By Leah Persky, PhD & Certified Family Life Educator • Family Life Education Manager

Now that summer is in full swing, many of us are starting to think about the transitions to fall and the start of school. I was jolted out of my summertime mentality as I was shopping last week; aisles and aisles of back-to-school items were already in place. How had that much of summer passed already? What will school look like this coming fall? I was not ready to think about that! I felt like we just got summer figured out and that took a lot of time and energy!

Join our panel of experts for this virtual event as we explore how to navigate this phase of the pandemic. We will focus on how to best support the mental and physical health of our children as vaccinations open up to younger children and safety measures and mandates change.

Experts in mental health, pediatrics and public health will highlight crucial information to assist parents and caregivers in their planning and decision-making processes. Come with your questions for this interactive discussion. JFCS is hosting this event in partnership with PJ Library, Jewish Family Service of St. Paul and the Minneapolis Jewish Federation.

>Register HERE and you will be emailed the Zoom link the day before the event.

Contact Carrie Fink with questions at [email protected]

When it is time to find a new job, JFCS career counselors help eliminate barriers to employment by providing complete career assistance, including résumé development, social media strategies, interviewing skills, networking opportunities and more. Our services include access to or support for career training and focus on helping you find your best path.

When you are ready to begin, but don't know where to start, just call JFCS!

>Learn more and fill out an interest form here

JFCS Honor/Memorial “Mitzvah” cards are a great way to show someone you're thinking of them. Make a donation in any amount and we'll send the acknowledgement card. It is a meaningful way to honor special occasions; celebrate birthdays, anniversaries or graduations; congratulate someone for a special accomplishment; wish someone a speedy recovery; show gratitude for an act of kindness; or honor a loved one’s memory. It's easy and you can choose to have the donation go towards a named fund or program, or be used where most needed.

By Clare Gravon• JFCS Food Security Program Coordinator

Access to food has been a critical issue for so many families this past year. The pandemic created new barriers (quarantining) and exacerbated existing barriers (employment and transportation). At JFCS, we think about our food security work on three levels:

1. Meeting people’s immediate needs with compassion and dignity. This often includes referrals to food shelves, meals programs, meals for kids, and even emergency food boxes. This year, for the first time, it included delivering food to people who were homebound using our Garber Transportation program. With support from The Stillman Family Foundation, JFCS launched the Food for All program, which has distributed 2,700 cases of shelf-stable nutritious snack food to 30 community-based food shelves and meals programs in the Twin Cities Metro area to date.

We are seeking 10-15 volunteers who are 21+ to join the JFCS Caring Connections participants in their first back in-person event (Bake and Take Challah & Root Beer Float Party with Rabbi Davis) on Sunday, Aug. 8, 2-4:30 p.m. at Beth El Synagogue.

Volunteer duties include: light set up/clean up, interacting with Caring Connections members at the event, helping with challah braiding and baking, and of course joining in the fun. You will get to braid and take a challah home to bake for the upcoming High Holidays.

Caring Connections is a JFCS program that provides valuable opportunities for people with disabilities to participate fully in Jewish life.

If you want to volunteer with this opportunity, contact [email protected].

Sheryl Rutzick is currently a volunteer driver for Garber Transportation, but she has volunteered at JFCS for many years in several ways. Read on to meet Sheryl!

My current volunteer role is as a driver for Garber Transportation. Once in a while, I will assist with delivering items to PJ Library families’ homes for virtual events taking place. I have been a volunteer for the Hag Sameach (Happy Holidays) program and was a shopper at one time.

Stay informed about volunteering at JFCS through our quarterly volunteer e-newsletter. Click here to view the most recent edition. Let Dana Shapiro know if you would like to be added to the list to receive updates on volunteer involvement at JFCS.

For more information about volunteering at JFCS click here, or contact Dana Shapiro, Community and Volunteer Engagement Coordinator & Intake Counselor, at [email protected] or 952-417-2112.

This year’s conference, Finding Strength through Resilience, will be virtual on Sunday, Oct. 17. The keynote speaker will be Jeffrey Zuckerman, author of the award-winning memoir Unglued: A Bipolar Love Story. Jeff will discuss how, in the face of his wife’s late-onset severe illness, he has managed his own well-being through compassion, faith, education, and the loving support of his family and community.

Featured presenters will explore the topics of Grief, Post Traumatic Stress, Politics and Mental Health, and Talking with Children about the issues of our time.

Kadima: Building Our Future is a major community-wide philanthropic and planning campaign. Coordinated by Minneapolis Jewish Federation, Kadima rests on two pillars: Providing planning and funds for COVID-19 recovery and enhancing community security.

With its recent second award, the Kadima Distributions Committee has awarded a total of $71,000 to JFCS. We are grateful for this funding that will cover costs associated with COVID-19 in these areas: Mental Health Education Conference, Hag Sameach, HVAC upgrades, PPE, and Virtual Communications investments

>Learn more about Kadima here