Meet our Denver Volunteer of the Year

Volunteer of the Year, Bob Gore.

Congratulations to Robert Gore, the JFS Denver 2025 Volunteer of the Year Award recipient!  

Since July 2023, Bob has supported numerous JFS programs. These include the mobile food pantry, JCC food deliveries, transportation assistance, and hands-on help across the Yana Vishnitsky Refugee Resettlement program. Drawing on his years as a physician and his trauma-informed, client-centered approach, Bob quickly became one of JFS’s most treasured volunteers. A devoted family man, he brings that same warmth and care to advancing JFS’s mission. 

Bob’s impact goes far beyond the hours he gives. His unmatched generosity, can-do attitude, and bright smile make him a beacon of positivity. Whether it’s teaching adults to ride bikes, repairing sewing machines, or taking a three-hour round-trip ride to help a client attend summer camp, Bob tackles every task with heart and humility. Thanks to his efforts in sourcing and repairing bikes, helmets, and supplies, more than 25 clients now have safer, more reliable ways to get to work—gaining both freedom and confidence. 

“I want to thank the JFS staff for awarding me this honor, said Bob at our recent Volunteer Appreciation event. “They are an outstanding group of people to work with, and their dedication to refugees is awe-inspiring.” He told attendees that his four grandparents fled czarist Russia in the early 1900s for a better life in the United States. They had nothing and knew just a little English, but they worked impossible hours to create a better life for their children, Bob’s parents. His father put himself through medical school despite significant antisemitism and joined the staff of hospitals that were notoriously restricted so he could provide for his three children. Bob recognized that while he also worked hard, he started with “an incredible tailwind of assistance and good luck.” It is this realization that guided Bob to give back and pay it forward to help the next generation of Americans. 

One JFS staff member shared that to know Bob is to adore him—and at JFS, we certainly do! Congratulations, Bob! You truly deserve the JFS Denver 2025 Volunteer of the Year Award!