Meet Our Reel Hope-Take 15 Honorees!

While it's hard to think about a winter event during these hot summer days, we are busy planning Reel Hope-Take 15, our annual movie-themed fundraiser. We are pleased to announce this year's honorees:

Dean Prina, M.D., Jack Shapiro Community Service Award Recipient
The term "community service" is synonymous with this well-known Denver pediatrician's name. Dean Prina, M.D. joined the JFS board in July 2005 and wasted no time becoming an active member. He has served as chair of the Development Committee and co-chair of the JFS Executive Luncheon, and is also a member of the Board Development/Nominating Committee. This year he is an at-large member of the Executive Committee as well. Not only is Dean a passionate advocate for JFS, but he serves on numerous nonprofit boards and can be spotted at charity events around town many nights of the week!

Charlie Gwirtsman, Kal Zeff Business Leader of the Year
Charlie Gwirtsman, co-founder and managing director of KRG Capital Partners, is a long-time JFS supporter and member of the JFS Advisory Board. He is actively involved in many charitable, community, and political causes in the Jewish and secular communities. With the downturn in the economy, Charlie recognizes that the need for the services JFS provides is up while resources are down, and he feels strongly about supporting the agency financially and through volunteerism.

The tentative date for Reel Hope is Thursday, December 9th. More information will follow soon. If you are interested in sponsorship opportunities, please contact Lynn Cooper, development associate, at (303) 597.5000 x365.

Annual Movie Fundraiser Provides “Reel Hope” for JFS Clients

Jewish Family Service recently honored community leaders Brent and Julie Morse, and David Friedman at Reel Hope-Take 14, our annual movie-themed fundraiser at Regal Cinemas Continental Theatre in Denver. Despite difficult economic times, the event grossed $370,000! Our heartfelt thanks to all the wonderful community-minded individuals and organizations that support the agency through this event!

Now in its 14th year, Reel Hope benefits the programs of Jewish Family Service and is held in partnership with Variety of Colorado, the children’s charity with its roots in the entertainment industry. Variety helped secure the venue and the special benefit screening of Summit Entertainment’s New Moon, the second installment of Stephenie Meyer’s successful Twilight romance series. We thank Variety, Regal Cinemas, and the filmmakers for making this event possible.

Complete with Hollywood-style lighting effects, the festivities featured the movie screening, the presentation of a touching JFS agency video, a brief awards ceremony, a box dinner, and dessert reception. Gary Shapiro, 9News morning news anchor, made his debut as a JFS event Master of Ceremonies. Heartfelt and entertaining videos introducing the honorees were generously produced by JFS Board Member Lindsey Gutterman with the assistance of Steve Pettit of Starwest Productions.

Ernie Johnson, president and “chief barker” of Variety of Colorado and Steve Kris, JFS board chair, spoke briefly and thanked the evening’s sponsors and attendees. After a video introduction of Brent and Julie Morse, Event Co-Chairs Rocky and Suzi Miller spoke about the Morses and presented the Jack Shapiro Community Service Award. Brent and Julie then spoke eloquently, speaking of their volunteer experiences with JFS and on accepting the award.

Sheryl Goodman, event co-chair and longtime friend of David Friedman, along with David’s father, Shel, introduced David and presented the Kal Zeff Business Leader of the Year Award to him. Shel added humor to the ceremony by saying, “David, I am proud of you for following in my footsteps. JFS, as other nonprofits, has had a difficult financial year; therefore we decided David should get my award from seven years ago.” As anyone who knows David would expect, he accepted the award with humor and grace.

Yana Vishnitsky, JFS president and CEO, spoke from the heart about the help JFS provides for those in need and how much we need the community’s generous support. She shared that JFS provided Thanksgiving meals to 180 families this year. “There were many children running around waiting in line with their parents. I looked into their eyes. There was joy and hope. The parents’ eyes expressed fear and pain. People come to us when their lives are broken, when their hope is lost, when their strength is challenged.”

Our deepest and sincere thanks go out to Dean Prina, M.D., JFS development chair; Rocky and Suzi Miller and Sheryl Goodman, event chairs; and the extraordinary Reel Hope committee who made the event such a success: Douglas Antonoff, Carla Bartell, Shell and Lisa Cook, Cami Cooper, Steven and Faye Demby, Lisa Eller Davis, Sanford Feld, David Fried, Ellen Friedman, Michelle Friedman, Elaine Gampel, Brett Goldberg, Carol Karsh, Donald Kortz, Jeff and Jocelyn Kraus, Gary and Connie Levine, Alan and Peggy Mayer, Rick and Mindy Miller, Larry A. and Carol Mizel, Anita Niebrugge, Devra Ochs, Jay and Lisa Perlmutter, Michael and Shereen Pollak, Dean Prina, M.D., Andrew Raabe, Jane E. Rosenbaum, Linda Schatz, Michael Schatz, Chet Schwartz, Michelle Toltz, Marci Waldman, and Leslie Williams-Heins.

