JFS Perspectives

April was National Volunteer Month, and on April 30 JFS Colorado Senior Connections in Edgewater celebrated in style! We thanked our fantastic volunteers with a tea and visit from “Molly Brown,” complete with mismatched antique tea sets and beautiful spring flowers. Everyone enjoyed a wonderful spring afternoon.

The Edgewater Coffee Company donated its space and the Molly Brown House Museum provided a spectacular speaker on “The Outrageous Times of Molly Brown.” Molly Brown was a spectacular philanthropist in the Denver Metro area. The speech was a fitting tribute to our volunteers who have dedicated their time and energy to making Edgewater a strong community.

CSC volunteers host social programs for seniors, teach community education classes for seniors and their families, staff the Edgewater wellness clinic, mentor high school students, teach elementary students how to read, and plan all of the Colorado Senior Connections programs and activities. In short, we would not be a success without our volunteers.

And don't forget, we are always looking for new people to join our amazing group of volunteers!

- Buffy Fox, CSC Volunteer/Activity Coordinator - NORC

For students working on their graduate degree in social work the place they complete their internship has a huge impact on their learning experience. In the JFS Senior Solutions Department we have been fortunate enough to have two fantastic interns this year.

Rene Hickman is a second-year student from the University of Denver who is specializing in geriatric work.

Elizabeth Cossin is also a second-year student, though she came to us from a bit further away. Elizabeth studies at Yeshiva University in New York City.

Typically we see interns learn and supervisors teach but we saw that dynamic change a bit this year. Yeshiva hosts a conference each year for the professionals who supervise their students in the field, and this year I was fortunate enough to receive an invitation. As the vast majority of our student interns come from the Denver area, the opportunity to travel to New York City and represent JFS was an exciting one! I had the chance to learn more about trauma on a community level and how best to help others when your entire community is in need. I also attended a conference educating providers about the many myths and realities of eating disorders. In between conference workshops, I had to take advantage of being in Manhattan, of course, and I enjoyed some of the sights of the city.

Our interns have been dedicated and passionate about helping seniors in need and ensuring that seniors are safe and comfortable in their homes. When asked about her internship experience Elizabeth said, “This internship has played a big part in changing my perspective and thoughts about older adults and how to have an effective supportive role with these clients.” Both students have had the chance to learn about effective support and navigating the benefits that older adults rely on. Out interns have had such a positive impact on our department and we wish them the best as they move into the professional world of social work!

-Laura Harter, JFS Senior Solutions Care Manager         

The ninth annual JFS executive luncheon was a huge success! Thanks to the generous donations of the more than 800 businesses and professionals that attended the event, we were able to raise more than $405,000 for our programs which include, mental health counseling, senior and adult in-home care, disability and employment services, and family safety net services. The audience was moved by the story of Patricia Green, a SHALOM Denver employment Services client. With the help of SHALOM Denver, Patricia was able to move from welfare to self-sufficiency, giving her back her dignity and her confidence. For the first time in her life, she feels like she has a real future.

Patricia wasn’t the only speaker to move the audience. The keynote speaker, Tony Award-winning actor Mandy Patinkin, was so engaging that no one wanted him to stop. Patinkin spoke passionately about his family, his career, and our shared responsibility to give back in support of those who are less fortunate. Patinkin told the audience that after visiting the JFS headquarters, “JFS makes my heart tremble because over 50 percent of the people they care for are not Jewish and that is the definition of Judaism”. With his enthusiasm and passion, Patinkin brought the crowd to their feet.
 
For those of you who missed it here are the links to photos, and the video we showed during the luncheon.

Photos from Blacktie-Colorado.

Photos from the VIP Reception with Mandy Patinkin by A Custom Look Photography

Inspirational new video shown at the event.

Renee Miller - JFS Marketing Department

Our family here at JFS, is deeply saddened by the tragic events that took place on Monday, April 15^th at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. As our community continues to heal from last summer’s Aurora theater tragedy, and the unthinkable events that unfolded in Newtown, Connecticut last December, we are once again left with questions we may never know the answers to.

As we move forward and try to gain an understanding, we must remember that we all have a connection to one another. We must value each other, while finding our own identity in something bigger than ourselves. As you head into the weekend, and enjoy time with family and friends, take a moment to send a prayer to the families of the victims and remember that we are all a part of the same community.

