The Raphael Levy Memorial Foundation Endowment for Refugees and Mental Health Services
Denver, CO (September 22, 2022) Jewish Family Service (JFS) is pleased to announce a generous endowment gift totaling $500,000 from the Raphael Levy Memorial Foundation (RLMF) in honor of our 150th anniversary. The endowment will support refugee clients resettling in Colorado and provide mental health services to meet the immediate and long-term needs of the mental health crisis. JFS’s team of skilled mental health professionals is committed to helping, improving, and making a difference in the lives of those struggling with mental health issues.
This year, JFS successfully resettled 58 Afghan refugees. JFS found refugees affordable, safe housing, supplied cultural mentors to teach them to grocery shop and navigate public transportation, enrolled them in Medicaid, language courses, and kids in school, and provided culturally appropriate food from the Weinberg Food Pantry and vital and immediate support from our Refugee Mental Health team.
In October 2022, JFS will become a permanent Resettlement & Placement (R&P) agency as a HIAS affiliate, making JFS the fourth resettlement agency in Colorado. HIAS is a nonprofit that provides vital services to refugees and asylum seekers while advocating for their fundamental rights so they can rebuild their lives.
As a permanent R&P agency in 2022-2023, JFS estimates it will serve 110 refugees from Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Syria, Sudan, Ukraine, and Latin America.
The RLMF focuses its greater philanthropic efforts on several categories, including civil rights, education, health, environment, arts and culture, and the State of Israel. The Levy family is guided by the Jewish value of Tikkun Olam and a desire to advance social justice and celebrate diversity.
"The Raphael Levy Memorial Foundation celebrates all the good that Jewish Family Service has done for our community over the past 150 years, and as importantly, recognizes the necessary and important work that needs to be done today and tomorrow to help those in need. We are grateful to be able to work with JFS in a way that we hope contributes to many in the Denver metro area,” said Justin Levy, President of the Board.