The Charlotte Jewish News - May 2002 - Page 18
Jewish Family Services
JFS Announces Kickoff of 2002 Friends Campaign
By Marty Kelso, JFS Public
Relations Committee Chair
“Last year, we were grateful to
see the community respond like
never before.” said George
Cronson. Chairman of the annual
Friends Campaign of Jewish
Family Services. “2001 was our
most successful year ever in terms
of the dollars raised, and now
we’re ready to take it to the next
level with this year’s campaign.”
With total contributions sur
passing JFS’ original 2001 goal,
Cronson said Charlotte’s Jewish
community is clearly aware of the
agency’s importance, along with
the importance of a fundraiser that
provides a major portion of the
money needed to operate JFS.
“It really comes down to indi
vidual contributions to keep our
programs and services alive and
well.” Cronson explained. “We’ve
established a higher goal this year
because of the increased need for
these programs and services, and
expenses keep going up. Record
numbers of visitors continue to
access our food pantry. Our coun
selors have never experienced
such full caseloads. They’re see
ing more and more clients from all
walks of life. In fact, the number
of families served by JFS has
nearly doubled in the last year.”
The 2002 Friends Campaign
begins with a letter mailed to past
donors and all members of the
Jewish community. This initial
appeal will be followed by a
phone campaign conducted by
JFS board members and volun
teers. Cronson is joined in his
efforts this year by Friends
Campaign co-chairs Amy Mullen
and Andrew Bodenheimer.
“While it’s never easy to ask lor
money, we've been pleased to see
how quickly people respond to our
letters and how receptive they arc
when we call.” Cronson said.
"They’re willing to do their part to
support the JFS mission of provid
ing quality counseling and assis
tance for all Jewish families. It’s
more crucial than ever that we do
it ourselves, because funding
sources for non-profit agencies are
harder and harder to come by
these days. When an organization
like JFS remains strong and vital,
we're able to touch the lives of lit
erally hundreds of families in our
community.”
Cronson added that a recent
speech delivered to temple con
gregations by JFS Executive
Director Penny Wagner-Schuster
eloquently summarized the orga
nization’s caring tradition. “I can
think of no better way to kick off
the Friends Campaign than by
sharing portions of Penny's
speech.” he said. “She speaks
from the heart and illustrates why
JFS benefits us all. Hopefully, her
words will inspire the community
to continue to support the great
work JFS does every day of the
year.”
The article directly below is the
full contents of Penny’s speech.^
On the Occasion of the Jewish Family
Services Shabbat
Gloria Levine Harvit
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By Penny Wagner-Schuster, JFS
Executive Director
Editor’s Note: On March 15
and 16, Penny Wagner-Schuster
gave this speech from the pulpit at
both Temple Beth El and Temple
Israel in honor of Jewish Family
Services Shabbat.
The 2002 Jewish Family
Services Shabbat is dedicated to
those in our cornmunity who have
turned to JFS for help.
During 2001, Jewish Family
Services assisted more than 2,000
Jewish families and individuals
through its many services and pro
grams. It is expected that even
more families and individuals will
turn to JFS this year.
Already this year, we have seen
many families and individuals
who have ne'xr asked for assis
tance. People who were always
givers of tzedakah are finding
themselves in need of help.
Business owners, executives, and
airline pilots who have found
themselves out of work are seek
ing help from JFS for emotional
and concrete needs. Their electric
ity is being threatened and many
face eviction or foreclosure.
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Worker, I have never seen a
greater need among us.
The JFS Food Pantry has been
used by 70 to 80 families and indi
viduals each month. We are seeing
more and more families with chil
dren. Requests for counseling
have also increased. People just
like you and me are seeking help,
comfort, and support from JFS.
All of our lives are filled with
much beauty and miracles. Life is
also filled with challenges. It
seems as though these are difficult
times for many of us. None of us
are immune from stress, depres
sion, divorce, loss, or unemploy
ment. The mitzvot that we offer to
others we may one day need our
selves.
