JFS Perspectives

Marilyn Amer, 3rd from left, with a group of students at their citizenship ceremony.

Today we are highlighting a very special volunteer in our citizenship department, Marilyn Amer. She has been a dedicated volunteer for more than 10 years who helps teach citizenship classes every week no matter what the weather or circumstances.

Below is an excerpt from a letter that we recently received from Marilyn:

Preevyet. Hello, my name is Marilyn Amer, and to quote from the Declaration of Independence, I believe it is “self-evident that all men (women) are created equal” and that they have “unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” To put these truths into practice, I have been a volunteer for more than 10 years with Jewish Family Service, working with Victoria Martysh to prepare immigrants, primarily Russian seniors, for citizenship in the United States.

Our focus has been on American History and the English language, particularly on the rights and responsibilities of being a United States citizen. In this process, both the students and I have benefited from learning about each others’ families, traditions, cuisines, and personal lives.

My life was enriched, for example, by a Russian opera singer who would belt out an aria from Eugene Onegin in a boring moment of class. I reveled in another student’s stories about Russian divas of opera and I was stimulated by my discussions with another student on writers Chekhov and Tolstoy. I have been overwhelmed by hugs, kisses, Russian chocolates, bouquets of flowers, and objets d’art from appreciative students over the years.


Marilyn (right) with a happy student who just became a U.S. citizen.

Working with Victoria Martysh of Jewish Family Service is a privilege. She offers continuing support of my class efforts and enlightens me with stories about Russia. Her robust energy and humor enlivens our meetings. Most of the students in our classes garner knowledge and confidence that enables them to pass their citizenship exams.

Thank you to Jewish Family Service for continuing support of the citizenship program, thus helping to produce enlightened individuals who will continue toward the well-being of the United States.

-Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department

Although Passover officially starts tonight, we feel like it's been going on for weeks around our office. Through the Community Passover Program, Jewish Family Service and the Synagogue Council of Greater Denver provide families in need with all the kosher-for-Passover items they need to prepare a Seder. We start the process of getting things ready for this program many months in advance, including collecting food and monetary donations from the community.

Unloading donations from La Vie Catering.

Our community really came together again this year to support this program! We’re happy to report that, with your help, we raised more than $5,200. In addition to the money we received, many community members generously contributed Passover food, and Grand Hyatt Denver, La Vie Catering, and Rocky Mountain Spice Company collectively donated more than 1,700 pounds of apples, potatoes, carrots, onions, walnuts, and cinnamon.


Loading donations from Grand Hyatt Denver onto the JFS truck.

This project also couldn't be a success without the help of our volunteers. Last week, about 10 people came to pack the Passover boxes and make sure everything was organized for distribution day.


Nancy Benyamin and Rivka Miriam Reiffman.

One of these volunteers, 12-year-old Rivka Miriam Reiffman, a student at Denver Academy of Torah who is preparing for her Bat Mitzvah, organized a group of six classmates to help out on this day. "I was so impressed with Rivka Miriam for the way she handled herself during her mitzvah project," said Nancy Benyamin, director of volunteer services. "She initiated the phone calls to get the project started and coordinated all the details with her friends and me every step of the way. I couldn't be happier with the way it all turned out!"


The volunteers from Denver Academy of Torah.

This Monday, with the help of more volunteers, we distributed kosher-for-Passover food to 167 individuals from 60 households. A handful of volunteers worked in the pantry while 10 others delivered the boxes to homebound clients who couldn't pick them up from the pantry. Thank you to our Family Safety Net program staff for working hard to make the day go smoothly and to ensure we could help everyone celebrate the holiday!


Volunteers working hard on Passover distribution day.

And if that's not enough, over the next couple weeks, our volunteer para-chaplains are helping isolated seniors celebrate Passover for conducting Seders in 20 retirement communities and nursing homes in Denver and Boulder.

