JFCS 65th Anniversary Celebration

65TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

Thank you for making a difference in our community

Aloha and welcome to the JFCS luau celebrating 65 years of service! We look forward to celebrating with you this evening as we reflect on our organization’s history, celebrate our successes, and build towards the future. Thank you for being a valuable member of our JFCS community.

Event Schedule

5:00pm

6:00pm 6:15pm 6:30pm

Doors open, food stations and bar available

Raffle ticket sales close

Performance by Halau Hula O Noelani

Program begins

Gail Levy, Event Chair

Trip Oldfield, JFCS CEO

6:40pm 7:00pm

Raffle drawing Aloha!

Throughout the past 65 years, Jewish Family and Children’s Services has provided a variety of programs, services and support to the greater Long Beach community. In times of need, JFCS steps forward to assist those individuals and families who can benefit from the expertise of the JFCS staff and board members. Whether we are delivering holiday gifts, providing Thanksgiving dinners, filling backpacks for school children or giving emergency food and supplies, JFCS always lends a generous and helping hand.

When you put together a committee of talented, dedicated JFCS Board members, you get a fantastic event like this 65th Celebration. Andi Waks, Nancy Schneider, Helene Ansel, Gael Libby and Karen Polachek have all worked to make this party a fun, meaningful and creative time for all of you. Please enjoy yourselves and help us celebrate!

Committee Chair

Gail Levy

JFCS 2nd Vice President

65 years! A celebration of this kind is only possible because of the community of people who have supported the work of this incredible organization for so many years. From the women of NCJW who first spearheaded the development of JFS Long Beach to today’s board leadership and dedicated staff today who wholeheartedly give their time and talent, JFCS has endured through seven decades to provide more than 2,000 people annually with mental health support and families in crisis with a safety-net of services.

All of you here with us are the reason JFCS continues to be the constant for so many in our community. Our team is indebted to the leaders who have come before us who have championed the Jewish value of tikkun olam, repair the world. This is a value we model our work around today and directly ties to our vision of healing the community, one person, one family at a time.

We invite you to continue the journey with us as we build towards the next 65 years and beyond. Years that will see JFCS welcoming the stranger, as we bring back our refugee resettlement program after a 29year hiatus. Years that will see an expanded network of JFCS staff, interns, and clients earn educational scholarships to support their dreams of higher education. And years that will see JFCS address the most pressing mental health and social service needs of our community members and Holocaust survivors through an ever-expanding array of services and strategic partnerships. It truly takes a kehillah, and we are grateful for all of you for being a part of our healing community.

With gratitude,

Trip Oldfield, CEO

JFCS History

JFCS was founded on and continues to exemplify the Jewish values of Tikkun Olam (heal the world) and Matanot L’Evyonim (give charity to the needy). Our open-door philosophy to a range of clients, from young children to the elderly to refugees, without regard for race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, or religion--continues to be the drive of JFCS Long Beach and West Orange County now and for years to come. In 1957 Long Beach had an enthusiastic Jewish community, many of whom were young families thriving in the region’s strong post-war economy. Nonetheless there were unmet community needs and prominent among them the need for a professionally staffed agency to address critical social service needs of the Jewish population. Fortunately, energized members of the National Council of Jewish Women were determined to satisfy that need and it was they who spearheaded the development of JFS of Long Beach. Working with the Jewish Community Council (the equivalent of today’s Federation), they succeeded. In January 1957, they persuaded the Council to authorize the establishment of a Jewish Family Service and on January 15, 1957 Leon Silverman, President of the Jewish Community Council, announced the appointment of Celine Marcus as executive director of the new JFS. Marcus’s charge was “to develop a JFS in the city of Long Beach for the purpose of counseling and assisting individuals and families with their personal and family problems, to give emergency financial assistance where necessary and to direct the resettlement of refugee families.” By the close of 1957, 228 local families had come to JFS for some kind of help. The agency also provided emergency financial help to 33 families with grants between $5-$75 to 119 Jewish transients for a total of $3,785.

