News & Impact

Meryl Botkin was delighted when she heard that her granddaughter, Julia, had been accepted into the Manovill Holocaust History Fellowship at the JFCS Holocaust Center. She knew that she would get the chance to see her beloved granddaughter more often throughout the school year, and it would give Julia an incredible opportunity to study the Holocaust and patterns of genocide at a college level. Julia, a student at Presentation High, a Catholic college preparatory school in San Jose, was one of a cohort of eight exceptional Bay Area high school students accepted into the Manovill Holocaust History Fellowship – a… Read More

Bay Area teens will be ironing their shirts and putting on their dress pants in preparation for JFCS’ Summer Internship Program. This prized six-week paid internship offers a unique opportunity for students to gain work experience and professional skills that will last a lifetime. JFCS’ YouthFirst offers innovative programs for our future leaders and received a huge number of applications this spring from high school students who want to be part of the internship program. With the support of generous individuals and foundations, 100 teens were accepted as interns—nearly doubling the program’s size. The 2016 summer interns come from… Read More

We are pleased to announce that 7,000 students will participate in a powerful education program with JFCS Holocaust Center this fall. Thanks to generous donors, The Children of Willesden Lane Bay Area BIG READ will be offered to Northern California middle and high school teachers and their students. This unique program teaches youth about the Holocaust, the importance of standing up against bigotry and hatred, and the transformative nature of art. The curriculum culminates in an award winning theatrical production at Herbst Theatre by concert pianist and acclaimed storyteller Mona Golabek about how the power of music helped one young… Read More

This summer 58 high school students from San Francisco, the Peninsula and Marin County participated in JFCS’ YouthFirst six-week internship program. They were placed in all kinds of offices—from a private dentist practice to an engineering firm—as well as at JFCS itself. The program recently concluded with all teens agreeing that it was a fantastic experience. Courting a Career Three years ago as a rising sophomore, Steve Dvorkin was a summer intern at JFCS where he performed administrative and organizational office tasks. The experience was so positive that the 18-year-old returned again this summer. This time he was assigned to… Read More

I recently read an article in The Wall Street Journal about if college students should or should not work while in school. I began researching about working in college as I was eager to find out people’s opinion on the subject. I first spoke extensively with Michelle Lamphere, the Director of the Financial Aid Center, at Jewish Family and Children Services. She believes having an academic focus in college is great, but holding a job too is an excellent way to gain real life work experience before embarking on a professional career. She thinks working during college will enhances… Read More

High school students preparing for college are faced with the challenge of figuring out what their total educational costs will be for their freshman year. Each institution states their cost of attendance differently. Colleges can show their costs by number of units, by semester or by year. This is made more difficult to understand when colleges don’t include everything on the same page, such as extra fees, health insurance, loan costs, and additional program expenses. Students may get lost in the excitement of getting accepted to their chosen school, and don’t consider whether their dream school will be an affordable… Read More