Today when I walked into my office, there was a small, feisty ant patrolling my desk, scarfing up crumbs from my computer keyboard. You may not know that I spent a lot of lunchtimes working at the computer. It’s a great time to catch up—eat a sandwich, type a letter, you know how it goes. Inevitably, some crumbs find their way into the keyboard. And so, occasionally, does a foraging ant. “Okay, Miss Ant,” I said to her, “enjoy yourself today, because I can’t promise the same good pickings from the next tenant.” And with that, she scurried away, and I sat down to write to you.

My retirement is just a week away.

First, an answer to the question everybody’s been asking me: “What are you going to do with yourself when you retire?” Answer: Play a lot more basketball, help plan Rebecca’s wedding (actually, she’s been planning her wedding since she was seven years old), and take some long-deferred trips with my husband, Mark. And, continue as a consultant to JFS, which lets me stay part of the agency I love and the people we help.

Since this is my last blog entry , I want to leave you with one thought: it is central to what we are about, and the heart of what we have accomplished in these years. It goes beyond our emergency response abilities, our incredible programs, our emphasis on accountability, and the all-out commitment of our great staff and volunteers. Together we have done more than serve people who need us. We have redefined the meaning of “community”.

We have taken our precious Jewish heritage of compassion for those who need help, respect for the aged among us, commitment to our children and their future, and we have put it all at the service of our beloved San Diego. We meet the needs. Stay the course. Claim the future. And in the process, we have redefined what community is all about.

For that, and for all these wonderful years, I thank you. Thank you for your devotion, friendship, and support. I am the most fortunate of social workers. And I know it very well.

With Appreciation,
Jill

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.

Not only is Andrew Hoffman our July Employee of the Month, but we’ve been asking the community to vote for Andrew to be the San Diego Padre’s representative for People Magazine and Major League Baseball’s “All Stars Among Us” Campaign.  Good News – He Won!  As a winner, he’ll be attending MLB’s All-Star game on Tuesday, July 13th as representing the San Diego Padres, and our Hand Up Youth Food Pantry.  This is a great honor for Andrew, the food pantry and Jewish Family Service.  But as Shelly Hahne, Coordinator of the Hand Up Youth Food Pantry, can attest, “Andrew has always been an All-Star at JFS.”

I asked Shelly to write a little more about Andrew so you can get a full sense of his impact at JFS.  We are very proud of this accomplishment.

“Andrew treats everyone with the utmost respect, regardless if they are a co-worker, client, donor, or volunteer at JFS.  This respect is reciprocated by those who come in contact with Andrew.  This can be seen when Andrew attends Hand Up food distributions and clients begin chanting “Andrew! Andrew! Andrew!”  They chant his name and continuously ask how he is doing because they feel a special connection to him as someone who interacts with them as a person, not just as part of his job.  He has a special gift for remembering almost every client’s name, an exceptional skill when one considers that Andrew has served food to more than 3,360 people at the Downtown/Balboa Park site alone and he can place someone’s name with their face even after they have not picked up food for six months!

Tom Garfinkel, Padres COO, presenting Andrew with a $1,500 check for the Hand Up Youth Food Pantry from the San Diego Padres

Working at JFS for more than two years, Andrew has provided administrative support to a number of programs in JFS’ Community Service Department.  He currently holds the following titles:

• Adoption Alliance Administrative Assistant
• Hand Up Youth Food Pantry Administrative Assistant & Outreach Specialist
• Project SARAH Administrative Assistant
• Supporting Jewish Single Parents Administrative Assistant

Basically, Andrew does it all and is the glue that holds several programs together!  Andrew maintains a sense of calmness that resonates among co-workers.  With involvement in so many programs, Andrew helps to coordinate and attends multiple events each month.  He is able to pull together all of the little details that make an event successful while keeping a composed and relaxed attitude that makes it all seem so easy.  Andrew is a critical asset to all four programs he supports and no program could operate as smoothly as it does without him.

In addition to providing administrative support, Andrew is an Outreach Specialist for the teen leadership component of Hand Up.  He has been called “the Teen Whisperer” and it has been announced that it is “the Year of the Hoffman”.  Andrew has built rapport with each teen on the Student Executive Committee and is able to connect with and empower them to successfully host food drives, hold fundraisers, and lead volunteers.”

Andrew does so much for so many programs and is such an intricate part of JFS, he truly deserves this recognition. Congratulations Andrew!

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!