News & Impact

In 2019, Drs. Kathy Fields and Garry Rayant led the launch of the Center for Children and Youth (CCY), the brainchild of Dr. Anita Friedman, Executive Director of Jewish Family and Children’s Services (JFCS). Together they developed a new and more comprehensive approach to addressing services for young people. “JFCS has changed so many lives through their exceptional services,” says Dr. Kathy Fields. “Through serious crises including fires and the pandemic, JFCS has responded with elegance and compassion for all the families involved.” But the problem confronting children and youth is overwhelming. It is a well-known and documented fact that… Read More

Social media has become an integral part of young people’s lives, but behind the screens lie serious risks that could jeopardize their mental wellbeing. Through impactful advocacy, JFCS is helping lead the charge to create a safer digital environment for young minds. Social Media Risks According to the US Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, social media presents a “profound risk of harm” to young users. Teens and adolescents who spend more than three hours on social media per day have double the risk of experiencing depression or anxiety—and the average teen user spends about 3.5 hours a day on… 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

Soon after arriving in San Francisco from Ukraine, Kira, then 13, and her parents attended a large, joyous Passover Seder for families who had emigrated from the former Soviet Union. The families were receiving help from Jewish Family and Children’s Services (JFCS) to build new lives in the Bay Area. The holiday gathering was one of the many ways that JFCS created a strong, supportive community for the newcomers. That summer, Kira spent two weeks at Camp Tawonga near Yosemite, thanks to a campership scholarship from caring JFCS donors. The experience was pivotal for the adolescent. Despite the happiness of… Read More

June 6, 2023, San Francisco—The Jewish Family and Children’s Services (JFCS) Holocaust Center has announced the public phase of a $45 million capital campaign to build a new, state-of-the-art Holocaust Center, library, and archive. The JFCS Holocaust Center is widely recognized statewide, nationally, and internationally as a leader in Holocaust and genocide education. The organization is currently guiding a major statewide response to combatting antisemitism, including co-chairing the Governor’s Council on Holocaust and Genocide Education and leading the California Teachers Collaborative, a critical initiative that will reach California’s students, teachers, and community members over the next five years. Antisemitic incidents… Read More

In 1977, San Francisco’s reputation as a city of peace and love was tested by an unexpected threat: just steps away from a synagogue in the Outer Sunset, a Nazi bookstore had opened its doors.   This brazen, shameless act infuriated Tauba Weiss, a member of the city’s considerable population of Holocaust survivors. She confronted the shop owner on Erev Pesach, demanding that he explain himself—was it not enough that the Nazis had killed so many of her people in Europe just years ago? The man responded cruelly, “No, it was not enough.”   Filled with anger, Tauba picked a rock up… Read More