JFS Perspectives

One of JFS's good friends, Laurie Greene, turned 66 on November 2nd! He was one of the first residents of the JFS Group Home and still lives there 28 years later. Laurie also works at SHALOM Denver and volunteers at JFS every Friday. He is truly a valued member of our family and we can't thank him enough for everything he does for our organization!

In honor of his birthday, we want to share some old photos that we recently found of Laurie and his family from 1982 when the Group Home first opened. Enjoy!

LAURIE THEN...






Laurie with his mom, Helen


Laurie with his parents, Monty and Helen in front of the Group Home

LAURIE NOW...


Laurie enjoying a Bronco game


Laurie with Arnie Kover, JFS director of disability and employment services


Getting ready for a helicopter ride!

Happy Birthday, Laurie from your friends at Jewish Family Service!

-Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department

Recently, Temple Emanuel hosted Mitzvah Day, the congregation's annual social action event. This day provides a concerted congregational effort to help those in need, when families go out into the Denver community to do all types of volunteer work. Members give their time, their energy, and their talent as they participate in a variety of mitzvot. Some of the projects included yard clean up and planting, painting rooms, entertaining at hospitals and nursing homes, animal care, preparing office mailings, and meal preparation.



Three of the projects that helped JFS included yard work at the JFS Group Home, cleaning and sorting in the Weinberg Food Pantry, and bagging rice at Temple Emanuel for the Pantry. In addition, congregants and religious school classes collected various toiletry and personal hygiene items for our clients.

Ed Janoff, the captain of the project at the Group Home, said, "Several families pitched in to get the yard ready for summer, which included cleaning up shrubbery, planting flowers, and trimming trees. We all worked together really well and had fun interacting with the residents while doing our mitzvah project. We all felt a great sense of accomplishment when we were finished and can't wait to come back and help next year!"

Thank you to Temple Emanuel and its members for spending the morning helping our agency!

To learn more about volunteer opportunities with JFS, please contact Nancy Benyamin at (303) 597.5000 x369.

-Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department

Last Sunday, the residents and staff of the JFS Group Home experienced a helicopter flight over downtown Denver! Regina, owner of the Rotors of the Rockies, generously donated helicopters and crew for a 30-minute flight over downtown Denver, City Park, the Denver Zoo, Cheeseman Park, INVESCO field, Coors field, Sloan’s Lake, and other well-known sites.

Here's what some of the residents had to say about the adventure!


Emily: “I can now die because I have flown in the clouds and I have conquered my fears.”


Lee: “I am flying like a bird, I hope that everyone is looking up so they can see me.” 


Laurie: “I want to thank them because I have always dreamed of flying in a helicopter. Now I can say I did it!”


Barbara: “I am going tell my brother and nephew about what I did. They are going to be so proud of me.”

Rotors of the Rockies regularly gives back to our community by donating free flight time for the handicapped and people in need in our community.  Andrew, one of the pilots, said, “I love being a pilot, but I love giving back to groups like yours even more.”


Mike Lobato, JFS Group Home manager, said, "They were very professional and caring when taking care of us from preflight to helping us in and out of the helicopters."


Thank you to Rotors of the Rockies for this wonderful opportunity!

-Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department 

Megan Glover, a JFS Group Home counselor, told us about an amazing volunteer, Dan Bleich, who cooks weekly Shabbat dinners for the Group Home residents. Here's what Megan had to say about Dan:

It’s no secret that the JFS Group Home has had a lot of staff changes within the past couple of years. What may be an even bigger known secret is that none of the new Group Home staff are Jewish with the exception of one…and we really don’t know that much about Jewish customs, history, and kosher cooking. So, when people like Dan Bleich come around the Group Home to share his time, wisdom, Jewish knowledge, and wonderful cooking, we all welcome him with open arms!

Dan started volunteering with us about eight months ago after he got laid off from 40 years in the airline and travel industry. We could probably count exactly how many wonderful weeks he’s been with us based on each delicious meal he has served. Dan came to JFS with some extra time on his hands and some mitzvahs in mind, (yes, he’s taught me already that this means "good deeds"). He said he liked to cook and therefore was connected to the Group Home. Apparently it is well known throughout the community that we like to eat!

After meeting with the volunteer department at JFS, Dan decided to come on Friday afternoons to prepare more “traditional” Shabbat dinners for us. I’m telling you, we got way more then what we bargained for! Dan has educated and encouraged our beloved residents through each Shabbat and especially each holiday, (and there have been a lot!) with stories, history, prayers, and delightful food. And, to my gratitude, he has walked this Jewish-ignorant staff through them all as well!



If this weren’t enough for you to already respect the guy, throughout all of the briskets, matzo balls, and random macaroni and cheese requests that he has created for us, he has never once indulged in any of the meals he has cooked! Dan comes to the Group Home with enough time to prep his meal, socialize with his adorning fans, cook, and conduct the Shabbat ceremony, and then hurry off in time to pick up his wife! We keep telling him how much everyone here gets out of his visits, but he keeps insisting that he gets more. 

We asked Dan what he enjoys about this volunteer experience and here are some of his thoughts: 

I like cooking for them because I’m a decent cook and I enjoy doing it. They tell me when it’s good or I can tell if it’s not – and I appreciate their feedback. I never got instant feedback in my career. Plus, I don't keep kosher at home, but since this is a kosher home, I had to learn how to do it.

Also, the residents give me a lot of courage; they probably struggle every day both physically and mentally, yet they seem very positive. When I’m around them, I can’t possibly think about anything that would be negative in my own life.

-Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department

This month, some of our clients with disabilities attended special sporting events through the generosity of some of our donors and volunteers! Below are some highlights from a trip to Bandimere Speedway and a Broncos game.



On August 11th, SHALOM Denver director, Arnie Kover and delivery driver, Anthony Montoya, took several clients with disabilities, who are “real car guys” to the drag races at Bandimere. Thanks to the generosity of Paul Lombardi, food and beverage manager at Bandimere raceway, they were able to have a “guys night at the races."  Admission, hot dogs and burgers were provided by Paul and the guys got souvenier T-shirts to take home. In addition, Tim Hall, former Laradon Hall Director, turned race car driver let the guys sit in a real Corvette race car. Thanks to Paul and Tim for a great night!



On August 21st, Duke Kaminsky, a long-time donor, gave the JFS Group Home four tickets to a Broncos exhibition game. Laurie and Lee were the lucky residents who got to go to the game. Denise, a member of the Group Home staff, and Phil Rose, a volunteer, were the chaperones for the evening.

Phil has been volunteering at the Group Home for a couple of months, hanging out with the guys and watching sports at the house. He had expressed an interest in taking them on an outing and when this opportunity arose, he jumped on it! Everyone had a great time and upon Laurie's insistence, stayed until the end of the game.

Phil says of the experience, "The fact that it was a preseason game did not dim Lee and Laurie's enthusiasm. I have a new appreciation for how these two gentlemen coped with the challenge of getting to the seats from the parking lot. They were both so happy to see the live action and all the visual stimuli surrounding an NFL football game. They had gratitude for everyone who helped."

Thanks to everyone who made these fun events happen for all the guys!

-Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department