-Renee Miller, JFS Marketing Department

 

A group shot of the staff at my baby shower

Today is my last day of work before I take off for a 12-week maternity leave. It is definitely bittersweet, as I am excited about the arrival of my baby girl and having time off with her, but I will miss my job over the next few months! I am so touched by the generosity, love, and support exhibited by the JFS staff as I approach this family milestone.

Last week, several of my coworkers—Kari Alpen, Lisa Mehl, Nancy Benyamin, Beth Lippa, and Kim Finnestead—hosted a beautiful baby shower at the office. About 40 people attended and showered me with gifts, good wishes, and of course yummy food (they even got me some gluten-free, dairy-free desserts)!


Alaina and Kari at the baby shower

My coworker, Dawn’s nine-year-old daughter came to the shower and later felt badly that she hadn’t brought a gift for the baby and insisted that Dawn take her to the store to get a present! It turns out that her gift was the perfect finishing touch I needed to finish decorating the baby’s room. Another coworker, Vicki, crocheted a beautiful star-shaped blanket for the baby and my eight-year-old was jealous because she didn’t have a blanket that cool. I told Vicki the story, just to laugh about it with her, and then she surprised me yesterday with a star blanket for my daughter, who was so excited and said, “Now I don’t have to be jealous!”


My daughter with the star blanket from Vicki

JFS truly is a family and I feel like my baby will have so many “aunts, uncles, and grandparents” when she comes to the office to visit. I am so blessed to work with such kind-hearted people and I will miss them over the next few months!

The blog posts will continue as regularly as possible in my absence, but you will see a few different authors from the marketing department and other departments. Have a wonderful spring and summer!

-Alaina Green, Associate Director of Marketing and Communications

 

Our Community Passover Program has enjoyed many years of success, with the support from the community and the many volunteers that come together to pack, distribute, and deliver the Passover boxes in the Weinberg Food Pantry. This year, the Family Safety Net staff received a special treat. With their hearts set on helping others enjoy the Passover holiday, the staff members often get caught up in the business of Passover; this year they were given the opportunity to learn the meaning behind the holiday.

Nancy Benyamin and Beth Lippa, two dedicated JFS employees from the volunteer services department, prepared a Seder for the Family Safety Net staff, who are all non-Jewish, to teach them about Passover and the meaning behind the yearly celebration.

That wasn’t the only surprise the staff received during Passover. We were happy to learn that many of the families that we have provided kosher-for-Passover food to in past years didn’t need our services this year. Through new employment and improved living situations, these families and individuals were able to purchase their own kosher-for-Passover food. While JFS will always be around to help those in need, we are happy to hear when family situations improve.

-Renee Miller, JFS Marketing Department

 

As you know, Mandy Patinkin, Emmy and Tony Award-winning singer and actor of stage and screen, will be the featured speaker at the JFS Executive Luncheon on Wednesday, April 24. As part of his presentation, he will do a Q&A session, so if there are questions you've always wanted to ask him, now's your chance! Maybe you have questions about his famous movie role as Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride, his current part on Showtime's hit drama series Homeland, his Broadway roles, or musical career. We want to hear them!

Post your questions in the comments here or send via email by April 10 and he may answer them at the luncheon!

And if you don't have your tickets to the big event, there are a limited number left, so purchase them now!

-Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department

L to R: Hunter, Jackie, Hannah, and Greg Rodriguez

Each month at our all-staff meetings, a different staff member will start the meeting with a D'Var Torah to share something about that week's Torah portion and relate it to the work we do at our agency. Yesterday, Jackie Rodriguez, payroll specialist, shared a very personal and heartwarming story. She has given us permission to share it with all of you. Please leave comments for Jackie!

Today’s Torah reflection comes from the book of Exodus. Moses told the whole Israelite community the steps the Lord had commanded for them to build the Tabernacle, Tent, and the Covering. This was an enormous task that required several days and hours of intensive labor. As a result the entire community excelled with their own abilities of service because of their united faith.

I found it very ironic that this week’s reflection was so related to our organization and the hearts of the wonderful people that work here.

Just like the Israelites, I truly believe the Jewish Family Service (JFS) staff’s faith and desire to serve others in need makes it possible for all of us to discover hidden abilities within ourselves. Labor of service takes a lot of hard work; however it can be very rewarding when you see the results. The power of intention and positive thinking can make amazing changes in our lives.

I believe the organization is very successful because each staff member excels in their own abilities due to their faith in the agency. This amazing transition can also occur in our personal lives.

