Drive of the Month: Refugee Resettlement

The New Year will be welcoming many new babies!

Refugee families arrive with just the clothes on their backs and a small bag of belongings. They are starting over in a new country and are not able to afford the necessities for their newborns. We gladly accept donations that are in clean and functional condition. Needed items include cribs, strollers, baby clothes, bottles, diapers, blankets, and all other baby items.

Please help us make a difference in a refugee’s life and bring donations to the Refugee Resettlement lobby at JFS–Turk Family Center (8804 Balboa Ave, San Diego 92123). Call (858) 637-3030 for large item pick ups.

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Embrace-a-Family Recap

Embrace-a-Family 2011 was an amazing success, with over 500 families embraced! 1,492 individuals were able to enjoy a brighter holiday season this year!

A huge THANK YOU to all of our Embracers and donors. We could not have done this without your support. We'd like to thank the schools and companies that participated this year as well: Congregation Beth Israel Bill & Sid Rubin Preschool and Religious School, Congregation Beth Israel Men’s Club, Crossroads Church–Temecula, Francis Parker High School, Hillel of San Diego, Leichtag Foundation, Mission Bay Montessori Academy, Ohr Shalom Synagogue, Salk Institute, Scripps Memorial Hospital–La Jolla, Soille Hebrew Day School, Solana Pacific Elementary, United Jewish Federation of San Diego–Women’s Philanthropy and YAD, and many more.

We are also so grateful to the 200+ individual and family Embracers who contributed this year. A special thank you to Rebecca McInnis, who rallied everyone she knew to embrace 86 families. Rebecca recruited her children’s school, El Camino Creek Elementary, with the help of Ria Henshilwood, as well as Temple Solel, Girl Scouts and Brownie Troops, friends, and family to accomplish this amazing feat.

We must also thank the H.G. Fenton Company for the donated warehouse space and to Express Signs (off of Clairemont Mesa Boulevard) for donating beautiful signs to help Embracers find the location.

We are so thankful to be a part of such an incredible San Diego community!

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Community Shout-Outs

Submitted by Leah Newman,
Program Director, Hillel of San Diego at UCSD

“Every year the staff at Hillel of San Diego participates in Embrace-a-Family instead of doing a staff gift exchange. This year, Jacob Silverman, the President of the Union of Jewish Students at UCSD, handed me $53.50 that they raised through a challah bake sale on campus at our regular supervision meeting. He informed me that he wanted us to buy a Target gift card for Embrace-A-Family with the money. It was totally a surprise to me and I couldn’t be more proud of them!”

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Foodmobile Volunteer Receives Bank of America Award

“At Bank of America, we help make opportunity possible when we combine our resources, expertise, and partnerships to strengthen the communities we serve. By investing in outstanding community leaders through our Neighborhood Excellence Initiative, we are helping make local communities better places to live, work and do business.” Brian Moynihan, CEO, Bank of America.

Ruth Anfanger, a JFS Foodmobile volunteer, was recognized and honored on the Flagship Cruises’ California Spirit at the 8th annual Bank of America Neighborhood Excellence Initiative Awards Celebration on November 2, 2011.

Foodmobile is a home-delivered meal program for seniors and younger disabled adults. Most of the meals are delivered by community volunteers. Ruth was among the first, in 1971, to deliver a “warm meal with a warm smile” and she is still delivering meals every week 40 years later. Ruth is JFS’s longest-serving volunteer and a beacon of warmth and compassion to those she serves.

There was a monetary gift in addition to her award that was presented to Foodmobile.

To volunteer with Foodmobile, complete the Volunteer Application>>

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Temple Solel Breaks Thanksgiving Record

Temple Solel and former Social Action Chair Rise Edney came through once again in a desperate time of need for so many in San Diego. Each year, Rise coordinates congregants and community groups to purchase items and assemble Thanksgiving packages for older adults and families. This past Thanksgiving, members of the temple donated 215 Thanksgiving packages that were given to the Hand Up Youth Food Pantry, the most packages donated from any location! So much care went into these packages—while the standard Thanksgiving fare was included (mashed potato mixes, canned yams, pumpkin pie ingredients, and stuffing), special touches such as preschool artwork, magazines, decorative towels, fluffy socks, and table ornaments were also added.

The Thanksgiving packages were given to various JFS clients, from individuals and couples who attend activities at the College Avenue Center to Burmese families in the Refugee Resettlement department. This year, 706 families came to JFS in need of Thanksgiving assistance. With the help of community groups like Temple Solel, we were able to help each family make their Thanksgiving meal complete.

In addition to the congregants of Temple Solel, we'd like to thank the following groups that donated assembled packages:

• Girl Scout Troop 1070, Rhodes School (Encinitas)
• Karen Feitelberg's Fifth Grade Class, Explorer Elementary School (Pt. Loma)
• Team Mates Mentoring Group, Sycamore Ridge Elementary School (Carmel Valley)

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Hand UpCorner

The Hand Up Youth Food Pantry at JFS is excited to announce a few weekday evening volunteer opportunities on February 8 & 20 from 6:00–8:00pm. If you are a new volunteer, click here to complete an application and be sure to select your desired volunteer dates. If you are a returning Hand Up volunteer, click here to view your existing account and register for upcoming dates.

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