FAMILY TALK

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you are by now well aware of the impact that the downturn in the economy has had on the lives of so many people. Unemployment is up, foreclosures are up, but many people’s income, savings and retirement portfolios are down. When JFCS launched its Family Assistance Program in the fall of 2008, we had no idea how important its role would become in the services that we provide to the community.

Counseling, crisis intervention, financial assistance, budgeting help, vocational services, distribution of food from our Food Pantry, and even free legal consultations are some of the essential components of the program, which provides critical assistance to families who are struggling during these difficult economic times.

The JFCS Food Pantry is giving away more food than ever to those in need in our community. It currently serves over 150 people a month. In the past year, JFCS has given out over $30,000 in food, in addition to $5,700 in Thanksgiving, Passover, Rosh Hashanah holiday meals for the elderly and homebound; $1,400 in Blizzard Packs to the elderly and homebound for use in the event of inclement weather, and $4,000 in supermarket gift cards/scrip, for a total of $41,000.

Thankfully, the community has been really pitching in to help us keep our shelves stocked. Food and personal care items, as well as gift cards to local supermarkets, are dropped off at our Cherry Hill and Mt. Laurel office locations daily. The JCC Camps and the Early Childhood Center have donated a great deal of food through dedicated food drives during the summer and fall. We also receive grant funds from ShopRite Partners in Caring to purchase food from the Food Bank of South Jersey.

During the Jewish holidays, we asked the synagogues for their help in collecting food. Their response was more than I could ever have imagined. Boxes of donations were stacked floor to ceiling as four area synagogues – Cong. M’kor Shalom, Temple Emanuel, Temple Beth Sholom, and Cong. Beth Tikvah participated — some bringing truckloads of food to our doors.

I am very grateful to Ruth Manin and Margot Kaminer, who co-chaired the project, our board members, and adult and teen volunteers, who worked tirelessly for days to sort the food, help us stock our shelves, and get the food out to those who need it. I want to personally thank two volunteers, Paul Stolpen and Sandy Crass, who spent days working on this. I also want to take this opportunity to thank the family of the recently deceased Leon Goldberg, who donated money for our holiday meals program, which has put hot delicious cooked meals on the table for hundreds of people over the past eight years.

Andi Loew, our volunteer director, tells me we received over 182 bags and 97 boxes of food, not including 152 lb. of non-kosher food that JFCS turned over to the Food Bank. The food will keep many families from going hungry for some time to come. If you are in need, please contact us. If you want to help, we want to hear from you, too! Donations of kosher approved food and personal care items, as well as gift cards to area supermarkets are welcome. We also accept gift cards to area stores like Target, Kohl’s, and others, which we distribute to needy families who would like to purchase their own holiday gifts for their children.

I am also gratified to see the great response to our Annual Friends Campaign. The proceeds enable us to provide services to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay. If you can make a contribution, it will be put to good use. You can donate online to the Friends Campaign, and even designate where you want the money to go, at our website (www.jfcssnj.org), or mail in a check to The JFCS Friends Campaign, Jewish Family and Children’s Service, 1301 Springdale Rd., Suite 150, Cherry Hill, NJ. 08003.

I want to remind everyone about our legal services program, which offers free legal consultations with attorneys representing different legal specialties to community members every other Monday evening from 7-9 p.m. at our Cherry Hill office. The next date is Nov. 16 and will feature elder law and disabilities law. Upcoming dates are Nov. 30: bankruptcy; and Dec. 14: Medicaid and estate planning. Future dates will be announced on the JFCS website (www.jfcssnj.org) and in Voice ads and other publicity. Call Lydia Silpe at 778-7775 to make an appointment.  jweiss@jfedsnj.org