JFS Perspectives

SHALOM Denver staffers Meeka Houston, Employment Services Manager; Sara Leeper, Coordinator of Client Services; Susan Simons, CBT Developer/Site Supervisor; and Arnie Kover, Director of Disability and Employment Services at Houston Hobby Airport, ready to get back home from the joint IAJVS/AJFCA conference in Houston Texas.

Several members of the SHALOM Denver staff, along with JFS President and CEO Yana Vishnitsky, Director of Marketing & Communications John Kayser, and JFS Board Chair Alan Mayer, attended the joint annual conference of the International Association of Jewish Vocational Services (IAJVS) and the Association of Jewish Family & Children's Agencies (AJFCA) in Houston, Texas, April 21 to 24.

They all enjoyed the conference and learned a lot from colleagues from around the world at the three-day gathering, hosted by the Houston JFS. The conference was filled with informative sessions, networking with colleagues, and a fun Sunday night "hoe down," complete with kosher BBQ, line dancing and the "Cotton-Eyed Joe."

SHALOM Denver staff, Meeka Houston and Arnie Kover, were honored to deliver presentations about the innovative employment services provided through SHALOM Denver for Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF) recipients and people with developmental disabilities.


Arnie Kover with IAJVS colleagues. Left to right: Leah Rosenbaum, from Detroit, Jerry Rubin, Boston and Peter Bloch, Cincinnati.

-Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department

We had quite an eventful week at Jewish Family Service and SHALOM Denver! While there are always exciting things happening in our agency on a daily basis, below are a few things we think you'll especially enjoy:

Yesterday, CBS4 Denver aired an inspirational story about the wonderful work SHALOM Denver does to help transition people from welfare to work. View this story and learn more about the program!  Thank you to Xstatic Public Relations for working with CBS4 and our staff to get this story on TV!


Heidi Pittaway, who is featured in the CBS4 story, with her daughters

Also yesterday, BBYO hosted a pre-screening of the popular movie The Hunger Games for Jewish youth in 6th-12th grade. To show that "hunger is not a game," the teens had to bring at a minimum of three canned food items to benefit the JFS Weinberg Food Pantry for admission. And in the spirit of the competition shown in the movie, BBYO had a contest to see which of their chapters would bring the most food. In total, the teens collected 2,200 pounds of food for our pantry! Thank you to everyone who participated and helped make an incredible impact on the lives of people who are in need.


Teens contribute food to their chapters' food bins at the theater

Earlier this week, we said goodbye to Amy Wood who left JFS after nearly 20 years of involvement with the agency. Amy actually started as a JFS board member in 1996 and held various positions including volunteer, intern, case manager, Family Safety Net program director, and finally government and community affairs director. We had a great party to toast (and roast) Amy and her love of flip charts, decision trees, and Venn Diagrams! Her energy, talent, and dedication will be missed!


Shelly Hines, Family Safety Net director, with Amy Wood


Amy's Tenure Timeline posted at the party in honor of her love of flip charts

-Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department

Earlier this week, we said goodbye to Annie Reilly, care manager of the Hearts and Hands Homemaker Program, after 21 years. At her retirement party, we toasted and roasted her, shared tears of joy and sorrow, and celebrated her future endeavors over cake. A few past employees even came back to share their stories! JFS presented Annie with a photo book of memories and beautiful earrings as a token of our appreciation.



Thinking back on the wonderful party, we started to wonder what makes people want to work at JFS so long. We asked some of our staff members, who have worked here at least a decade, why they like working for JFS. Here are just a few of the many comments we received:

“When I started at JFS 33 years ago, I found a community and a place I belong. It was tremendous to find a place like this to not only work, but to know that I am doing something good every day.”

-Yana Vishnitsky, President & CEO

“I’ve served 14 years because we are not only a family service, but indeed a family, helping one another in our professional and personal lives.”

-Rabbi Eliot Baskin, Jewish Community Chaplain

“I’ve stayed with the agency 32 years because Jewish Family Service of Colorado has a heart and soul and dedication to quality service that cannot be found elsewhere. Our mission and values guide our operations and our operations are carried out professionally, yet passionately. Our leadership and staff are selflessly dedicated to helping people live healthy, happy and complete lives. Our philosophy of Tikkun Olam, to “repair the world,” is one in which I strongly believe. I am blessed and privileged to be able to come to work every day to an environment where all staff leave their personal “stuff” at the door and form a huge circle of love and support around each client and each other. JFS is the ultimate in our field and I am proud to be a part of it.”

