We are living in difficult times filled with divisive conversations through this election season. Many are dealing with isolation, illness and loss of life due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
JFS volunteer Ron Altman makes a call to check on one of the agency’s older adult clients.
At Jewish Family Services, volunteers play a key role in helping its clients meet life’s challenges, including older adults. JFS is committed to providing its volunteers with numerous opportunities to help and the best training to do so.
‘Shofar’ by artist James Michael Smith; acrylic on metal.
Bold, vibrant and unique artwork, valued at more than $250,000, will grace the walls and hallways of The J’s new expansion and in the existing Fitness + Sports area. More than two-thirds of the pieces came from the personal art collection of philanthropist Michael Staenberg. The J purchased the remainder of the collection, designed specifically for the facility by Sara Jo Fischer, an art curator in Denver, who assists Staenberg. In total, there are more than 75 pieces of art.
A new program already has provided hundreds of Jewish community professionals around North America with career support and resilience building. (GeorgiNutsov / Getty Images)
By Michele Chabin JTA
“Blindsided.”
That’s how Melissa Engelberg felt after being laid off in April due to COVID-19 cutbacks.
The generosity of the Polsky family inspired others to give and made the PJ Library endowment fund in Kansas City possible. Pictured from left: Ellen and Larry Polsky, Renee Polsky Silver and Larry Silver, Harold Grinspoon , PJ Library founder, and Winnie Sandler Grinspoon, president of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation.
By Lacey Storer Contributing Writer
For 12 years, PJ Library has helped families with young children in Kansas City connect to their Jewish identities, traditions and values. Now, the establishment of the Polsky Family PJ Library Endowment will ensure that the program continues to provide free books and music to Jewish children in our community for years to come.
Anyone interested in learning more about the Cairo Genizah can take the MeltonKC class “Exploring a Forgotten World: A Social History of Medieval Jewry as Revealed in the Cairo Genizah.” It will be taught by Rabbi Javier Cattapan of Congregation Beth Torah on Zoom from 6:30 to 8 p.m. for 10 weeks beginning Nov. 5.
Historians believe that the events of Kristallnacht represented one of the most important turning points in the anti-Semitic policies of the German Nazi Party. According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, anti-Jewish policy after the pogrom was concentrated more and more concretely into the hands of the SS (elite military unit of the Nazi Party). Additionally, the passivity with which most German civilians responded to the violence signaled to the Nazi regime that the German public was prepared for more radical measures.
Jewish Family Services volunteer Liz Webb helped deliver Hanukkah presents to clients last year as part of the holiday project. Volunteers will be helping this year, too, with COVID-19 precautions in place.
With the coronavirus continuing to challenge us all, Jewish Family Services has come up with creative ways for its annual Hanukkah Holiday Project to take place this year. You can play a pivotal role in making the Festival of Lights bright for local Jewish families who continue to struggle economically.
