News & Impact

Are you in a quandary over where to send your children for preschool in San Francisco? Don’t despair. For decades, JFCS’ Parents Place has helped parents and caregivers find the answers. In cooperation with Bay Area Parent magazine, Parents Place is pleased to present its 19th annual Preschool Preview Night 2011 on Wed., Sept. 21, 5:30 – 8:00 pm, at the San Francisco County Fair Building (at the 9th and Lincoln entrance to Golden Gate Park). This go-to event brings together more than 100 San Francisco preschools, child-related agencies, and other vendors and exhibitors, who provide parents and caregivers with… Read More

Helga was in her late 70s when she began walking down to Route 101 at all hours, waiting for the bus en route from Sonoma County to San Francisco. Once in the city, she wandered the streets lugging a valise stuffed with cash. Helga had sustained a brain injury in her 40s, but at that time had a husband, sister, and brother-in-law to look after her. After they had all died or become infirm themselves, she only had Loretta, her niece, and Loretta’s husband to see to her needs. The couple lived an hour away, and Loretta feared that something… Read More

The JFCS Holocaust Center, the Contemporary Jewish Museum (CJM), Lehrhaus Judaica, and the Jewish Community Relations Council—in collaboration with San Francisco synagogues, schools, and other community organizations—are hosting a Holocaust Day of Remembrance on May 1, 2011, at the CJM, 736 Mission St., San Francisco. Admission is free, and people of all ages are invited to join in the all-day commemorations. From 11:00 am to 4:00 pm, museum attendees can participate in family programs, educator workshops, group tours, teen activities, and the special exhibit “Charlotte Salomon: Life? or Theatre?” on loan from the Jewish Historical Museum in… Read More

After 14 years, Barry and Lisa were as in love with each other as in the early days of their courtship. “When I saw and heard Lisa for the first time—at a museum exhibit—I knew she was the one for me,” says Barry. “She was warm, beautiful, and open-hearted. I’d been waiting for someone like her for my entire life. She was my beacon of light.” So when Lisa, 50, was diagnosed with uterine cancer this past October, the blow for Barry was as unbearable as the pain for Lisa. Scrambling for services to help them, Barry reached out to… Read More

Jewish Family and Children’s Services (JFCS) of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties will hold its 27th Fammy Awards Gala on Sat., Mar. 26, at the Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco. Gala Chairs Yamilee Bermingham and Doug Winthrop; Regional Co-Chairs Lisa and John Pritzker (San Francisco), Diane and Howard Zack (Marin County), Linda and Steve Monosson (North Peninsula), Alison and Ken Ross (South Peninsula), and Jan Gilman and Michael Tonjum (Sonoma County); and the entire Gala Committee invite community members to participate in a very special evening, featuring delicious food, great company, a fabulous silent auction, and dancing with Pamela… Read More

How do you say no to injustice? Stand up for your and other people’s rights? JFCS’ Holocaust Center is helping thousands of young people to answer these questions, understand how the Holocaust came about, and learn how to prevent future genocides. Among the center’s many educational programs is its annual Day of Learning, on Sun., Mar. 13, 2011, 1:00 – 5:00 pm, at San Francisco’s Mercy High School, 3250 19th Ave. Approximately 500 high school students and teachers throughout the state will attend workshops that run the gamut: from “Where Were the Churches? The Role of the Churches in Holocaust… Read More