Great News! Jewish Family Service of Greater New Haven is in the running to win $25,000 from State Farm Neighborhood Assist.  The Food4Kids Program (which provides weekend food to more than 250 children each week during the academic school year) was chosen as one of the Top 200 causes (from a pool of 2,000 submissions).  The Top 40 vote getters from the 200 will be awarded $25,000 each.

Starting at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, August 16^th through 11:59 p.m. on Friday, August 25 you can vote for the Food4Kids Program.  You can vote 10 times daily per email address.  The first time you vote it will ask you to register, however; you will not be solicited from State Farm.  They ask you to register to prevent voter fraud. Please make sure to vote 10 times each day for Food4Kids.

This will be posted on our Facebook page, website, sent in emails, and publicized in as many places as possible but we need your help too.  If you are on Facebook, please copy and share our post once it is published and encourage your family, teens, friends and acquaintances to vote.  If you are not on Facebook, please contact your friends via email and let them know that you support JFSGNH and the Food4Kids Program and would love to have them vote daily. Also, it doesn’t matter where you live; people from out of state can still vote for us.

If awarded this grant funding, we would be able to increase the number of children we serve on a weekly basis in addition to purchasing the food needed for our weekly distribution.

This is a great opportunity for JFS and the Food4Kids Program.  We can make the Top 40 if we each commit to voting 10 times daily.

The direct link to our voting page is https://www.neighborhoodassist.com/entry/1997709

This link does not go live/active until 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, August 16, 2017 and will remain active through August 25 at 11:59 p.m.  When you click on it, just make sure it lists Food4Kids in New Haven,  CT and don’t forget to vote 10 x daily!  Thanks so much!

Every Friday in May, JFS will be distributing Foster Care information from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. at a special table in front of the agency.   Social workers from the JFS Therapeutic Foster Care Program will be on hand to discuss the program and the process of becoming a foster parent.  Please stop by and learn about the need for foster parents in Connecticut and how you can change a child’s life by providing guidance, love and a safe home for a child in need.

If you cannot attend one of the drop-in dates but would like to learn more about the program, please contact Stacy-Ann Clarke, at 203-389-5599, ext. 116.

 

The faces of hunger in America are both familiar and hidden from view, yet they are all too real and far too many. 

Thanks to the efforts of local Rabbi Josh Ratner, MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger travelling exhibit of “This Is Hunger”, is coming to our local community.  This powerful community engagement program that will encourage individuals to embark on a journey—one that that will challenge their beliefs about who in America struggles with hunger and why, and empower them to take action.

From Sunday, May 7^th through Wednesday, May 10 this exhibit, which includes a 53-foot-long double expandable trailer, will be located at Congregation Mishkan Israel, 785 Ridge Road in Hamden.  Visitors to this exhibit will be taken on a virtual and interactive journey and meet virtually real people struggling with hunger. They will see the faces of hunger, hear their stories and learn about this silent but prevalent issue. Participants will also be invited to engage in activities and experiences that will deepen their awareness about the complexities of being hungry.

This event is free and open to the general public.  To reserve your spot, please visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/this-is-hunger-ct-congregation-mishkan-israel-tickets-33531976043

Ready. Set. Give!  The Great Give 2017 is upon us and Jewish Family Service of Greater New Haven is once again participating!  This 36-hour, online-giving event through the givegreater.org site starts at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, May 2nd and ends Wednesday, May 3rd at 8 p.m.  In addition to the dollars we raise with your charitable donations, you can help make JFS eligible for thousands of dollars in grant prizes when you support us through givegreater.org!  Use this personalized link on Tuesday, May 2nd – Wednesday May 3rd.  To donate during this two day event click here.

On March 25th, 2017 Jewish Family Service of Greater New Haven (JFS) held its annual Spring Celebration Fundraiser at Temple Beth Sholom to raise funds to prevent homelessness in Greater New Haven and to support our vulnerable homeless population.

