A Message from the Team
This has been a busy year for the Senior Engagement department at JFS! As we look back over the last few months of 2022 and look ahead to 2023, we’re grateful for the funding we received from several organizations who have supported our mission. We’ve been able to provide Case Management services and outreach to Jewish senior adults throughout the greater Charlotte area, as well as to non-Jewish independent seniors living in Mecklenburg County. Our team has grown to include a new full-time Senior Engagement Specialist (read more about her in this issue). We’ve celebrated Jewish holidays with gift bags, programs in communities and celebratory gatherings. We’ve also been able to provide several sessions of Wellness Workshops, using creative arts, music and movement, to senior adults who are healing from grief, loss or trauma. It’s been exciting to partner with the Eastway Rec Center to offer some of these workshops and to develop collaborative relationships with the staff there. We hope you have taken advantage of some of the senior services we’ve offered and we look forward to connecting with you in the New Year! Stay well.
Sheryl Gerrard
Senior Engagement Manager
Olga Kochetova
Senior Engagement Case Manager
Yolanda Thorton
Senior Engagement Specialist
Amanda Levine
Senior Engagement Therapist
Spotlight on… Yolanda Thornton
Thanks to increased funding from two grant sources, Mecklenburg County and the Carolina Foundation for Jewish Seniors, our Senior Engagement department has grown! We’re excited to welcome Yolanda to the team. Her full-time position will include providing Case Management services to both Jewish and non-Jewish senior adults, as well as developing and implementing various types of programs relevant to senior adults. We sat down with Yolanda to find out more about her:

You’ve recently moved to the Charlotte area; where did you come from and what brought you here?
We relocated from Lindenhurst, IL (a Northern suburb of Chicago) in May of this year. As my husband nears retirement, we wanted to live near family and reside in a warmer climate.

Tell us about your family
Ken and I have been married for 26 years. We have two amazing adult children; Marques and Maia. Marques relocated to California to work for Google and Maia relocated to Chicago to work for Bain and Company. We are officially empty nesters!

Why did you want to work with JFS and particularly this role?
I have a passion for helping people. Specifically, the senior population. I grew up spending the summers with my grandparents and other elder family members. They often shared stories of their youthful days and the challenges they overcame. Those summers helped shape my life path. JFS offers me the opportunity to work with seniors and learn more about the Jewish faith and culture.

What is something you like to do when you’re not at work?
During my time off, I enjoy spending time with my family or and on a beach.
What is one thing people would be surprised to learn about you?
People would be surprised to know that I love horror movies!!
Hannukkah: Did You Know?
  • The word Hanukkah means “dedication”
  • Gifts were not always given during Hanukkah
  • Chanukah, Hanukkah, Khanike… all are acceptable; since this is a Hebrew word transliterated into English, there is no right or wrong way to spell it in English
  • Hanukkah is considered a “minor” holiday in the Jewish faith 
  • Over 17.5 million jelly donuts are consumed in Israel during Hanukkah
  • The world’s largest menorah stands at 32 feet and is lit at Fifth Avenue and 59th Street in Manhattan near Central Park. A 4,000-pound structure, it is the work of Israeli artist Yaacov Agam.
  • Harry Truman was the first President to celebrate Hanukkah at the White House. In 1951, he accepted a Menorah as a gift from the Prime Minister of Israel, David Ben Gurion
Potato Latkes
Ingredients:
3 cups grated raw potatoes
1 large onion
2 eggs
1 and ½ tablespoons salt
2 and ½ tablespoons Manischewitz matzo meal
1 teaspoon baking powder

Instructions:
Mix together all the items and place by the spoonful into a pan covered with hot rendered fat. Fry the latkes slowly until they become brown on both sides, then serve them with soup. In other countries latkes are served with baked or cooked apples, or with rhubarb sauce.

Ingredients:
Dray kopes tzeribene roye kartofel
Eyn groyse tzibele
Tzvey eyer
Eyn un a halb es-lefel zaltz
Tzvey un a halb es-lefel Manischewitz’s matzo-mehl
Eyn teh-lefele beyking-poyder

Instructions:
Misht oys tzuzamen ale shtofen un legt arayn lefelvays in a fendel vos iz badekt mit heyse rinderne fets. Pregelt di latkes langzam biz zey veren broyn oyf beyde zaytn, dan servirt zey mit zup. In andere lender servirt men di latkes mit gebakene oder gekokhte epel, oder mit rubarb sous.
thanks·giv·ing
noun

1. The expression of gratitude, especially to G-d.
2. An annual national holiday marked by religious observances and a traditional meal including turkey. The holiday commemorates a harvest festival celebrated by Pilgrims in 1621 and is held in the US on the fourth Thursday in November.

The Hebrew term for gratitude is hakarat hatov which means, literally, “recognizing the good”. Practicing gratitude means recognizing the good that is already yours. When you open yourself up to the trait of gratitude, you see clearly how much good there is in your life. Try keeping a journal near your bed and at the end of each day, write down 3 small things that you are grateful for each day. You may find you have a whole new attitude about life within a few short weeks!
Something to Think About...
…Ale nakht mit dreydlekh shpiln mir, Frishe heyse latkes, esn on a shir... 

Every night, with the dreidels we will play;
fresh, hot latkes we will eat endlessly.
Fall Word Search 
Keep your mind sharp! See how many words you can find:
For counseling services, food pantry information and more call JFS: (704) 364-6594 or go to jfscharlotte.org