) recipients told their stories about how SHALOM Denver was instrumental in teaching them employment skills and helping them get on the road to self-sufficiency.

The students then split up into four groups and spent time volunteering at different locations. Some worked with clients on mailing and assembly projects on the work floor at SHALOM Denver, while others helped clients with disabilities create craft projects. Several students painted at SHALOM Jeffco and the rest did some touch-up painting, cleaning, raking, and organizing at the Group Home.

They all met back at SHALOM Denver to discuss their experiences. “Everyone had a great time, met a range of clients, and learned more about the disabilities services that JFS offers,” says Arnie Kover.

Group Home Residents Mourn the Passing of Audrey Reich

We are sad to report that Audrey Reich, an original JFS Group Home resident, passed away earlier this week at the age of 81. She endured various health challenges in recent years, but just kept on “doing her thing” with gusto until last week. Over the past week, her health conditions took a bad turn and she passed, easily and peacefully, with the support of her family, our dedicated staff, fellow residents, and support from Beth Nehamah Hospice services.

The Group Home residents and JFS staff will miss Audrey immensely. Arnie Kover, director of disability and employment services says, “We will always remember her passion for shopping (she was a fashionable thrift store maven) and eating out (even enjoying a cocktail on her very special 80th birthday dinner), her love for her Group Home family, and especially how she used the words, ‘you’re delicious’ to express her affection for those especially close to her.”

Thanks to all of you who made Audrey's 27 years living at our Group Home extra special!

How the Jewish Disabilities Network Helped the Lazaroff Family

In honor of Jewish Disability Awareness Month, and in preparation for Jewish Disabilities Awareness Day on February 21st, we want to share a letter from Anna Lazaroff, a Jewish Disabilities Network (JDN) client’s mother, about her experiences with the JDN.

Our son, Andy, moved into an apartment of his own about two years ago. The idea of Andy moving out of our family home was difficult for all of us to imagine and to accept. I felt a need to explore a few different living arrangements that are options for developmentally disabled people before I could feel confident that living in an apartment of his own was the best choice for him. I also needed to feel that he would not be socially isolated, and that he would continue to see friends and participate in community activities.

Throughout this transition, the JDN staff members at SHALOM Denver encouraged us and helped us make progress toward the goal of more independent living for Andy. In the spring of 2005, Arnie and Sara from SHALOM Denver arranged a trip to visit a residential program for developmentally disabled and chronically mentally ill young adults run by Jewish Family Service in West Palm Beach, Florida. It proved to be a very informative and worthwhile visit. We learned a lot about the social/psychological aspects of creating community and about the finances of running a residential program.

The following spring, a JDN staff member invited me to be on a committee at Developmental Pathways to explore residential options. My work on this committee also helped our family become more comfortable with the idea of Andy living independently.

Sometime later at an IP (Individualized Plan) meeting with Developmental Pathways, Andy shared that he did not feel ready to live on his own. JDN staff suggested that Developmental Pathways provide a mentor to work with Andy on developing the skills Andy felt he needed in order to be ready to move out on his own, which also proved to be very helpful.

After Andy moved out, we expressed our desire to JDN staff to find a rooomate for him. They connected us with other clients who became good friends of Andy’s and could have made wonderful roommates. It was only then that I realized that Andy had been doing well on his own and actually did not need a roommate! As long as the possibility of a roommate was out of reach, I was stuck searching and couldn’t see the actual situation, which was that Andy was fine living alone.

Sara and Inna then helped us brainstorm about what would make Andy’s life go more smoothly and give him the skills to live successfully on his own once we are not able to provide the assistance we currently offer him. I am so impressed by, and grateful for, the high level of professionalism they brought to our meeting. They helped us define his needs and suggested that Andy work with a JFS care manager to learn to survey and comparatively price items when grocery shopping, develop and work within a budget, and prepare healthy, simple, and economical meals.

Judaism teaches the importance of living in community and not in isolation from fellow Jews. As a special needs family we know what it is like to be excluded. JDN continually offers opportunities for Andy to socialize and be part of a caring and fun-loving Jewish group. Recently Sara suggested that when Andy is free on a Friday night, he drop by the JFS Group Home for Shabbat dinner. We’re delighted! We feel the community provided by the JDN is especially important now that Andy no longer spends as much time with his parents. It will be even more critical once we have passed away.

Did You Know that February is Jewish Disability Awareness Month?

The mission of Jewish Disability is to unite Jewish communities and organizations for the purpose of raising awareness and supporting meaningful inclusion of people with disabilities and their families in every aspect of Jewish life.

On Sunday, February 21st, the Jewish Disabilities Network will host the 2nd annual Jewish Disabilities Awareness Day from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Robert E. Loup Jewish Community Center. Shelly Christensen, a noted advocate, author and speaker on behalf of Jewish people with disabilities, and performing artists from PHAMALY (The Physically Handicapped Actors and Musical Artists League) will be featured at this free community event.

We hope you will join us at Jewish Disabilities Awareness Day on February 21st. It promises to be a fun, educational, and inspirational afternoon!