Mark Your Calendar for an Unforgettable Executive Luncheon We’re gearing up for the 21st annual JFS Executive Luncheon on Thursday, May 7, 2026, at the Sheraton Downtown Denver Hotel—and you won’t want to miss the event! This year, we’re thrilled to have renowned actress, director, writer, and producer Elizabeth Banks join us. The Executive Luncheon brings together the Denver philanthropic community to learn more about JFS, enjoy lunch, and celebrate the Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck Community Leadership Award recipient, the State of Colorado for their partnership and 150th anniversary, which will be accepted by Governor Jared Polis. Guests will appreciate an afternoon of networking, lively discussions, and meaningful perspectives as Ms. Banks combines her signature humor with engaging stories and relevant insights during a moderated conversation. By joining us, you support JFS in reaching our neighbors where the need is greatest. Mark your calendars to strengthen your community connection! Visit jewishfamilyservice.org/luncheon to learn more, including sponsor opportunities.
Advancing Women’s Empowerment | 3
Changes at JFS Altius Farms | 4
Faces of JFS: An Insightful Evening | 5
In this issue
Fiscal Year 2025 Highlights | 2
WINTER 2025
Family Matters is a quarterly publication of Jewish Family Service of Colorado, 3201 S. Tamarac Drive, Denver, CO 80231 | 303.597.5000
Dear Friends, Before we know it, 2026 will be upon us. But before we turn the calendar, it’s important to take a moment to share what we have accomplished during our last fiscal year (July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025), a year in which we met unprecedented demands and strengthened community connections thanks to the dedication of our staff, Board, volunteers, and donors. Their compassion and generosity continue to drive our positive impact in our communities and beyond. In addition to the impact numbers, I wanted to share a few highlights. With your support, we: • Passed a four-year strategic framework to guide the organization in achieving long-term stability and continuing to have a positive impact, enabling us to fulfill our mission effectively. • Launched our Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner program to provide medication management to community members needing access to this critical support.
•C elebrated the 30th anniversary of our schoolbased mental health program, KidSuccess, which has been on the front lines, providing the necessary resources for kids to succeed academically and emotionally in a supportive school environment. • Administered the Boulder County Crisis Counseling mental health program, funded through the Community Foundation of Boulder County’s Wildfire Recovery Fund and the Red Cross, among others, to help combat trauma, depression, or anxiety associated with the Marshall Fire and subsequent Straight-line Wind event. While no one can predict what the next year will bring, based on what we are experiencing already from nearconstant state and city budget cuts, as well as grantors either reducing their funding or stopping disbursement altogether, we’ll need your support more than ever to help individuals and families overcome the hardships and give them a pathway to succeed. On behalf of the individuals and families we serve, thank you for your commitment to JFS. Just as it has been for the past 153 years, it is our honor and privilege to support our community in a thoughtful and compassionate way— and we couldn’t do this critical work without you. With warm regards,
Linda P. Foster President and CEO
Path to Employment Success Transitioning back into the community after incarceration is full of difficulties. For Anthony, overcoming challenges, such as learning technology and finding employment in a world vastly different from the one when he entered custody, included participating in our Foundations of Digital Literacy course. The digital era is confusing, even when you’ve kept pace with technology. Imagine if you’re dropped into this unfamiliar world after not using a cell phone, not knowing how to scan groceries, use an app, or create strong password protection. Computer skills are necessary for success in our everyday world and in today’s job market. Read about Anthony’s transition to employment at jewishfamilyservice.org/ blog/path-to-employment-success.
FISCAL YEAR 2025 HIGHLIGHTS Looking back at the last fiscal year, you’ll notice the significance of our efforts to make the world a better place and expand resources beyond our walls, reaching individuals and families as diverse as our programs and services. A few of our top highlights include:
657 older adults received care
management, homemaker services, counseling, and food services to keep them connected and engaged.
97 individuals with intellectual and
developmental disabilities received essential support services and actively participated in inclusion activities, promoting personal growth and community engagement.
510 clients received services such as
care management, financial assistance, food support, and mental health counseling in the Boulder community.
2,226
clients received employment support through our various employment programs.
Make Your Year-end Gift People come to JFS for many reasons. Some need short-term support, such as rental assistance while they recover from illness; others need supplemental food to stretch their grocery budget. Many of our clients are working, yet the rising costs of housing, food, and other necessities make it difficult to make ends meet. JFS helps bridge those gaps, ensuring that individuals and families can meet their basic needs today while building toward a more stable future. It’s vital that JFS remains positioned to continue meeting the evolving needs of the people we serve, especially amid the challenges posed by fluctuating economic conditions, the loss of $4 million in government funding, and the knowledge that the 19% increase in clients we saw last year will grow in 2026.
761,390 meals served
Now is the time to deepen your connection to the community, act locally, and give our neighbors hope. Please visit jewishfamilyservice.org/donate/2025 to make your most generous donation today.
Thanks to our supporters, JFS provided 167,545 total services to 26,000 individuals across multiple programs, which is remarkable.
Tax Law Changes
through the Weinberg Food Pantry and the Mobile Food & Hygiene Pantry to 8,420 households.
Please visit jewishfamilyservice.org/2025annual-report to view the latest Annual Report.