Last, but not least, when Passover is over on April 14th, how delicious will fresh pita bread taste after a week of eating matzah? Give yourself a break from cooking and eat at Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill while supporting JFS! See what we're talking about...

Phew, that's a lot of Passover! We hope we enjoy the holiday...and for all you non-Jews out there, happy Easter or anything else you may be celebrating this weekend!!!

-Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department

This week, we received some beautiful baskets of food and toiletries from the sixth grade religious school class at Congregation Beth Evergreen. Nineteen students bagged rice and held a food drive for items needed in the Weinberg Food Pantry. In honor of Purim this week, they made cards and put the items into colorful baskets.

Thank you to Gareth Heyman, a longtime supporter of JFS and member of Beth Evergreen, for connecting their religious school with our volunteer department for this project!

If your family or group is looking for some fun, easy ways to help JFS, check out the Family and Group volunteer page on our website and contact Nancy Benyamin, director of volunteer services, at 720.248.4642 before starting your project.

-Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department

Evan Silverman; photo courtesy of Nathan Armes and Magpie Media, Inc.

Evan Silverman has been a JFS volunteer since 2008. We first introduced you to Evan in this blog post and he has been featured in two of our print newsletters. He is a great advocate and friend of JFS who wants to share his perspective about “the chain reaction of good” and other key ideas that have guided him along his journey in life.

There is a concept that Jewish Family Service (JFS) has been talking about recently called “the chain reaction of good.” This idea resonates very well with me. I think all of humanity is linked – not in straight line, but rather in a gigantic circle. What are the implications of this circular chain? First of all, it means everything is connected. According to Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation, every point of mass attracts every other point of mass—everywhere.

It also means that when somebody holds the door open for someone, a temporary one-to-one connection has been made between the two people through the act of kindness. I believe the chances improve that the recipient will do something nice in the future for someone else. It is my feeling that temporary one-to-one connections happen all of the time as we make our way to the grocery store, pharmacy, and beyond.

I believe that sometimes there are more permanent connections as well, such as friendships. Another example of important connections is one where many people are connected over time, i.e. a community. Sometimes these communities are healthy, such as the one at Jewish Family Service.

There are connections created between staff, volunteers, and clients at JFS. A healthy community like JFS has some specific characteristics; everyone is valued for their uniqueness and there must be a sufficient amount of love. It’s also a community that helps assure that the people who need help the most get the most help. I believe that a community in which the members exercise free will in a positive way is extremely important as well.

Two assets over which we can exercise free will (at times) are time and money. One positive way to use time is to cultivate love. This, for me, has occurred as a natural part of being an active member of a healthy community. Jewish Family Service, where I’ve volunteered for the past four years, fits in that category. The Tattered Cover Book Store, where I work, is a great example as well. In each group I am motivated as part of something bigger than myself rather than by fear or greed. When we make positive choices within a healthy community, we transform that community, and by extension, we transform the world in general. In turn, this also further changes us.

Money is valuable as well. When we support a local charity, we improve the community in which we live. The Jewish concept of tzedakah contains the idea that regardless of how little money one has, there is always at least a small amount that can be donated. Living in this way improves the biggest human community of all—mankind.

-Evan Silverman, JFS Volunteer

 

'Tis the season for food...lots and lots and lots of food! While most of us are looking forward to enjoying a nice holiday meal next week, some will have to go without. In an effort to make sure that doesn't happen for our Weinberg Food Pantry clients, we asked for your help...and you didn't let us down! We are happy to report that we met our monetary goal. Thank you to all those who contributed! This will help us distribute food for Thanksgiving meals to more than 100 families next Wednesday.

In addition, we are working hard to keep the Pantry shelves stocked through the winter holidays with some help from our volunteers. Earlier this month, 14 employees from CenturyLink spent four hours turning thousands of pears into pear sauce at the LDS Cannery for our Weinberg Food Pantry. Jessica Paul, Family Safety Net coordinator, says, "The CenturyLink employees have a day each year where they go out and volunteer, and several of them picked JFS and hope to do it next year."