The following year, 1958, JFS incorporated as an independent nonprofit agency with the officers and board signing the official Articles of Incorporation on April 9, 1958. During its first year, a JFS committee developed the agency’s new graduated fee scale: those able to pay were

charged the full rate but the policy noted “as a community-supported agency we have a responsibility to serve without charge those unable to pay.” Further, only those receiving counseling services were billed. Other services such as aid to the aged or the unemployed, those seeking guidance with vocational, housing, or health issues, or refugee resettlement families were assisted with no charge.

January 1959 marked the completion of one full year as an independent agency serving the needs of Jewish families in the Long Beach/Lakewood area. Effective November 1, 1959, JFS was accepted as a constituent agency of the United Neighbors Community Chest giving it further recognition and stature in the community. Among the new client services offered in 1961 were a therapy group for women having marital problems, (a group for separated or divorced women had been started in November 1960), a family counseling service for parents involved in divorce, and in June 1961 the agency started a therapy group for adolescent girls aged 14 to 16.

In the late 1970s, JFS took on the major task of building the agency’s full-time counseling staff to better serve the needs of this growing community. Filling out the professional team was one clinician trained in working with older adults to serve that increasing population and a position of Assistant Director.

Another major leap for the agency in the early 1980s was the addition of a program specifically to serve children from all communities, not just the Jewish Community. The agency acknowledged the new service by incorporating children into its name to become Jewish Family and Children’s Service and began its service to the larger Long Beach community.

1993 became a pivotal year for the organization’s growth. An all-out emphasis on seeking grants to expand services and staff required bringing into the agency a professional grant writer. In time the success of that effort as well as the increasing gifts from the Associates campaign

was reflected in a doubling of the agency’s budget from the $400,000 in 1993. Other innovations were the intern programs, school-based programs, and small-group counseling. The agency built a strong program for seniors including training students and interns seeking a competency to work with seniors.

In 2004 JFCS further its relationship with the other two executive directors in the building – the JCC and the Federation – helping to foster the professional growth of all three. The intern training program, long a significant element of the agency’s academic outreach and of benefit to both the students and clients tripled with students coming not only from CSULB but from USC, Loyola Marymount and National University. The agency also won two major grants that helped not only with funding but also acknowledged the agency’s professional excellence. The United Way, which had shifted its grant making policy from a modified entitlement approach to a competitive one, awarded JFCS a three-year grant of $50,000 each year. The agency also received a coveted federal grant for the replacement of all its outdated computers and the purchase and training for software to establish a client data tracking system. The most challenging period to date in JFCS’ history were the years from 2008 to 2012. The Great Recession created a very difficult path for all non-profits. Foundations who had heretofore funded programs and services offered by JFCS and similar agencies found their investment streams withered and their ability to award grants at previous levels had eroded. JFCS navigated these tough times by focusing on fundraising efforts,seeking new grant sources for some of its programs, and bridging gaps using its reserves as a last resort.

In late 2012, new goals for the organization emerged including expanding the organization’s reach into the community through new collaborations with schools and local agencies, building internal capacity to grow current programs, and establishing new funding streams. With the generous underwriting of Linda Haley and Dr. Marvin Zamost as Title Sponsors, the organization’s flagship fundraising event, Race With A View,

continued to grow in both the number of participants and funds raised. In October of 2017 Eugene Chernoy passed away, leaving JFCS a generous legacy from him and his beloved wife Sally that was intended to help sustain the agency into the future. The Sally and Eugene Chernoy Endowment continues to provide significant funding to support JFCS’s counseling, domestic violence, and senior programs.

Moving into this year, JFCS is proud to have launched two new programs: Educational Scholarship, thanks to Daisy & Vic Schneidman, and Refugee Resettlement and Assistance. JFCS is opening a satellite office in Orange County in October.

Today, JFCS continues to serve the residents of Long Beach and Orange County, it does so with a real sense of pride among the past and current board members, staff, donors, and community partners. The agency and its one social worker that 65 years ago opened its door and its heart to those who came looking for guidance, today can extend its helping hands to the wider community with over 70 full and part-time counselors and student interns. Its first year’s budget was $50,000; today’s is $2.5 million.

To view the full organizational history, please visit https://jfcslboc.org/history/.

