I had the honor of working at this agency for almost a year and I continued providing some voluntary services for some time. I’m also a donor as I’ve see first-hand what this agency does for people.
Jewish Family Service of Silicon Valley offers a wide variety of services, and they have a large and diverse client list. It was amazing to watch this small team of professionals find ways to serve the community both in the short-term with items such as groceries, and over the long term with more strategic help and family or personal counseling.
One of my best memories was seeing what happened at Chanukah. There was a program for donating items people had requested, and it could be a blouse for a middle-aged job seeker or clothes and toys for children. The offices were packed with items generously donated by the community. It was so moving to see that physical representation of both great need and this generosity. I wish everyone could see this in person.
Another time, a 17 year old called as he and his mom had been living in a car and they were hungry. He’d heard we had a bag of groceries and asked for something to eat.
I also watched the programs for immigrants bring together Iranians and Iraqis together in an agency run by Jewish people and everyone meeting and greeting each other peacefully. There are many stories like this.
The agency is very well-run and there is ongoing communication about how we were doing, what the financial needs were and how we were doing with fundraising.
JFS of Silicon Valley works every day to provide a wide range of support services and programs for those in our community. Their programs range from emergency food assistance, to ongoing senior support, support for refugees and Holocaust survivors, family and employment counseling. As a regular volunteer, JFS provides me with the opportunity to give back to my community. I know from first hand experience, that the staff and volunteers are dedicated to the work.
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I have volunteered with JFS SV on a number of different programs and projects, including doing ESL tutoring, volunteering at fundraiser, helping with their website, and helping with ongoing development activities. In my case, JFS was very flexible in helping to match me with volunteer work that would make use of my personal and work skills. The staff at JFS is dedicated to the work, and highly value the efforts of the volunteers.