 

And then this week, Cooking Matters came to demonstrate how to make pumpkin chocolate chip muffins using the pear sauce as a substitute for oil. Our Pantry clients got to sample these muffins and take a bag of the ingredients that included the recipe!

In other Food Pantry news...

Thanks to Steven and Sheila Higgins, who own a well-organized store full of tabletop games and supplies called Total Escape Games. On November 5, they hosted and helped organize a special game day and food drive for JFS, with the proceeds and canned food going to the Weinberg Food Pantry. They were able to collect 60 pounds of food and raised $372 in donations, which also included a generous personal donation.

Thanks to everyone for supporting the local community and helping us in the fight to end hunger!

-Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department

 

On Sunday, November 6, Jewish Family Service (JFS) participated in the Jewish Federations of North America’s General Assembly (GA) Day of Service, in which hundreds of Jewish young professionals conducted hands-on service projects benefiting approximately 20 different charities in the Jewish community and the greater Denver community at-large. JFS hosted two different projects – challah baking with the Jewish Disabilities Network (JDN) at the University of Denver Hillel house and rice bagging at JFS for our refugee mental health clients.

Before volunteers dug in to each project, JFS staff spoke briefly about our agency and showed our most recent video so that participants understood a bit about the organization and who we serve. The volunteers and the agency benefited greatly from both projects!

At the Hillel house, five GA volunteers partnered with five JDN clients and their family members to make challahs that were then served at SHALOM Denver the next day at lunch time, which was a big hit! They also made extra dough for the Group Home to freeze and serve for upcoming Shabbat dinners.

Approximately 40 volunteers bagged 500 pounds of rice at JFS to be distributed to refugee families. When they were finished, they helped sort food to be placed on the Weinberg Food Pantry shelves.

Thank you to all of the dedicated volunteers and staff members who made this day a success!

-Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department

When our Weinberg Food Pantry operations coordinator, Chad Livermore, said he was taking a week vacation earlier this month, our staff panicked about who would drive the truck each morning to pick up food donations from local grocery stores. Then we realized that we have an amazing group of volunteers who would probably be able to pitch in! We asked for help and six people stepped up!

 

From 7 to 9 each morning, one of our regular Pantry volunteers, Aubrey Knight, drove the truck and the following volunteers helped him load and unload the truck:

• Debra Reinhard
• Elizabeth Cossin
• John Kayser
• Suzanne Rothman
• Gary Friedland

Check out this video of Aubrey, live from the truck, talking about why he has volunteered in the Pantry for the past four years with other members of Calvary Baptist Church.

Thank you to all the volunteers who helped while Chad was on vacation. He is well-rested from his much-needed vacation!

In other volunteer news...

On October 16th, a group of volunteers will be in the Food Pantry to sort food donated from synagogues during the High Holy Days. Also, JFS is one of 20 local charities that will offer hands-on service projects during the General Assembly Day of Service on Sunday, November 6th. 

-Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department

 

Yesterday, JFS Family Safety Net department hosted an appreciation luncheon for its Weinberg Food Pantry volunteers. About 20 volunteers attended and received gift bags with “100 Grand” and “Payday” candy bars and some JFS-branded goodies which were, as Jessica Paul, Family Safety Net Program coordinator, says, "Their raises for the year!"

They also received a frame with the JFS Guiding Values inside and pots with seeds to grow flowers. The pots said “Volunteers Plant the Seeds of Kindness.” They enjoyed lunches from Gourmet to Go and had fun socializing with each other and our staff.

Yana Vishnitsky, president & CEO; Nancy Benyamin, director of volunteer services; Shelly Hines, Family Safety Net director; and Jessica Paul gave a quick speech thanking everyone for their hard work and dedication.

In addition, the volunteers were asked three questions on a slip of paper. Whoever got the closest, won one of three prizes - a poem about volunteers written on a frame, a volunteer appreciation mug, and a puzzle piece key chain.