Responding to human need is a
supremely Jewish act. The Torah
is filled with references to acts of
kindness. We are commanded to
lift up the fallen and heal the sick.
By addressing the financial, emo
tional, and spiritual needs of those
among us, we live our Torah and
our tradition. As daunting as this
may seem, these acts do not call
for anyone to revolutionize the
world. The world can be perfected
one step at a time, and that is
exactly the premise on which JFS
works. It assists one child, one
adult, or one family at a time. JFS
is engaged full time in performing
these tasks on behalf of the Jewish
community.
The strength of JFS lies in the
support from community mem
bers like each of you. It is through
your generosity that Jewish
Family Services is able to assist
those in need, with an understand
ing that each life is sacred and
every family should be self-suffi
cient. We must always remember
that none of our lives can be com
plete if we forget those among us
who are in need. Together we will
continue to meet the tradition of
repairing the world one life at a
time.
There is a marvelous story of a
man who once stood before God,
his heart breaking from the pain
and injustice in the world. “Dear
God,” he cried out, “look at all of
the suffering, the anguish, and the
distress in your world. Why don’t
you send help?”
God responded: “I did send
help. I sent you.” 0
Donations to Jewish Family
Services in March
HAPPY BIRTHDAYS
To David Abrams from Alan
and Ruth Goldberg; to Vera Cohen
from Anita Pepper; to Bob
Solow’s from Abe and Selina
Banner, Rose and Herbert
Weisman, Jan and Ron Katz, and
Micki Schiffman, Eleanor and
Morty Turk; to Phyllis Weinstein
from Selma Melasky.
MAZEL TOYS
To Amy Pomeranz and Eric
Essely on their wedding from Alan
and Kate Kaplan; to Beth
Winterfield on her bat mitzvah
from Bea Gibbs; to Elly Ostrow
on her bat mitzvah from Bea
Gibbs; to Sally and Manny
Rosenfeld on their son’s engage
ment from Eleanor and Morty
Turk; to Irving and Evelyn
Hochstat on their 50th wedding
anniversary from Abe and Selina
Banner; to Jinny and Lew
Holtzman on their 50th wedding
anniversary from Micky
Schiffman, Gerry Litwak, and
Eleanor and Morty Turk; to Sonny
and Ralph Besnoy on the birth of
their grandson from Sally and
Manny Rosenfeld.
HONORS
In honor of the birth of Brent
Dylan Cohen, grandson of Barbie
and Steve Weiner, from Sally and
Manny Rosenfeld; in honor of the
50th wedding anniversary of Jinny
and Lew Holtzman from Cecile
Rose; in honor of the bat mitzvah
of Mollie Cohen from Ellen and
David Framm; in honor of lisa
Bergen’s new home from Anita
Pepper; in honor of the bat mitz
vah of Elly Ostrow from Gale
Osborne; in honor of the bat mitz
vah of Sheiri Leonard from Gale
Osborne; in honor of the bat mitz
vah of Tracy Brown from Gale
Osborne.
SPEEDY AND COMPLETE
RECOVERY
To Alene Strause from Marilyn
Shapiro, Florence Jaffa, and Susan
and Donald Jacobs; to Linda
Roochvarg from Dicky Shapiro,
Susan and Donald Jacobs, and
Evelyn and Leonard Berger; to
Susan Jacobs from Ruth and Alan
Goldberg; to Robert Bolande.
father of Debby Block, from
Susan and Donald Jacobs; to Bob
Abrams from Shirley and Eddie
Goodman; to Kathryn Kossove
from Audrey Madans; to Mat
Luftglass from Evelyn and
Leonard Berger; to Brenda
Meltsner from Eleanor and Morty
Turk.
IN MEMORY
Of Joe Frank from Morty and
Eleanor - Turk; of Irving
Greenman, father of Maxwell
(Continued on page 26)