JFCS Board of Directors

Officers

Mark Rapp

President

Rick Burney

1st Vice President/Treasurer

Gail Levy

2nd Vice President

Andi Waks

Secretary

Norma Stein

Immediate Past President-

Directors

Fay Abed

Helene Ansel

Raymond Cervantez

Carl Cohn

Kathryn Flippen

Jessica Garcia

Mike Greenspan

Mark Guillen

Jonathan Kass

Past Presidents

Dorothy Hechtlinger Gentry*

1958 – 1960

Judge Charles Litwin*

1961 – 1962

Murray Greenwood*

1963 – 1964

Jerome Taub*

1965 – 1966

Arthur Miller*

1967 – 1968

Dr. Bernard Landes*

1968 – 1969

Vivian Barkin*

1970 – 1971

Dr. Irving Applebaum*

1972 – 1973

Gael Libby

Bonnie Lowenthal

Nicole Malina

Andres Molina

Abha Pandya

Karin Polacheck

Joanne Ratner

Nancy Schneider

Vic Schneidman

Vivian Barkin*

1974 – 1975

Robert Blakey*

1975 – 1976

Gordon Lentzner

1977 – 1979

Leon Shoag

1979 – 1981

Jean Blakey*

1980 – 1983

Gary Stein

1983 – 1986

Sandra Carr

1986 – 1988

Sandra Horwitz

1988 – 1990

Janice Sunshine*

1990 – 1991

Howard Weiss

1991 – 1994

Ron Guest*

1994 – 1995

Revanna Augustson*

1995 – 1997

Judith E. Lentzner

1997 – 1999

Harriet Rothenberg*

1999 – 2001

Elaine Davis

2001 – 2003

Geoff Carr, MD

2003 – 2005

Renee Simon

2005 – 2007

Howard Weiss

2007 – 2009

Steve Gordon

2009 – 2011

Richard Ruby

2012 - 2013

Rob Feldman

2014 – 2015

Rick Burney

2016 - 2017

Gail Levy

2018-2019

Norma Stein

2020-2021

Mark Rapp

2022-2023

*Of blessed memory

Management

Trip Oldfield, MBA, CFRE Chief Executive Officer

Lisa Heemer, LCSW Director of Clinical Services

Tamar Brandeis, LMFT Director of Counseling

Lisa Honsberger, LCSW Director of Community-Based Services

Jamie Watson, LCSW Director of Social Work & Older Adult Services

Jennifer Alban Seislove Director of Development

Erika Mejia Administrator

Staff

Nichole Boucher

Stakeholder Relations Coordinator

Ana D’Abreu

Psy.D. Supervisor

Amy Foster Program Assistant

Patty Gallagher Grant Writer

Aracely Guerrero

OAS Program Assistant

Deidre King

Community Based Services Coordinator

Oscar Maciel

Intake Coordinator

Judy Morrison

LMFT Supervisor

Lynne O’Brien Clinical Supervisor

Valerie Rios

Billing & Data Coordinator

Genoveva Rodriguez

Bilingual Office Assistant

Kai Soto

Front Office Receptionist

Thank You to Our Sponsors

Jack & Binnie Berro and Family

Karin Polacheck, Vic & Daisy Schneidman

Aloha

Love, Charity, Empathy

Linda Haley & Dr. Marvin Zamost

Laulima

Cooperation

Barry Borkin

Elaine Davis

Lindsey & Gary Fields

Drs. Gail & Thomas Levy

Gael & Dr. Glenn Libby

Rich & Amy Lipeles

Bonnie Lowenthal

Jill & Mark Rapp

Renee Simon

Susan Stuhlbarg

Teamsters Local 572

Lokahi Unity

Helene Ansel & Andy Kincaid

Marcie & John Blumberg

Linda & Rick Burney

Barbara & Ned Gaylord

Melissa & Art Kreitenberg

Sandy & Daryl Phillips

Pono

Goodness

Raymond Cervantez

Dr. Mark Dressner & Dr. Matthew Davis

Joyce & Hank Feldman

Lauren & Stuart Friedman

Lea & Dennis Gerber

Joyce & Mike Greenspan

Kathy & Alan Krieda

Joanne & Dr. Gerald Levy

Nancy & Dr. James Linden

Lynne & Jonathan Kass

Joanne Ratner & Wayne Slavitt

Kristina & Bill Shafton

Barbra & Steven Sperling

Natalie Swit

Andi & Mark Waks

Ava & Howard Weiss

Ilsebill Wolfe

It’s Not What You Gather, But What You Scatter, That Tells What Kind Of Life You Have Lived!