How well do you know the Weinberg Food Pantry? Leave a comment below with your answers to the questions our volunteers had to answer. We'll post the answers next week!

1. What year was the Weinberg Food Pantry started?
2. How many pounds of food were donated last year? Just donated, not purchased.
3. How many hours have volunteers contributed to pantry so far for 2011?

-Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department

 

Recently, two wonderful groups of volunteers spent a few hours sorting food and toiletries, bagging rice, and putting food out on shelves in the Weinberg Food Pantry. In August, the following people from a local synagogue, Aish Denver, generously spent two hours volunteering: Michele Askenazi, Bridget Berkow, Lisa Berkow, Susan Greenwald, and Ilana Hamer.

 

Last week, the following ladies from Rose Women's Organization, a volunteer-led charitable fund of Rose Community Foundation, gave their time and energy as well: Barbara Askenazi, Terri Cohen, Melissa Combs Hoch, Dyana Furmansky, Robin Glickstein, Karen Iker, Carol Karsh, Lisa Koenig, Johanna Ladis, Maggie Miller, and Julie Zemel.

 

Thank you to all these volunteers for giving of your time to help with this critical behind-the-scenes work to help ensure that our Pantry runs efficiently! We hope you enjoy the photos of the Rose Women's Organization hard at work!

 

 If you would like to bring a group in to volunteer in the Food Pantry, please contact Nancy Benyamin, director of volunteer services, at (720) 248.4642 for more details.

-Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department

Yesterday we joined 13 other volunteers at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) Cannery in Aurora to can pinto beans for the Weinberg Food Pantry. Upon arrival, before entering the canning area, we were instructed to put on hair nets and then watched an orientation video about the facility's safety rules and regulations. After putting on the proper canning attire and thoroughly washing our hands, we were each assigned a job on the assembly line.

Before we got there, the Cannery staff cooked pinto beans in two giant vats. Kari's job was to work with another volunteer, Joel, to scoop the cooked beans out of the vats into smaller vessels, which were then poured onto the area where the beans were put in cans. "It was hot and steamy in my area, but instead of complaining, I decided it was good for my skin and thought of it as a free facial!" Kari says.

There was a semi-automated area where empty aluminum cans dropped down to a work area where two people put salt pellets in the bottom of each can before they moved on the conveyer belt to be filled with beans. Alaina worked with four other people to fill the cans with the right amount of beans before they moved on to get topped off with water. "It was tricky to get each can to be the precise weight before the cans moved away from us on the belt!" Alaina says.



The Cannery staff weighed three cans every 15 minutes and took an average weight to tell us if we needed to adjust the amount of beans we put in. After awhile, we got the hang of it and found that the beans needed to be filled to just below the second ridge in the can. "This process gave me a deeper appreciation for factory workers!" Alaina adds.



After the cans were filled with beans and water, they moved along the conveyer belt where lids were placed on top of the cans and sealed. Then three other volunteers placed the cans into a cart where they cooled. 30 minutes later, we started the process of labeling and boxing the cans while other volunteers cleaned up the wet pack canning area with high-pressure steam hoses. After everything was completed, we even got to sample our work!



Thank you to the LDS Cannery for donating the beans, the use of the facility, and all of the materials! After three hours of hard work, we had produced 2,400 cans of beans to be distributed at our Weinberg Food Pantry. While it was hard work, remembering that we were feeding families in need with this product was a rewarding feeling!



At the end, some of us stayed for a tour of the impressive facility that includes a food pantry, LDS Family Services, and warehouses full of supplies to be used during natural disasters. We learned a lot from Eric Sawyer, field specialist, and Sister Janelle Norris, a church volunteer!

JFS volunteers go to the Cannery four to six times a year and can different products ranging from applesauce, to beans, to peaches to benefit the Weinberg Food Pantry. If you would like to participate in this unique opportunity, please contact Nancy Benyamin, director of volunteer services at (303) 597.5000 x369.

-Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department