-Arnie Kover, Director of Disability and Employment Services

“I’ve been here 11 years. Working at JFS is truly like having a second family. Not only are there the quirky and eccentric family members, but more important is the family support. We are all caretakers - not only of the community, but of each other. JFS is a magical place and I feel blessed every day to work with such amazing people to do such amazing things.”

-Dawn Richard, Development Director

While we haven't worked here for quite as long (but we're getting close!), here are a few of our favorite things about working at JFS: the staff and leaders of the organization, the office environment, getting all the Jewish holidays off, finding creative ways to tell the stories of the agency, the management trusts and believes in us and helps us grow our skills and interests, we always have fun at our jobs, and of course the fact that we help people in the community every day is fantastic!



And, JFS is hiring for several positions right now! If you want to join this amazing team of professionals and see what we're talking about first hand, check out our job openings!

-Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department

Last week, JFS at the JCC Colorado Senior Connections hosted a party to kick off a new program for older adults that includes social, educational, recreational, and health activities. More than 80 people over the age of 60 attended this event held at the Robert E. Loup JCC Denver (JCC). The attendees enjoyed mingling and learning more about how to get involved in this new program, while feasting on hors d'oeuvres and wine provided by Allied Jewish Apartments and Jewish Family Service.



Cathy Grimm, Suzi Malman, and Lil Shaw are the staff members at both Jewish Family Service and the JCC who are leading the program. Cathy Grimm, program coordinator and director of Senior Solutions at Jewish Family Service says, “This new partnership will take all the social and educational programs older adults love at the JCC and will add exciting new programs and resources that will strengthen and bring the community together.” At the end of the event, we had transportation service available to ensure everyone got home safely.

If you are interested in learning more about this program and the weekly events and activities taking place, check out the JFS at the JCC program schedule!



Thank you to the partners of this program: Rose Medical Center, Jewish Family Service, Jewish Community Center, Shalom Cares, Allied Jewish Apartments, and local synagogues for coming together to keep our community united.

Also, thank you to Howard Lutz for generously donating his photography skills for the party!

-Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department

Looking at Naomi Segel, a blonde, Jewish girl from New York, you would never guess that she is the Spanish translator at JFS. But looks are deceiving! Naomi studied Spanish for six years in junior high and high school, but has rarely spoken the language since then. Shortly after she started at JFS as a Family Safety Net case manager last year, she noticed the lack of resources we had to accommodate Spanish-speaking clients. Since she spoke more Spanish than any of the other staff members, she took the initiative to brush up on her Spanish skills.

There was a Food Pantry volunteer who spoke Spanish, so Naomi asked her for help and they started going out to lunch frequently to practice speaking the language. During their lunches, they only spoke Spanish so Naomi could gain confidence with her skills. She quickly felt more comfortable with the language and started translating signs at JFS, doing client intakes and answering phone calls in Spanish, and researching resources in the community.

"As I'm getting more proficient with my Spanish, I'm able to have more complex conversations with clients to figure out what they really need and how we can best serve them," says Naomi. "People now get excited to see me because they know I can talk to them. I'm not quite fluent yet, but I'd say I'm about 75% of the way there!"

To recognize Naomi for her hard work and going above and beyond the call of duty, JFS presented her with a Distinguished Service Award at this month's staff meeting. "It feels great to be appreciated," says Naomi. "JFS is such a great place to work!"

-Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department

Appetizers on edible spoons, a signature Sangria, 200 people mingling in a hip art gallery...this was definitely not your grandmother’s annual meeting! Last week, we hosted Celebrate JFS at District 475 in the new Vallagio at Inverness area, which Peter Kudla, owner of the event space and emcee for the evening, said is the new midtown.

JFS volunteers, board members, staff, and supporters gathered to celebrate the agency’s successes from the past fiscal year, install eight new board members and new Board Chair Alan Mayer, and toast the 2011 Max Frankel Volunteer of the Year Daisy Flynn.



