Michael Hopkins & Jill Borg Spitzer

Happy New Year! The big news at JFS: the transition of JFS CEO is well underway! My official last day as CEO of Jewish Family Service is January 24, but I will still be part of the JFS family as a consultant. For the past month Michael (read more about CEO Designate Michael Hopkins)and I have been meeting to discuss the agency: programs, staff, Board of Directors, community, and many other topics.  The list goes on and on.  After 26 years, I’ve discovered there is so much inside my head and not on paper. I’m glad I’ll be around to help fill in the blanks over the next few months as Michael becomes more and more conversant about the agency.  I’m impressed with Michael’s curiosity, thoughtfulness, calm demeanor, and passion for our mission. He’ll be a great leader for JFS and the community. I hope you get a chance to meet him soon. I know you’ll be impressed.

I now have boxes in my office to pack up my belongings. Of the papers and books that I thought would have meaning to someone else, I now realize there are several newer editions that make what I have obsolete. But then I find that gem, a fundraising letter written 20 years ago by a past President, a client letter from 15 years ago, a photo of us launching a new program—evidence of how JFS has helped so many and how we’ve redefined the meaning of community. More on that in my next post.

As we begin our year-end fundraising push, Charity Navigator—America’s largest independent charity evaluator—has launched their 2.0 rating system that measures each nonprofit’s Financial Health and Accountability & Transparency. Profile pages have a new appearance and more information, but one thing that remains the same: our 4-star rating (Read our profile). A new graph on the overall page clearly illustrates that our 4-star rating is almost a perfect score. This is an accomplishment that we are very proud of. We are in special company—only 8% of nonprofits reviewed have received a 4-star rating for four consecutive years.

Our consistency is even more impressive when you consider that as a result of the new scoring system:

• Half of the nearly 5,500 charities rated by Charity Navigator received new star ratings
• 19% of the charities’ star ratings decreased, including such marquee names as Harvard University, NYU, Princeton, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art
• With the bar set higher, the total number of 4-star charities decreased by 20%

Take a look at our profile and feel proud and confident in your support. Our Charity Navigator rating is one piece of the story—I also invite you to look at our Friends of the Family Campaign so you can see the impact of Jewish Family Service and your support. Thanks to the generosity of the community, JFS makes sure no one is alone when they’re in crisis. Solving problems, saving lives, restoring hope—thanks to you.

L’Shanah Tovah!

JFS was visited by a group of high school students from the Philanthropy Leadership in Training program. For the third year in a row, this group, organized by the Jewish Community Foundation (JCF) in conjunction with the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center (JCC), stopped by JFS as part of a week-long camp devoted to fostering philanthropy. According to Gail Littman, VP of JCF’s Endowments and Communications, “They are trying to learn how to give strategically and wisely. They visit different sites and ask questions trying to decide which charity or charities they will give to at the end of the week.” The students took a tour of our Turk Family Center and learned about the different programs at JFS, such as the Hand Up Youth Food Pantry, and how these programs impact the community. It’s good to see the next generation of socially responsible leaders step up.

Let me tell you about a remarkable young man, Daniel Saloner. Daniel just celebrated his Bar Mitzvah, and his mitzvah project centered around helping Holocaust Survivors by volunteering at JFS’s Serving Older Holocaust Survivors (SOS) program.  Impacted by the experience, Daniel, who attends San Diego Jewish Academy, sold wrist bands of his favorite soccer teams to family, classmates, and friends to raise money for SOS. He raised $1,000 from these efforts and then matched it with another $1,000 from Bar Mitzvah gifts.

Daniel wants to continue working with Holocaust Survivors. His generosity with his time and financial contributions are truly remarkable. They serve as a wonderful illustration that we can all do a little more to help others in need when we personalize a cause. Along these lines, I’d like to introduce our Personal Campaign page. It allows us to celebrate personal events like Bar Mitzvahs or honor loved ones and raise money toward the community we care about. Read more at www.jfssd.org/personal. As we learn from Daniel, we all share a role in Tikkun Olam.

Last night we hosted a reception at the Vi at La Jolla Village to kick off the 2010 Friends of the Family Campaign. More than 100 people attended! After a welcome speech from myself and Board President Steve Levine, two guest speakers told their personal stories of how JFS has changed their lives.