Check out this year's agency video that was shown at Reel Hope!

View more photos from the event! Thank you to Howard Lutz for donating his time and photography skills again this year!

A Sigh of Relief...Reel Hope is Over!

Thanks to everyone who attended Reel Hope-Take 14, our annual movie fundraiser, last night! We hope you all enjoyed the event and learned more about JFS and our honorees, Brent and Julie Morse and David Friedman.

Since we're exhausted from working the event until late last night, we're going to keep this blog post brief! We'll provide a full event re-cap with photos next week.

We'd love your feedback on the event, so if you attended, please leave a comment on the blog!

Enjoy this photo of Kari cleaning up at the end of the night and celebrating that the event is over after many months of hard work! Thank you to all of the staff and volunteers who helped the evening run smoothly!

And the Reel Hope Movie is...

All the movie buzz lately is about the highly anticipated New Moon, the second installment of Stephenie Meyer's successful Twilight romance series. Everywhere you look lately, someone is talking about this movie! Our local Fox affiliate, KDVR has a dedicated section on its Web site!

Guess what? You can be among the first to see New Moon at JFS's fundraiser, Reel Hope-Take 14 on December 3rd!

Join us as we honor Brent and Julie Morse, and David Friedman at Reel Hope-Take 14, on Thursday, December 3rd at 6:30 p.m. at the Regal Cinemas Continental Theatre. Doors open at 6 p.m. and early arrival is advised for best seating. In addition to the movie screening, the festivities will feature the awards presentation, a JFS agency video, dinner, and dessert reception.

Learn more and buy tickets today!

Become a JFS Facebook Fan by November 23rd and be entered to win 2 tickets to Reel Hope!

JFS in the News!

JFS has been spotlighted in several news stories this month, including feature stories on 7News and 9News and articles in the Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News. In case you missed the coverage, here's a re-cap:

Counseling

JFS's school-based counseling program, KidSuccess, was featured on 9News in a story about the effects the economy has on children. JFS Counselor Kristen Simpson-Chandler, who is interviewed in the piece, says the agency's counselors are seeing more students this year because they are feeling confused or angry after situations like parents being laid off or hearing that there may be no presents for the holidays this year.

Stacey Weisberg, JFS Counseling Center director, conducted a live interview on the same topic on 7News. She talked about how children are the smallest victims of the economy and warning signs when kids feel stressed or worried. In addition to discussing the KidSuccess program, she informed viewers about the JFS Counseling Center and how accessible help is during these difficult times - counseling services are available on a sliding-fee scale and most insurance plans are accepted. We're working on getting a link on our Web site to this story.

Reel Hope
JFS's annual movie premiere fundraiser was highlighted in an article by Joanne Davidson, Denver Post society reporter. She played with the fact that it was the fundraiser's 13th year and how superstitious people find that number unlucky. However, despite the state of the economy, the event was a success!

Family Safety Net
JFS's Family Safety Net program was a recipient of this year's Post-News Season to Share, a McCormick Foundation Fund that raises money for over 65 agencies serving disadvantaged children, people who are hungry, homeless, or in need of medical care. As the Rocky Mountain News article states, "Catching people before they fall is the goal of Jewish Family Service's emergency assistance program, Family Safety Net. The hungry and those in danger of losing their home can tap into the Safety Net's key programs: the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Food Pantry, an emergency assistance plan, and the HOME Alliance, designed to prevent homelessness."

Check out more of our recent press coverage...

--Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department

Movie Premiere Raises Funds for JFS

Jewish Family Service recently honored community leaders Dr. Nancy Gary and Daniel Seff at Reel Hope-Take 13, a movie-themed fundraiser at Regal Cinemas Continental Stadium 10 and Giant Screen in Denver. Despite difficult economic times and a smaller theater capacity due to stadium seating renovations, the event sold out the 600-seat main auditorium and raised $400,000 to support JFS's many programs!

Complete with Hollywood-style lighting effects, the festivities featured a movie screening, the presentation of a touching JFS agency video, a brief awards ceremony, dinner, and dessert reception. Les Shapiro, a celebrity emcee, businessman and sportscaster, added the perfect mix of humor and professionalism as Master of Ceremonies.

If you missed it, we missed you, too! Don't worry, our next fundraiser is the JFS Executive Luncheon featuring Guest Speaker Frank Abagnale, author of his best-selling true story Catch Me If You Can on May 12th. Stay tuned for more details on this exciting event!

View photos from the event!

--Kari Alpen and Alaina Green, JFS Marketing Department