In the past four years, Daisy has volunteered two days per week in the Accounting department and has given about 1,650 hours to JFS! She is also a regular canning volunteer, and fills in at the Weinberg Food Pantry as needed. Congratulations to Daisy on this well-deserved honor!



We also said goodbye to our previous board chair. Yana Vishnitsky, president & CEO, presented Steve Kris with an over-sized gavel with the inscription: Steven D. Kris, Jewish Family Service of Colorado Board Chair 2009-2011. Heartfelt thanks for your leadership and dedication. May your gavel continue to be heard far and wide.



After a few brief words from Steve, he turned the meeting over to the new board chair, Alan Mayer, who welcomed our eight new board members: David Asarch, Carla Bartell, David Friedman, Will Gold, Blanca Lerman, Linda Appel Lipsius, Rob Naiman, and Kerry Shelanski. He also thanked outgoing board members Jeff Johnson, Annette Pluss, Dean Prina, M.D. Chet Schwartz, Debi Tepper, and Ted Wirecki, M.D. for their years of dedicated service to JFS.

View more photos from the evening...

Thank you everyone who attended this event! We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. If you were there, please leave your comments - we'd love to know what you thought of the event!

-Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department

Spring is here, which means graduation season is upon us and our JFS Senior Solutions interns are wrapping up their work this week. Before they left, we asked them a few questions about their internship experience and what they're doing next.

Lindee Burns

Q: What were your responsibilities at JFS during your internship?
A: I worked about 30 hours/week and saw a small caseload of about 10 to 12 isolated senior clients either weekly or every other week. I did assessments, provided companionship to the seniors, and helped them with errands. I also helped one day/week at Colorado Senior Connections in Edgewater and often helped with their special events. In addition, I attended community meetings, seminars, and local events to learn about senior issues.

Q: What did you learn during your internship or what was your favorite part of the experience?
A: My passion is working with seniors, so I really enjoyed this opportunity! I loved working with the people at JFS. JFS values its employees; everyone is so dedicated and committed, and they believe in the mission of the agency. I received a lot of support from the Senior Solutions staff, which is really important and especially helpful in social work and case management. I also learned a lot about community work from Alison Joucovsky, Colorado Senior Connections coordinator, about what it takes to enter a community without alienating them, find out what programming the population wants/needs, and create programs to fit their needs.

Another important lesson I learned is that sometimes just being present with someone (an elderly client) is helping – you don’t need to always do something. For example, I saw a 102-year-old woman with dementia and sometimes just being there with her was all she needed.

Q: What are you doing next?
A: I am graduating from Colorado State University with a master's in social work on Friday, May 13th and looking for a job working with seniors. I am having a baby at the end of August, so I may wait until after baby is born to start a job.

Jason Polk

Q: What were your responsibilities at JFS during your internship?
A: I worked 16 hours/week at JFS and provided companionship and emotional support for seven senior clients. I usually visited them weekly and got to know them well. They opened up a lot to me – some talked about their problems and some just told jokes.

Q: What did you learn during your internship or what was your favorite part of the experience?
A: JFS was a good place to intern – the staff was supportive and interested teaching the interns. I learned a lot about the Jewish culture, which I enjoyed. This was my first experience working with an older population and I became more aware of the personal struggles that seniors face.

Q: What are you doing next?
A: I am working on my master's degree in social work at Newman University in Colorado Springs and graduating next year. I have an internship next semester through Denver Health at Lake Middle School in their school-based counseling department.

Renate Fettig

Q: What were your responsibilities at JFS during your internship?
A: I worked 16 hours/week with a caseload of eight senior clients that I visited in their homes, took on errands, and was there for them when they wanted to talk.

Q: What did you learn during your internship or what was your favorite part of the experience?
A: My favorite part of the internship was working with the JFS staff. I learned so much including how to be a team player, how to discern what the clients really meant when they said they wanted certain things, and about the Jewish religion from my clients and the staff. I also had to learn to like getting up early to beat rush hour since I live in Boulder! I am really going to miss working at JFS!

Q: What are you doing next?
A: I am finishing my bachelor's degree in social work from Metro State University this Sunday and starting a one-year master’s program next fall at Metro. I have an internship next fall at Halcyon Hospice.

