Caring for the community
Caring for the community
The mission of Jewish Family Services (JFS) is to provide helpful and caring services to the Jewish community, infused with Jewish values, in order to improve and strengthen the quality of lives in our community.
JFS strives to help when life presents periodic or chronic challenges. We try to alleviate these challenges through a relationship-based model of care that maintains the personal growth and dignity of each individual, couple, and family served.
Our most utilized service is the Virtual Food Pantry. Through the Pantry, we distribute gift cards from various supermarkets in the area, including Midwest Kosher & Deli, Martin's, Meijer, and Walmart. Additionally, to aid our clients, we also distribute gas cards from either Speedway or Marathon. This allows the client to purchase exactly what is needed without any waste. At present, we are distributing approximately $1900 a month to our clients.
Another of our services is our transportation program. This is geared for seniors who need rides to shopping, doctor appointments, etc. Since September, between our Benton Harbor satellite and ourselves, we have given over 130 rides.
Visiting and speaking with seniors in their homes is an especially meaningful part of JFS. We have the opportunity to spend quality time with our seniors and, through our discussions and updates, allow them to remain part of our extended community. Many enjoy catching up on the local news while reminiscing about how things were when they were more active. As I have written in the OCN, I’m not certain who benefits more from these visits, the senior or myself, as I get a new perspective on what South Bend was like and how it is now. When the back story is heard, a lot of things come into better focus.
As part of our Wellness program, we coordinated with our Programming department and brought in Lisa Levin who spoke about “Breathing as a way to relieve stress” as well as “The Emotion Code.” Lisa is a licensed Clinical Social Work/Therapist, LCSW, BCD, CAS, CECP. It was a great lecture and well attended.
Finally, JFS offers a Life Coaching service. This program is tailored to the client’s needs. This program helps the client realize their potential. We help with creating or tweaking a budget, learning how to deal with stress, interview skills, etc.
These are just a few highlights into what JFS is doing. If you’d like more information or would like to volunteer, please contact us. We look forward to hearing from you.
