Last Friday, we had our annual Holiday Party. We had to move the venue to a larger site to accommodate our growing staff (at last count it was 267!). There was such a great feeling of warmth and camaraderie–particularly after such a difficult year. Our staff worked tirelessly to make sure the needs in our community were met and their clients were served with dignity and respect. Thank you to all of our staff who helped make 2009 a better year for the people we serve, despite the economic difficulties our community faced.

One staff member stood out exceptionally this year. I’m happy to announce Etleva Bejko, Director of Refugee Resettlement, as this year’s Henrietta Rubenstein Staff Member of the Year. Etleva was presented with the award at the holiday party for the amazing job she and her staff have done this year.

Her department helps newly arrived refugees–people who are fleeing persecution, come from war torn areas and many who have suffered torture and have severe mental health issues. They arrive with little more than the clothes on their back and limited, if any, English. Etleva is herself an émigré so she knows firsthand the difficulty in becoming acculturated to a new country. Last minute phone calls have sent her to the airport for an unexpected arriving family. Last minute e-mails have sent her to the streets to find and furnish apartments. She picks up donations. Sorts them and stores them. She writes reports and grants. She’s out in the community finding jobs for her clients. She balances multiple budgets. She trains and mentors staff.

When Etleva came to JFS 7 years ago, the resettlement program managed less than 20 arrivals a year. With Etleva as head of the department, the program has grown to almost 500 arrivals per year, which makes it the #1 resettlement site for the Hebrew Immigration Aid Society (HIAS). JFS of San Diego now resettles more refugees than any other JFS—yes, more than NYC, LA, Chicago, etc.  So, it was really nice to acknowledge her leadership and administrative skills.

Congratulations to Etleva and her wonderful staff, for a job well done.

What a wonderful staff we have here at JFS! I just received this from our Human Resources Department:

Congratulations to Khalil Barkzai the December Employee of the Month! We would like to recognize and honor the commitment, hard work, and professionalism that Khalil Barkzai has brought to JFS over the last three years through the Refugee Resettlement Department and Hand Up Youth Food Pantry.

Khalil has been an essential part of the Refugee Resettlement Department’s growth and development. He is absolutely great at everything he does, and he does everything. When he is picking up donations he is efficient and professional. He puts a lot of care and effort when he is furnishing apartments for newly arriving refugees to make them feel warm and welcoming. He is the first to greet new refugee families when he picks them up at the airport with a huge smile on his face. Khalil has helped more than 20 refugee clients find jobs using his own personal contacts, and is continuously driving around the county giving rides to clients for different appointments and interviews.

Khalil also drives across the entire county for the Hand Up Youth Food Pantry to drop-off and pick-up food bins for food drives. Khalil has made friends with synagogue and school employees across the county with his charm and smile, and calls everyone “friend” to build relationships. When Khalil has a full truck he offers “free exercise” to anyone willing to help; he reminds us that we pay hundreds of dollars in gym memberships each year, when we can just exercise at work for free.

Khalil is also in charge of making sure food bag deliveries are made on time to 8 of Hand Up’s distribution locations across the county. He is an intricate part of making sure the food pantry is stocked and able to serve those who are hungry.

We would like to thank Khalil for his dedication, hard work and commitment for his years of service at JFS. Congratulations Khalil!

For the past year, JFS of San Diego has ranked as the #1 refugee resettlement program amongst all of the 140+ JFS’ in North America, in terms of the number of émigrés being resettled. This past year, 498 people from a variety of countries—-Iraq, Myanmar, Eritrea, China, Iran, and Tibet—sought refuge in San Diego. This is a huge number and testimony to the incredible work of our staff and volunteers. By the way, we need more volunteers. When these new families come to SD, they need help in becoming acculturated to American life. Many have never seen supermarkets or have ever learned to drive. Our school system and healthcare system are a mystery. And our language, of course, is one of the biggest hurdles. Can you imagine moving to another country at this point in your life and having to adapt to a new culture? So volunteers, along with our great staff, provide a lot of invaluable help. 

You can help in a variety of ways. Volunteers are needed to mentor families and provide English tutoring, go bargain shopping to help furnish apartments, assist our case managers with filing, translation, and other administrative duties, and much more. For a complete list of volunteer opportunities, click here. If you’re interested in volunteering, give us a call at (858) 637-3366.