Sarah Linssen

Sara Linssen, a member of the 2010-2011 Hand Up Youth Food Pantry Student Executive Committee, talked about how her vision of hunger changed dramatically after she became involved with Hand Up. While she once thought that “hunger” meant sick children in Africa or a homeless man on the street, she was shocked to see more than 150 military families waiting in line for food at one of our military distribution sites. “With over 730,000 people in San Diego County experiencing food insecurity, it’s people like these who are the true face of hunger. It’s families who are trying desperately to make ends meet but unfortunately failing. It’s families in which parents have multiple low-paying jobs, but it’s just not enough.” Sara voiced her pride in Hand Up, saying that the organization has given her the chance to inspire others and to teach people in the community what she has learned.

Our other guest speaker was Karen Crawford, a current Friend of the Family donor and mother of two young boys, Ryan and Jake. When their father passed away, Karen, at the urging of a friend, decided to investigate the Jewish BIGPals program to provide a male role model for her sons. “It was one of the best decisions I made..the Jewish BIGPals program has had a profound impact on my sons’ lives.”

It’s stories like these that make me proud of our accomplishments at Jewish Family Service. Click here to see our 2010 Friends of the Family Campaign and read more articles from the people we have helped.

And I would like to again thank the Vi at La Jolla Village for an absolutely beautiful setting for our event. The food was delicious and their generosity was more than we could have imagined! Click here to visit the Vi’s website.

Friend of the Family Co-Chairs Ronnie Diamond and Ron Zollman

Emerging Leaders at JFS hosted the Ruby Schulman Memorial Golf Tournament last Friday – what a great event! Thanks to Ben Schulman, our Title Sponsor, for making this whole event possible. Ben Schulman is exceptionally generous, as was his wife Ruby. It was an honor to have this tournament as a tribute to her. She was, by the way, a damn good golfer.

I just got this description of the event from Development Associate Shana Hazan:

The Ruby Schulman Memorial Golf Tournament was help on Friday, June 11, 2010 at the Rancho Bernardo Inn. This fun summer event was enjoyed by more than 120 golfers, spa-goers and dinner guests. The event-coordinated by a committee of Emerging Leaders at JFS, and chaired by Bret Scher and Mathew Fink-raised more than $40,000 to support the vital programs and services provided by JFS.

After a lively round of golf, which included four beverage stations donated by California Quivers and Karl Strauss Brewery, tournament participants won more than 40 opportunity drawing items, including a Sony Reader, two nights at the US Grant Hotel, in addition to beauty and dining packages.

During the event’s cocktail hour, golfers, spa-goers and dinner guests came together to bid on more than 15 fabulous silent auction items, featuring a vacation package at the Four Seasons Lanai and VIP greenroom passes to Jimmy Kimmel Live.

The tournament featured a variety of games and contests, including a straightest drive contest, speedway game, and Best the Pro contest. Winners of the eight total contest received prizes ranging from Callaway and TaylorMade golf clubs to Rancho Bernardo Inn golf packages. Members of the tournament’s winning foursome each received $100 gift cards generously donated by Japengo at the Hyatt La Jolla.

We’re very excited that Great News! Cooking School is offering a cooking class to benefit our Adoption Alliance of Southern California Program for the third year in a row! The class celebrates the ethnic diversity of our many adoptive families and also raises funds for Adoption Alliance. Thank you to Devora Safran & Ron Eisenberg, owners of Great News! for hosting this class! Both are passionate supporters of JFS and Devora Safran is on our Board of Directors.

Join Adoption Alliance for this great cooking class, International Vegetarian Delights, at Great News! Cooking School in Pacific Beach on Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 6:00pm. Cost is $54.00, with all proceeds benefiting Adoption Alliance of Southern California.

Recipes include: Sushi Roll filled with Brown Rice, Carrot-Radish Slaw and Avocado; Squash and Roasted Chile Pepper Enchiladas with 3 Cheeses; Grilled Curried Seitan and Red Quinoa Salad with Mango Vinaigrette; Black Bean Kofta Pita Sandwich with Tzatziki Sauce; Moroccan Mushroom, Sweet Potato, and ChickPea Tagine with Toasted Almond Couscous.

Click here to register online>>

I just got two exciting pieces of news from Shelly Hahne, Hand Up Youth Food Pantry Coordinator. See below:

Rock Out for Hunger
On Saturday, May 22, 150 young professionals and high school students came together for the Hand Up Youth Food Pantry’s annual awareness raising and fundraising event: Rock Out for Hunger. The event raised $9000 and 150 pounds of food to support the Hand Up Youth Food Pantry!

