May 2024
The Friday night event, a sold-out dinner held at Beverly Hills café Leora, raised funds for Jewish Family Service L.A.’s Tools for School program, which provides school supplies and other essentials to students in need.
The lessons and traditions of Purim seem especially meaningful this year. As we navigate a post-October 7 world, there is profound wisdom to be found in the ancient Scroll of Esther.
Every Tuesday at lunchtime, 106-year-old Holocaust survivor Risa Igelfeld saves a seat for her friend, 92-year-old, Maria Ross. Igelfeld met Ross the first day she came to Jewish Family Service LA’s Café Europa, a weekly program where Holocaust survivors congregate and socialize.
When Elizabeth Shayne had a hip replaced and her husband, Harry Shayne, had the same done to both of his knees in 2016, they became homebound. Simple tasks such as getting groceries and cooking meals became nearly impossible for the couple, who are now 78 and 79, respectively.
As Jewish people around the world sat down to celebrate Passover, the holiday celebrating the Jewish people’s transition from slavery to freedom in ancient Egypt, one organization is making sure that Holocaust survivors in Los Angeles are well fed.
Walking into the Jona Goldrich Multipurpose Center at the JFS Gunther-Hirsh Family Center, you are likely to see Leonard and Shari Shapiro. In fact, you’re so likely to see them that you might begin to wonder if they run the place. But Leonard and Shari are volunteers committed to helping Jewish Family Service LA welcome seniors and other community members to the warmth of our centers.
Seniors enrolled in the Department of Aging Congregate Meals Program and students in Los Angleses were invited to submit recipes. JFSLA’s Senior Nutrition Meal Program led with the most entries.
November 2023
Today, the JFS SOVA Community Food & Resource Program hosted its annual Thanksgiving distribution, providing Thanksgiving staples to more than 1,600 families across Los Angeles. On Wednesday, JFSLA’s Senior Nutrition Program will be serving and distributing Thanksgiving meals to over 900 seniors and homebound clients throughout LA.
On October 18, the West Hollywood Disability Advisory Board awarded Terry Shajirat, a JFSLA social worker, with the 2023 Lovedy Brydon Differently Abled Individual Award for her long career in improving the lives of seniors and people with disabilities. The West Hollywood Disability Advisory Board addresses disability-related issues and offers recommendations to the City Council on policies and programs for people with disabilities.
October 2023
On Sunday, JFSLA’s Chaverim Program for adults with special needs hosted a special screening at the Laemmle Town Center Theater to commemorate the 5th anniversary of their film, Bella Danza. Every aspect of the film, from writing the initial concept to the acting to producing the final cut, was handled in-house by 26 Chaverim participants.
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