News & Impact

High school junior Marley Freyman has always been passionate about leadership, an interest she nurtured through her involvement in the many opportunities offered by JFCS’ YouthFirst programming. Her first experience was as a YouthFirst Impact Year Leader. As her service project for that program, she collaborated with JFCS’ Shupin Social Club and the Gary Shupin Independent Living Community for adults with developmental disabilities. She organized the Shupin volunteers in an effort to clean up walking paths in San Francisco’s Presidio district. “We took a lot of time walking in pairs through nature, picking up trash and forming bonds between groups… Read More

Over the last fourteen summers, the JFCS YouthFirst Summer Internship Program has placed hundreds of high school teens with Bay Area businesses, giving the interns an opportunity to explore careers of interest to them. This year, one of the teens joined the JFCS marketing team, wanting to learn more about storytelling—especially in the form of video. She was tasked with documenting her six-week experience in a short film and blog, both of which are shared below. We’re immensely grateful for the hard work Binnie put in during her time at JFCS and would like to give a big thanks to… Read More

Seventy local teens are getting the chance to explore their career interests and learn on-the-job skills through YouthFirst’s Summer Internship program. These paid, six-week internships pair teens with a business or organization in the community to learn valuable, on-the-job skills and gain real work experience. In weekly workshops at JFCS, each teen gets personalized professional development and a chance to connect with their peers. The program gives teens an opportunity to explore vocational interests and they come away with increased confidence and a better sense of what academic and career goals they want to set for themselves. “This experience has… Read More

This fall, outstanding Bay Area students are pursuing their higher education goals with the help of scholarships through JFCS’ Financial Aid Center. These life-changing scholarships are possible because of the generosity of donors who value education. The 2022 recipients of the Vivienne S. Camp Scholarship join more than three decades of scholars who have benefited from the kindness of Vivienne Camp, who left a legacy to aid the next generation. Recipients must demonstrate academic excellence and Jewish community involvement and earn acceptance to a California college. Meet the 2022 Vivienne S. Camp Scholarship Recipients Bila Tzion Bila Tzion was en… 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