July 2025
A Family Legacy of Giving Back Donor Spotlight: Greg Laemmle For Greg Laemmle, giving back is a family tradition deeply rooted in history, legacy, and a commitment to community. A third-generation Angeleno, Greg’s roots in Los Angeles run deep. Greg’s grandfather, Max Laemmle, and his brother Kurt founded Laemmle Theatres in 1938, after being introduced…
June 2025
Together in Service: JFSLA Honors Volunteers On June 11, Jewish Family Service LA hosted its annual Volunteer Appreciation Event at the JFS Gunther-Hirsh Family Center. The event honors outstanding volunteers and celebrates the impact JFSLA volunteers make across the agency. “Volunteers are integral to this agency, and I hope they see JFSLA as a place…
CEO Eli Veitzer's 'Wake Up Call' on KNX News Radio In a powerful interview with Emily Valdez of KNX News Radio, JFSLA CEO Eli Veitzer sheds light on the growing crisis facing vulnerable older adults as federal budget cuts threaten critical state and city services. 🔊 Listen now on our YouTube channel https://youtu.be/ELy3lV0IyZA
A Circle of Support for New Dads By Melanie Weiner, LMFTProgram Director, New Parents Connect It’s not that fathers don’t need support—it’s that they’re less acculturated to actively seek it out, especially in group settings that center on emotional sharing and vulnerability. Our work began 17 years ago with New Moms Connect postpartum support groups,…
Where Leadership Meets Compassion In the heart of West Hollywood, a quiet revolution in community care has unfolded over the past three decades—one rooted in a powerful partnership between the City of West Hollywood and Jewish Family Service LA (JFSLA). At the center of that story is Marina Berkman, longtime program director at the West…
May 2025
The benefits and financial challenges of providing food to Los Angeles senior citizens.
Where Hope Lives – Inside JFSLA’s domestic violence program By Vivian Engle, MFT Senior Clinician, JFSLA When someone reaches out to JFS Hope, it’s often because they’ve been living with abuse—and they’re ready, in their own time and way, for something to change. Sometimes, they’ve left behind their home, their job, their identity—and they’re stepping into…
Beyond Words: Healing Through Art & Music Therapy Older adults facing depression, anxiety, and isolation are discovering new ways to heal at Jewish Family Service LA. Through a visionary pilot in partnership with Cedars-Sinai, JFSLA has introduced structured art and music therapy groups tailored to the needs of adults aged 55 and older. These services…
One Starfish at a Time – Volunteering Across Generations “We didn’t want to be those people who just go to lunch. We needed to be useful. We needed to be out in the world.” — Arlene CowanSOVA Volunteer When Arlene and Frank Cowen retired from decades of public service—she as a teacher and teacher trainer,…
April 2025
Volunteers Bring Passover Joy to Holocaust Survivors Across Los Angeles On a recent Saturday night after Havdalah in April, community members gathered at Adat Shalom Synagogue in Culver City for an extraordinary act of kindness. Volunteers arrived ready to pack hundreds of canvas bags filled with Kosher-for-Passover food, fresh eggs, and spring flowers—gifts of nourishment…
We’re not currently accepting applications. If you’d like to be added to the interest list for our 2026–2027 cohort or to receive updates about Young Leader events, please reach out to us at CIN@jfsla.org.
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