What's New at JFS

Generous Donations Lead to Establishment of New Funds

JFS is pleased to announce the establishment of two new funds that will support the work of the agency. As a result of a generous donation in the fall by Nancy L. and Arthur E. Lee, JFS has created The Nancy L. and Arthur E. Lee Special Needs Family Fund. This fund will support Special Needs programs and services offered at JFS.

JFS also received a generous donation from Betty and Arthur Roswell to support the Mental Health Counseling Program. The program is being renamed in their honor and will be known as The Betty and Arthur Roswell Family Counseling Center. This donation will assist JFS to continue meeting the mental health needs of those in our community despite losses in funding from Somerset County United Way.

We are fortunate to have such generous and committed families in our community. The Roswell’s and Lee’s have been long time supporters of JFS and their contributions will go a long way in helping to ensure that these two programs will be here when people need them.

To contribute to either of these two funds or to get involved in other ways please call 908 725-7799 or e-mail jstarr@JewishFamilySvc.org.

JFS Celebrates 30 Years at Annual Meeting

JFS building

Please join Jewish Family Service as we celebrate our 30th Anniversary at our Annual Meeting on Wednesday, June 2, 2010 at 7:00 PM. The meeting will be held at the Shimon and Sara Birnbaum JCC, 775 Talamini Road, Bridgewater, NJ. For more information contact JFS at 908-725-7799 or Admin@JewishFamilySvc.org.

2nd Annual Special Needs Conference

On December 13, Jewish Family Service presented the 2nd Annual Special Needs Educational Conference. The conference was designed for parents, caregivers, educators including teachers & paraprofessionals, counselors, social workers, CST members, occupational therapists, speech therapists; and other medical and health professionals working with children of all ages with ADD, ADHD and those on the autism spectrum. The keynote speaker was Dr. James Ball, Board Certified Behavior Analyst, author and international speaker. His speach was titled, “Real Life Strategies for Successful Parenting: Tools for Everyday”

  • 2nd annual parent conference

    (Left to Right) Ruth Edelman [JFS], Dr. James Ball,
    Dr. Sharon Granetz [committee member]

Family Meals: Coming Together to Care For an Aging Parent

On Thursday, December 3, 2009, Jewish Family Service of Somerset, Hunterdon, and Warren Counties and Jewish LIFE (Learning is for Everyone) presented “Family Meals: Coming Together to Care For an Aging Parent” with Michael Tucker and Jill Eikenberry, based on their recent book by the same name (Buy at Amazon).

family meals family meals

The book is about a journey home, which is most certainly not a place. It’s about children becoming adults, it’s about an aged parent becoming a child, it’s about a husband and wife realizing that the direction of their life is never the issue only that they’re moving in that direction together.

Michael Tucker is an actor and author, best known for his portrayal of Stuart Markowitz in the long running NBC series, LA Law. He and his wife, the actress Jill Eikenberry, now split their time between New York City, where they pursue work in the theater, and their home in Umbria, Italy, where they pursue the good life!

family meals family meals

Recent Donations to JFS

Jewish Family Service of Somerset, Hunterdon, and Warren Counties thanks and acknowledges the recent donations it received.

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    Gifts donated by
    Canal Walk Hadassah — Harriet Blecher

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    Tami Elby (right) & Debbie Foster (left),
    Chairs of the B'nai Israel Social Action
    Committee, deliver gifts to JFS

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    Gifts donated to JFS clients by
    Congregation B'nai Israel

Ohr Tikvah Jewish Healing Center Merging with JFS

JFS is pleased to announce that the Ohr Tikvah Jewish Healing Center will be integrated within its agency effective immediately. “Jewish Family Service is delighted that Ohr Tikvah will bring its rich Jewish programming expertise, community supporters and resources to expand the services that JFS can offer the community,” stated Nancy L. Lee, President of Jewish Family Service.

  • Rabbi Nafshi

    Rabbi Robin Nafshi

Lisa Nierenberg, Ohr Tikvah’s current President, shares that, “Ohr Tikvah has delivered innovative programs to the community since its inception in 2003. These programs include spiritual support groups, healing worship services, educational topics such as nutrition , body image, parenting, children with special needs, as well as wellness programs. We are particularly proud of the new services that we are offering underserved members of our community with the recent addition of our Community Rabbi, Rabbi Robin Nafshi. Rabbi Nafshi will continue her work serving Jewish members needing spiritual and religious counsel in nursing homes, hospitals, prisons and other facilities as part of her work with Jewish Family Service. After careful evaluation, we decided that it was a natural evolution of our organization’s mission to bring synergy and increased attention to the community by merging with a strong and highly respected organization such as JFS.”

This move to incorporate Ohr Tikvah as a programming entity within JFS parallels a trend in the US where JFS organizations expand their alliances with Jewish healing centers. The Boards believe that this is an exciting development that will augment the programming capabilities of JFS to meet the communities evolving needs in a relevant manner, allow JFS to introduce new program topics, and also have additional support for current focus areas. Ohr Tikvah will continue to rely on the support of its community synagogues, its granters for specific programs as well as personal involvement and support from its volunteers. Ronnie Weyl and Annette Radick, members of Ohr Tikvah’s Board have joined the JFS Board of Directors.

Jewish Family Service Reveals New Web Site Design

New site provides easier and faster ways to find information

Jewish Family Service is proud to reveal its new web site design. Carefully crafted to make information about JFS programs and services easier to find, the new web site also highlights current news, events, and activites. In addition, the new site was designed to be more visually attractive and faster to navigate. “A primary goal of good web site design is to provide a way for the user to ‘get anywhere, from anywhere’ within the site in 3 or fewer clicks,” said Scott Brenner, the lead designer on the project.

The new web site provides detailed information on JFS programs and services, describes the founding and history of the agency, and gives bios for the director and staff members. It lists the current and past members of the board of directors, outlines many ways volunteers can assist the efforts of JFS, and explains multiple methods of supporting JFS from monetary donations to Bimah basket purchases to gifts-in-kind. An expanded contact us page provides several ways for people to get in touch with the agency.

Radiant Webscapes

Many months in the making, the web site was designed and developed by Radiant Webscapes, a local web design company founded and run by a previous beneficiary and supporter of Jewish Family Service.

We hope you enjoy using the new web site and welcome your comments and feedback.