A little over a year ago, JFS embarked on a journey to tackle this vexing issue in a significant way.  JFS joined their local Community Access Network of partner agencies working together throughout the Greater New Haven Region to address the homelessness problem; they became a certified and approved intake site to help and guide individuals and families in – or on the cusp of – homelessness; and they continue to serve greater and greater numbers of people who have fallen prey to this devastating condition.

JFS’ clients who are homeless or in danger of becoming homeless have multiple and complex needs. The money raised from the event will support them in some of the following ways : rental assistance, an emergency stay in a motel, bus passes, restoring heat and electricity, counseling and case management services, or an emergency visit to the JFS Food Pantry with a supply of packaged and fresh food.  We could not have had such a successful event without our generous sponsors and all our guests who all came out to support this vital mission to prevent homelessness.

 

The JFSGNH Office will be closed on the following days in observance of Passover.

Monday, April 10th Close at 3 p.m.
Tuesday, April 11th Closed
Wednesday, April 12th Closed
Monday, April 17th Closed
Tuesday, April 18th Closed

The ritual foods of Passover are out of reach for many local individuals and families who use the JFS Food Pantry and Nutritional Health Center. Thanks to B’nai B’rith’s Project H.O.P.E., and Harold Miller, the JFS Food Pantry is one of several local organizations within Connecticut who receive Passover packages to distribute to clients. Volunteers from the local community and JFS helped pack bags on Sunday, April 2nd.    Following the packing, JFS distributed the bags to more than 125 families.  JFSGNH clients also receive a grocery gift card to help with their holiday purchases. Here are some of the photos from Sunday’s bag packing and distribution.

Finding Comfort and Support:
A Jewish Bereavement Group

The loss of a loved one is felt differently by different people. Some who are grieving want extra support when times get more difficult, especially before holidays.

The Jewish Wellness & Healing Center at JFS is starting a bereavement group. This group is an opportunity to receive peer support from individuals who have experienced something similar so you can cope a little easier.

The first meeting is scheduled prior to the holiday of Passover- which is so family centered- when the loss might be felt more acutely. Each group member will get the opportunity to verbalize their feelings and receive appropriate feedback from other group members and the facilitator.

Rabbi Fred Hyman, Ed.D, Director of Pastoral Counseling of the JFS Jewish Wellness and Healing Center, who has many years of experience as a congregational rabbi and as a mental health clinician, will facilitate this group.

The first groups will take place Tuesday, March 28 and Tuesday, April 25 beginning at 6:00 p.m. at the JFS office 1440 Whalley Ave. New Haven.

If a bereavement support group might be of help to you, please know that you are
welcome to come to either of these groups.

For more information and/or registration, please contact
Rabbi Fred Hyman at 203-389-5599, ext. 135

 Once a month, the JFS Food Pantry and Nutritional Health Center hosts “Rabbinic Wednesdays.” Organized by Rabbis Hesch Sommer and Steve Steinberg, local rabbis from the Greater New Haven area volunteer at the JFS Food Pantry. Rabbinic Wednesdays are an opportunity for individuals who utilize the services of the Pantry to meet and interact with the rabbis as the rabbis model an aspect of “tikkun olam.” The rabbis get involved in the hands-on operations of the Pantry, including greeting clients, stocking shelves, bagging groceries and assisting with storing and distributing fresh and frozen foods. “We hope that our rabbinic participation will spread the word to the Jewish community of the importance of supporting the JFS Food Pantry,” commented Rabbi Sommer. Pictured are Rabbi Hesch Sommer working the frozen and fresh produce area, and Rabbis Jon-Jay Tilsen and Steve Steinberg stocking shelves.

January is National Soup Month and there’s no better time to kick off our JFS Food Pantry “Souper” Bowl leading up to NFL’s biggest event of the year on February 5th. For the next 18 days, the JFS Food Pantry will be collecting canned and/or dry soup mixes to help in its fight against Hunger. Don’t stand on the sidelines!! Take a time out and help us gain the offensive lead in tackling food insecurity in our local community. Our team is ready to receive your canned soup and/or boxed soup donations! Donations can be handed off at the JFS Food Pantry on January 19, 25, 26, or February 1 and February 2 from 8:30 – 12:30; or donations can also be dropped off at the JFS main office during non-pantry hours.