Congratulations to Lindee, Jason, and Renate for completing your internships and doing such a great job at JFS! We appreciate all your hard work and wish you the best of luck in your careers!

-Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department

Congratulations to Alison Joucovsky, JFS Colorado Senior Connections Coordinator, for winning a Sawaya Values Award from the Sawaya Law Firm! The "Sawaya Values Awards" recognize Coloradans who are committed to helping themselves and members of their community reach their full potential. Alison received this recognition because "she is truly dedicated to help increasing the health and welfare of her community in Edgewater, Colorado."

Alison was nominated by Officer Sean Kennedy of the Edgewater Police Department, who said,  "Senior Citizens are often left on the backburner of society and Alison is dedicated to making sure that does not happen. She is a tremendous help in spreading the importance of citizens getting to know one another and banding together. She has a special talent of bringing people together for the purpose of helping one another."

The Sawaya Law Firm is making a $250 donation to JFS Colorado Senior Connections in Alison's name! Congratulations, Alison and thank you to Sawaya Law Firm!

-Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department

Many of you received the email we sent out this week about raising money for our Passover program. We are trying to raise $7,000 to provide kosher Passover Seder meals for 75 families through the Weinberg Food Pantry.

The boxes that the clients will receive include a kosher chicken as well as other necessary items such as matzo, matzo meal, gefilte fish, borscht, candles, eggs, and fresh produce. We all know how expensive kosher food can be and have noticed how much the prices of food are rising!

So, our Family Safety Net Administrative Assistant Shelley Kolman has been doing her research over the last year to find the best prices for us to purchase these items! She has spent countless hours on the phone with various stores and vendors and watching the sale ads to procure all the items in time for Passover. Lucky for us, Shelley's husband is a banquet chef and has lots of connections in the food industry! He is even helping us obtain kosher chickens from H&M meats in Rifle. King Soopers at Monaco and Hampden (right down the street from us) generously agreed to give us sale prices to purchase the rest of the kosher items. Thank you, King Soopers!



We still have to pay for all this food! That's where you come in...please donate online today and indicate "Holiday Food" in the "Tribute Text" section or mail your check by April 10th to JFS, 3201 South Tamarac Drive, Denver, CO 80231, with "Holiday Food" in the memo line.

Thanks in advance for all your support to bring Passover to families in our community!

-Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department

Sometimes things don’t work out the way we plan. Even at a human service agency, where we try to make people’s lives easier, we have to acknowledge that sometimes our idea of what will make their life better doesn’t jive with our clients’ immediate needs. I learned that lesson watching Meeka Houston, a case manager for the TANF (Temporary Aid to Needy Families) clients at SHALOM Denver, a division of JFS. Meeka runs an empowerment group for the TANF clients, who are working their way off welfare. They come to SHALOM Denver to work and learn how to get back on their feet.


Meeka Houston

Meeka’s job is to work with the clients to give them skills so that one day they will find full time employment. Her day is filled with “hiccups” and parents who are learning what it takes to be a parent and to be a meaningful part of the community. Meeka says the hiccups make her more resolved to keep on going.

A few weeks ago, one of Meeka’s clients needed a furnished apartment in order to get her children out of foster care. Meeka rallied everyone she could think of, and within two days she had furniture and a readied apartment. As it turned out, the judge did not think the family was ready for the children and they were told to come back for the next court date in late April.

Watching this was very frustrating for me. I want people to be ready when I am ready. I wanted this mother to have her children back that day. Meeka worked very hard to ready this mother and furnish this apartment. It was very frustrating to watch her hard work unravel.

Meeka helped me understand the importance of patience with the analogy of what flight attendants tell us on a plane. In the case of an emergency, you put your own mask on and then assist the child. If you are not safe and strong, you can’t assist your children. It is hard to remember that people are not always ready when we want them to be ready. We can rally together and furnish a home, but we can’t control what goes on in that home. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t rally together or go out of our way to help, it just means we have to remember that it doesn’t always happen the way we picture it in our mind. One day, hopefully in April, this mother will have her three little children back from foster care. Maybe for Meeka this is a blessing. She now has an extra three months to ready this mother to be a mother. Patience is a hard lesson. Thank you, Meeka for teaching these parents this skill—and for teaching it to me.

-Lindsey Gutterman, JFS Director of Marketing and Communications