News & Impact

The California Assembly and Senate have released their joint budget agreement, a critical step in the State’s annual budget approval process. It includes two of our Jewish community’s most important priorities—Holocaust and genocide education and caring for vulnerable survivors. Anita Friedman, JFCS’ Executive Director, says, “The voice of California’s Jewish Community has been heard. Now our survivors can continue to age with dignity and every child in our State will learn about antisemitism, about the Holocaust, and about how—and why—to stand up against hate.” These critical funds include: $3 million to renovate and expand the JFCS Holocaust Center. The JFCS… Read More

There is overwhelming evidence that today’s youth are facing a mental health crisis. A recent ACLU survey found that 45% of California students feel depressed, while CDC data shows that mental health-related emergency room visits are up 31% for people aged 12 – 17. It is clear why the American Academy of Pediatrics has declared children’s mental health a national emergency and clear too that action needs to be taken. As a leading provider of mental health services, JFCS’ Center for Children and Youth (CCY) is witnessing this crisis firsthand. The obvious need for action inspired CCY’s experienced advocacy team… Read More

Over the last year, JFCS’ Koret Fellows empowered Bay Area teens to bring about change while supporting communities in need. Thanks to their efforts, local youth learned about issues affecting seniors, children, families, and our society as a whole and applied what they learned to design and implement a wide variety of impactful service projects. As their fellowships draw to a close, we are celebrating the contributions of these talented emerging leaders, whose creativity, skills, and dedication inspired youth and helped our community. Meet the 2021 – 2022 JFCS Koret Fellows Carla Naylor What does it mean to you to… Read More

  “I love Passover because for me it is a cry against indifference, a cry for compassion.” ⁠—Elie Wiesel With this extraordinary humanitarian effort continuing into a second month, you are taking action to provide lifesaving help for Ukraine. Thank you. We are overwhelmed by and grateful for the generosity of our JFCS community. Update on JFCS’ Ukraine Relief Efforts Locally, JFCS’ Emigre Services professionals are providing essential legal aid, information, referrals, and counseling to the large number of families in our community with close relatives in Ukraine and overseas. JFCS is deeply engaged in refugee resettlement and efforts to… Read More

Jewish Family and Children’s Services (JFCS) Holocaust Center has established the California Collaborative for Holocaust and Genocide Education, with support from a $1.9 Million grant from the Marin County Office of Education and the State of California. The California Collaborative, a first-of-its-kind statewide network, will connect educators, genocide survivors, and community leaders in order to support California teachers to effectively teach Holocaust and genocide education in their classrooms and address the surge of antisemitism and hate in California school communities. Members of the new statewide collaborative network include the University of Southern California’s Shoah Foundation; the Museum of Tolerance; the… Read More

See our Ukraine response resources > “Morally speaking, there is no limit to the concern one must feel for the suffering of human beings…In a free society, some are guilty, but all are responsible.” —Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel z”l Since the start of the invasion, more than 10.5 million Ukrainians have had to flee their homes, with more than 4 million—primarily women, children, and elderly—seeking refuge outside the country. Experts estimate more than half of Ukrainian children have been uprooted. In the wake of this pain, our community has come together to send help and hope. Thank you! Updates on… Read More