It was such a great opportunity to see so many people gathered together with an interest in helping hunger. Those in attendance at the event are the same people we see volunteering at distribution sites, hosting annual food drives, and donating financially to the pantry. The $9000 raised at this event means that close to 1,000 people will be able to receive supplemental food from Hand Up. With more than 400,000 hungry people in San Diego County, we really appreciate all of our sponsors, underwriters and attendees who are helping us in our mission to alleviate hunger in San Diego!

Hunger Action Day

Hand Up Teens at Assembly Hearing

Thanks to a generous grant from the Tuttleman Family Foundation, on Wednesday, May 19, eight teenagers from the Hand Up Student Executive Committee traveled to Sacramento, along with more than 150 community leaders and hunger advocates from across the state, for Hunger Action Day. During the trip the teens were followed by a documentary film crew from the award winning Carlsbad High School TV program, who are making a documentary about hunger in San Diego called One in Seven.

Student leaders Estee Einhorn, Sara Linssen, Tammy Rubin, and Emma Tuttleman testified at an Assembly Human Services Committee hearing on behalf of the military families we serve each month. Committee Chair Jim Beall met with the students afterwards and had an earnest discussion with them about addressing food insecurity in California. During the hearing Assemblymember Lori Saldana, who met with the teens at the Turk

Hand Up Teens in Front of Capital Building

Family Center in April, spoke about the respect she has for the work of the Hand Up teen leaders, and how impressed she is with the Hand Up Youth Food Pantry’s military food distributions.

In the afternoon the teens met with five legislators and their staffers about their specific legislative recommendations for alleviating hunger. This was a great experience for the students involved, and is an experience we hope to provide in the coming years.

Jasmine & Matt Commerce

Our JFS Older Adult Centers held the Shir L’Chaim benefit concert on Sunday, May 23, 2010, where they honored older adults, celebrated life and built community. May was Older Americans Month and this year’s theme was Age Strong, Live Long. According to Aviva Saad, Program Coordinator at University City Older Adult Center, JFS’s Older Adult Centers focus every day, all year long, to make sure that their members age strong and live long, and music is an important component in their programs. That is why they wanted to share some of their favorite monthly entertainers with the whole community. We had an incredible turnout–more than 300 people of all ages showed up, raising more than $7,000 for our older adult centers!  People who attended loved the show and several people hoped it would be an annual event.

Melinda Wynar, Program Coordinator at the North County Older Adult Center, said “We’re getting such great feedback from our participants; they really enjoyed the show!” Several of the participants in attendance expressed being proud to be a part of JFS that day.

The show had a variety of musical entertainment. It opened with Matt and Jasmine Commerce, a brother and a sister who showed their love and passion for music and for our older adults. They where followed by Yochanan Sebastian Winston a flutist and saxophone player, who played classic, jazz and Latin music. Alisha Zalkin, a native San Diegan, came specially for the show from New York to sing for the community. Pianist Joan Kurland added humor to the show, the whole audience was laughing when she sang about her quest to find a nice single Jewish man. The show ended with Kavannah a teen band from Temple Solel, who energized the audience with their Jewish rock and roll music. It was an afternoon to remember and be proud of!

Thank you to all of our attendees and performers who helped make this event a success. We couldn’t have done it without you!

Had a great meeting with Bud and Esther Fischer about a week ago. Both feel very strongly that we should be helping those most in need and the idea of reaching out to low-income military families struck a chord with them. They’ve been donors for several years now, helping us with our Hand Up Youth Food Pantry efforts at Camp Pendleton and Murphy Canyon Military Housing.

During our meeting I was telling them that we’re getting a lot more food donated on pallets, and we have no way of lifting them. I asked if they would help us purchase a used forklift, and without a blink, Esther said: “I’ll buy it for you!” And so, we now have the Esther Fischer Forklift. I think we’re starting a new trend in naming opportunities for donors!

Read on to find out what Shelly Hahne, the Hand Up Youth Food Pantry Coordinator thinks of the donation:

“Prior to this donation, my staff would always hand unload pallets full of food donations. It took forever. Now, with the forklift, one Hand Up staff member is able to unload up to a 1,500 pounds of food in less than 8 minutes! It’s such a huge timesaver and energy saver that is making our food pantry much more efficient.”

The need for supplemental food among military families is ever-growing. Hand Up relies on the generosity of community donors, such as Bud and Esther Fischer, to help meet the need. The food pantry needs everything from food, to canvas bags, to wishlist items like a Commercial Refrigerator/Freezer and refrigerated truck. If you would like to help make ends meet for these military families or spend some time volunteering, please contact us at handup@jfssd.org.