Friendly Visitor program: neighbors helping neighbors
The JFS Friendly Visitor program promotes connection, engagement, and fun between older adults and volunteers. Volunteers are individually matched with an older adult to provide an hour or so of companionship each week. Our volunteers find that they establish a rich connection with the individuals they meet. We ask our volunteers for a minimum commitment of six months, which gives them time to develop a relationship and form a bond.
Volunteering through generations
At JFS, we couldn’t help our neighbors thrive without the help of our volunteers—both within the agency and throughout the community. It’s exciting to see how we’re experiencing different generations of volunteers working together, making a difference just like their families have done throughout the organization and beyond. Recently, JFS clients were the beneficiaries of Carter, Wyatt, and Brody’s mitzvah projects as part of their bar mitzvah preparations.
Jewish Disabilities Advocates promotes inclusion
JFS’s Jewish Disabilities Advocates began when Jewish parents of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities joined together to advocate for inclusion and connection. Over the years, the program has grown throughout the community.
Becoming the best version of yourself
Neither Chelsea nor her wife came from healthy family environments. They weren’t surrounded by the type of support systems that help shape strong life skills and promote emotional well-being, and they were stuck in a vicious cycle of generational poverty. When the couple came to JFS, their lives changed in the most wonderful of ways.
The Raphael Levy Memorial Foundation Endowment for Refugees and Mental Health Services
Jewish Family Service (JFS) is pleased to announce a generous endowment gift totaling $500,000 from the Raphael Levy Memorial Foundation (RLMF) in honor of our 150th anniversary. The endowment will support refugee clients resettling in Colorado and provide mental health services to meet the immediate and long-term needs of the mental health crisis.
Success works here: JFS Employment Services
Ann signed up for JFS’s Career Launchpad Nail Your Next Interview workshop, which focuses on the interview process to showcase job candidate’s communication skills and match their strengths to the hiring manager’s needs. During Workforce Development Month, we’re sharing Ann’s story and how JFS’s Job Readiness Instructor was able to strengthen Ann’s interview skills and help her find a job she’s excited to begin.
Providing comfort when it’s needed most
In times of need, JFS’s Rabbi Rick Brody provides comfort, counseling, and spiritual care to unaffiliated Jews. For one family, his outreach during two difficult times meant the world to them, and they reached out to share their gratitude.
Jewish Family Service Receives $1 Million Endowment for Youth Mental Health
Jewish Family Service of Colorado (JFS) is the beneficiary of the Metzler Family Childhood Learning Endowment for its KidSuccess school-based mental health program. All funds will be used to meet the immediate and long-term needs of the youth mental health crisis.
JFS Boulder Ambassadors enrich community living
Evie Verderber and Mary Ann Wilner, long-term volunteers at JFS Boulder, launched an exciting new program this spring at the Golden West community in Boulder. As part of the program, two volunteers are assigned as Ambassadors to a specific senior living residence and will plan monthly Jewish cultural programs together with the residents.
Get to know our JFS Boulder team
Our dedicated team provides programs and services to help people feel supported, connected, and engaged, and the community is a better place thanks to their commitment.
JFS Hosting Annual Boulder Fundraising Event Experience JFS Boulder
JFS is hosting its annual fundraiser, Experience JFS Boulder, Sunday, September 11 at 5:30 p.m. at the Boulder JCC. This unique culinary and cultural event will feature local chefs from Boulder while supporting the important work of JFS
Make a difference every month
People donate to JFS for all sorts of reasons—perhaps it’s to honor a person who made a difference in their life, or they want to be a part of something meaningful. Whatever the motivation, our donors are part of a community that shapes JFS’s future and helps meet the challenges facing 21st century Coloradans.
Five tips for sending kids back to school
While the start of the school year ushers in new beginnings that can be exciting, it can also be overwhelming. JFS KidSuccess Program Manager Lisa Ricon offers tips on preparing for the academic year, easing into a new routine, and (hopefully) making days less stressful.
Backpack Bonanza lets kids know we’ve got their backs
As the cost-of-living increases and caregivers struggle to afford all the essentials for kids’ first day of school, including a backpack, 15-year-old Hannah Kutnick has worked to erase the need at-risk children face starting the school year without backpacks and school supplies with her Backpack Bonanza Drive. Over the years, Hannah’s compassion has helped fill 2,430 backpacks.
Rapid re-housing creates stability
The JFS Rapid Re-housing program reduces homelessness in the Denver metro area by quickly moving individuals and families into permanent housing by providing housing identification, financial and supportive service, and ongoing personal support and success planning. Our housing navigators work with clients to help them choose homes to meet their lifestyle and ensure that they don’t become homeless again—clients like Juan.
Join JFS For a Family-Friendly Concert Featuring a Special Solo Acoustic Performance by Nathaniel Rateliff
You don’t want to miss out on the opportunity to support the life-changing work of JFS at their inaugural family-friendly event—JFS Family Concert: Rocking Colorado for 150 Years. This concert will celebrate JFS’s 150th anniversary and feature a special solo acoustic performance by Denver’s Nathaniel Rateliff.
Erase the need with backpacks and supplies—it’s a school thing
All kids should start the school year with the supplies they need to help them be successful in school—and you can help them thrive.
As the cost of living increases and caregivers struggle to afford school supplies, you can help JFS provide more than 400 backpacks filled with school supplies to kids at our Lunchbox Express program sites! Donating $50.00 provides all the essentials for kids’ first day of school, including a backpack. You have the power to help boost confidence, promote learning, and encourage success for students in our community—and show them we’ve got their backs!
Finding career success with JFS Employment Services
Whether you’re unemployed or looking for a career change, the process can be daunting. However, the Employment Services department is ready to make the job hunt easier with free virtual workshops, trainings, and support groups to help you re-enter the workforce. The team can also help you achieve your employment goals by providing one-on-one customized career development services, which is how Laura found her new job.
Good thymes in our garden
JFS’s Arts and Community Exploration program (ACE) focuses on the whole person, community involvement, and integration, with activities tailored to each participant’s needs and unique personality and centers around healthy lifestyles and mindfulness through art, exercise, and nutrition. With our recent move to Calvary Baptist Church, we’re able to expand the programs and services we offer to our participants, including having an outdoor space for a garden, which is just about to sprout.
Finding support after a tragedy
It’s difficult to imagine going out of town and returning to find your home—your entire neighborhood—decimated by a wildfire, but that’s exactly what Julie and her family experienced in late December when the Marshall Fire roared through their Louisville community. However, throughout the turmoil, Julie shared stories about the acts of kindness and grace she experienced from people and organizations, including JFS, who stepped up in so many ways.