In honor and appreciation of the JFCS staff

Warmly, Binnie & Jack Berro and Family

Gael and Glenn Libby want to congratulate JFCS for 65 years of dedicated service to the community.

CONGRATULATIONS ON 65 YEARS OF MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT FOR LONG BEACH AND ORANGE COUNTY!!!

Bonnie Lowenthal and Evan Braude

Congratulations on your 65th!

-Barry Borkin

We honor all the past and present board members who have volunteered their time, donated their money and inspired the JFCS programs to reach those in need of the JFCS services and provide a community healed, one person, one family at a time.

Drs. Gail and Thomas Levy

Congratulations to JFCS for 65 Years of support to our community! Many lives have been positively impacted over these many years and many more lives will be strengthened in the years to come! We are proud and happy to be a supporter.

Hank & Joyce Feldman

Happy 65th JFCS! Here’s to a positive impact for years to come!

Kristina and Bill Shafton

Mazel tov to JFCS for 65 years of outstanding service to the entire Long Beach community. We are so proud to support your often life saving work.

Nancy and Jim Linden

Congratulations on 65 great years of supporting our community!

Ava & Howard Weiss

Congratulations to JFCS celebrating its hallmark 65th anniversary. JFCS continues to be there so no one is alone when facing life’s challenges or triumphs by providing vital services that address its vision of a community healed, one person, one family at a time. We are proud to be supporters of this distinguished and dynamic organization.

-Norma & Jan

For my friend GAIL LEVY for her utmost dedication, energetic commitment and enormous contribution to making JFCS a strong and viable community agency. And a big thank you to all the other Board members and staff who have worked so hard to make our 65th anniversary a big success.

Abha Pandya

Thank you JFCS for honoring your donors with the unmatchable service you continue to provide our total community.

Renee Simon & Family

Mike and Joyce Greenspan

https://cricketpartyservices.com/

Nicole Malina and Chadwick Bishop

Much

Pattie and Marc Davidson

Thank you JFCS for 65 years of commitment to mental health and the vulnerable in our community.

In admiration, Dr. Joel and Edie Brodsky

Lauren Friedman

Congratulations to all who have been part of the success of JFCS through the years.

Amy & Rich Lipeles

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” -Anne Frank

With thanks & appreciation to Jewish Family & Children’s Service and its dedicated staff, volunteers and supporters. For 65 years of helping to improve the world!

Jonathan & Lynne Kass

Thank you to Jewish Family and Children’s Service for 65 years of helping repair a broken world for those most in need!

Dr. Mark Dressner & Dr. Matt Davis

Amazing things happen when amazing people gather together. JFCS is full of amazing people.

Congratulations on 65 years, Vic

and Daisy Schneidman

A big congratulations to the JFCS staff, board, and stakeholders for continuing to lead and support an incredible organization that benefits so many in our community. Cheers to 65 more!

Bob & Jeannie Alban

Congratulations JFCS for 65 years of helping people in need and building community

Helene Ansel & Andy Kincaid

- From Lea and Dennis

Congrats JFCS for 65 years of making a difference in our community and for many more years to come.

Congratulations JFCS on 65 Years of Service to Long Beach and the Surrounding Communities!

Rick E. Middleton Secretary-Treasurer

Lourdes M. Garcia President

Congratulations JFCS on 65 years of serving our community!

California Conference for Equality and Justice

- Ned & Barbara Gaylord

Jewish Long Beach congratulates JFCS on 65 years of service to the community!

Take a Walk Down Memory Lane

Jewish Long Beach & Alpert JCC

Empowering Greater Long Beach and West Orange County Since 1948

JEWISHLONGBEACH.ORG