In speaking with Rabbi Baskin, he mentioned that as the organization has grown, it’s harder to know everyone on a more intimate level. Per Rabbi’s gentle persuasion, I would like to take this opportunity to share my personal story of discovering hidden abilities within myself when times were difficult. Some of you are aware, and others are not, of what happened to my son when he was 14 months old.

Hunter was a victim of Shaken Baby Syndrome at the hands of his daycare provider and we were told he probably was not going to live. Initially he was in a coma, on a ventilator, blind, in a wheelchair, and fed by a tube. Over the past 14 years it has been a very labor intensive journey of love, faith, prayers, patience, therapies, advocating, sacrifice, and forgiveness…all the while knowing it will be never-ending.

Like the sayings go, “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” and “G-d only gives you what you can handle” are absolutely true because I am not dead—yet, and I am a lot stronger. There were several times I questioned G-d “why,” but knew he needed me to be strong to see our son through this traumatic life-changing event.

Once the clouds of despair and hopelessness dissipated, I vowed with G-d’s help to never give up hope and live everyday like it’s a gift. Changing my mindset to be a positive thinker was a very powerful moment in my life. Once my mind believed, my body then took over with action. The action I speak of is the desire to serve other families who have been through similar circumstances.

Initially my passion to educate and build awareness drove me to serve others by creating a website: www.HopeforHunter.com. The intent of the website was to serve as a resource to help families, but it grew and grew into much more than I ever imagined. Over the past several years I have been asked to serve our community by presenting my story to educate others. To date I have presented at several metro area schools, colleges, hospitals, daycare provider groups, and most recently I have a meeting with a parent group at the Anchor Center School for the Blind. Ironically, this is a school Hunter attended and graduated from when he was of preschool age. They served my family and now I am giving back and serving them.

In closing, like Moses and the Israelites, we all have hidden abilities that are within us. When challenged, those abilities make us stronger in the face of adversity and enable us to serve with a faithful heart because when people of G-d join together with a common goal, we can achieve great things.

As the Israelites celebrated the completion of the Tabernacle, my family celebrates the continuing recovery of my son. He walks, talks, rides a bike, is legally blind in only one eye, and currently has straight A’s in his first year of high school. He still continues to struggle with developmental delays and fine motor issues from the permanent brain damage; however Hunter truly is a miracle and we thank G-d every day.

-Jackie Rodriguez, JFS payroll specialist

Yesterday, several Jewish Family Service (JFS) of Colorado staff members braved the snow and cold to participate in One Billion Rising—a global movement to raise awareness about women’s rights and to end violence against women.

Today in the world, a billion women–one of every three women on our planet–will be raped or beaten in her lifetime. That’s ONE BILLION mothers, daughters, sisters, partners, and friends violated.

The goal of One Billion Rising was to get 1 billion people to stand up and take action in various ways to show their support yesterday on Valentine's Day. JFS staff wore red and black and a group went outside to sing and dance to Aretha Franklin’s “RESPECT.”

Check out the video:



We are proud to show our support of this important cause and to stand up for women's rights!

-Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department

Thank you to everyone who attended the fifth annual Jewish Disabilities Awareness Day and Family Resource Fair on January 27 hosted by the Jewish Disabilities Network! More than 200 guests were inspired by keynote speaker, Denver's own Tricia Downing who shared her incredible story. In one instant, she went from being a competitive cyclist to a paraplegic requiring a wheelchair. Tricia has overcome adversity and learned what it takes to perform at the top of her game. Having made the transition from ablebodied cyclist to an athlete with a disability, Tricia knows the true meaning of the words challenge and change, and has learned a wealth of lessons to deal with the obstacles we all face in reaching for our personal goals.



Attendees also gained valuable information from the Family Resource Fair,  participated in a collaborative art project, and enjoyed a dessert reception catered by Shalom Cares.

The event was well-received. Below are some of the comments from our evaluation forms:

“Tricia Downing presentation was great. I enjoyed the entire event.”
“Great program. Very informative!”
“Wonderful program!”
"Tricia was amazing, captivating.”
“I got great information on resources available.”

Learn more, view photos, and download the list of resource fair vendors...

Please tag yourselves in the photos on Facebook! Thank you to Howard Lutz for volunteering his time to take photos.



Thank you to our committee who made this event possible: Robin Fleischmann and Mark Greenberg, co-chairs; Inna Ermakov, John Kayser, Lynn Rubenstein, Alaina Green, Arnie Kover, Jane E. Rosenbaum, Sheryl Goodman, Emily Kieval, and Travis Wilson.

If you attended, please leave your comments about the event!

-Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department