With so much news and confusion surrounding recent developments, we’re here to help clarify how the tax law changes from the new tax-and-spending bill often referred to as OBBBA could impact your charitable giving in 2026. Learn more today at jewishfamilyservice.org/blog/tax-law-changes. 2
Advancing Women’s Empowerment The JFS Career Service team hosted its first New American Women Empowerment (NAWE) Employment event in September, and by all accounts, it was an energizing success! NAWE’s three-day career development program was designed to connect refugee and immigrant women with opportunities for meaningful employment through individual support, panels, discussion groups, and workshops. Led by other New American women, including JFS staff, volunteers, former clients, and community leaders, the program provided practical career guidance and peer support, helping participants build confidence and community. Attendees gained valuable industry insights and resources while connecting with other women in similar circumstances. Sessions and workshop topics included: • U.S. workplace culture • Cultural considerations • Working as mothers • Industry-specific sessions in housekeeping, interpretation, and early childhood education • Entrepreneurship and side hustles • Job search strategies • Interview preparation • Championing yourself
The event, funded through a combination of grants and donations, included eight sessions with 19 sharp, capable, intelligent, and diverse women. Some were formally educated; others were not. One woman was 19, who did not have school or work opportunities in her home country, and another was a 75-year-old grandmother who was a caregiver for her grandchildren but must enter the workforce because her daughter can’t work and she now must support the family. One woman was a lawyer in her home country, while others were never able to work outside the home. Some lived in metropolitan cities while others spent most of their lives in refugee camps. “We met people where they are,” shared JFS Career Services Program Coordinator, Lilia Anderson. “And each woman had the drive and determination to succeed, breaking down larger goals into smaller steps to move forward. It was amazing to see these women lean into their skills and connect over shared stories and experiences.”
“It was amazing to see these women lean into their skills and connect over shared stories and experiences.” — LILIA ANDERSON, JFS CAREER SERVICES PROGRAM COORDINATOR
Donor Spotlight Partnerships are vital to JFS’s success. Through grants, donations of funds, food, and supplies, or volunteering their time, partners make a lasting impact. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Jeff Robbins and David Frieder heard about the concept of a giving circle. Inspired by what they heard, they set out to find eight people willing to donate $100 each to a local charity. Instead, 44 people expressed enthusiasm, and ultimately, the foundation for 100+ Jews Who Care was built—with the JFS Weinberg Food Pantry receiving the group’s first grant. With 253 members, the group connects a network of like-minded donors to make a positive impact in the Denver-Boulder metro area. Members must donate at least $400 each quarter, may nominate organizations, can vote for grant recipients, and are encouraged to invite others to join. Each quarter, donors nominate one 501(c)(3) organization for consideration. From a typical range of 20 to 30 nominations, five are randomly selected. After learning more about the finalists, members vote, and the five finalists receive a portion of the collected quarterly donations in proportion to the number of votes they received. An organization can receive two grants per year, but they must be allocated to distinct programs. To date, JFS has been fortunate to receive grants for our resettlement, food, mental health, and emergency assistance programs, as well as JFS Altius Farms. At its core, 100+ Jews Who Care believes in Tikkun Olam, the obligation to make the world a better place; not just the Jewish world, but the entire world. “We are helping people who need help,” shared Robbins.
Important update regarding upcoming changes at JFS Altius Farms To foster strategic, sustainable growth and create an innovative new experience for our community, we will be temporarily pausing a portion of our JFS Altius Farms operations. Temporary closure: The greenhouse (our greens operation) will close at the end of 2025, paving the way for future opportunities. Duration: The closure is expected to last approximately 18 months, allowing us to improve our operations. Focus: During this time, we will make minor repairs to the greenhouse layout, implement upgrades to our growing system, and enhance key workflows—all improvements that will help ensure the farm’s ongoing growth and success. Many aspects of JFS Altius Farms will continue to operate during this transition. Our mushroom operations will remain fully active, producing 20,000 pounds of high-quality mushrooms each year. The outdoor garden will continue to yield several thousand pounds of seasonal vegetables annually, and we are increasing the number of events available in our outdoor garden space. Additionally, we will use this time to strategically work with one of our restaurant customers, who will introduce an innovative dining experience within our shared greenhouse space. We are excited about the synergy this opportunity will bring to our farm, the Denver dining scene, and our community.
Partners like 100+ Jews Who Care help JFS remain one of Colorado’s most impactful human services agencies. Together, we make a meaningful difference in our community. 4
Faces of JFS: An Insightful Evening On November 12, guests gathered at Infinity Park for our Van Jones: Speaking Up and Speaking Out event and to celebrate how JFS has been helping individuals in need expand their skills and opportunities by providing services that support them to be successful for more than 153 years. After hearing that JFS, like many human service providers, is facing extraordinary turmoil and uncertainty around government funding and how they can help, guests heard a thought-provoking moderated conversation between U.S. media personality, entrepreneur, and world-class changemaker, Van Jones, and Scott Levin. To everyone who attended, donated, or sponsored the event, we couldn’t do it without your support. Thanks to your generosity and understanding of the urgent needs in our community, we raised $650,000! Your support strengthens our role as a community safety net and sustains the essential services our neighbors rely on every day. Thank you so much for investing in JFS, recognizing the challenges people face, and being part of the solution to address those challenges. A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS: Community $15,000 Family $10,000
Friend $5,000 Amanda and Jonathan Alpert Marlin and Ed Barad Sunny and Norm Brownstein Dara Deshe & Sharyar Aziz Jr. David & Jordan Feiner, Feiner Family Foundation Freeman Family Foundation Roberta Levin and Dr. Gilad Gordon
Niah and Aaron Hyatt Cindy and Carl Rossow Michael Staenberg Temple Sinai and Rabbi Rick and Susan Rheins Dresner Foundation John Keith and Leah Weinkle
Patron $3,500 Elise A. Barish The Chotin Foundation and Family Gay and Barry Curtiss-Lusher Lisa Eller Davis and Jim Harris David Merage Foundation for Confronting Antisemitism Pollock Family Lori and Lou Sigman & Family
Kavod on the Road: How to Advocate for Yourself and Your Loved Ones Kavod Senior Life provides ongoing, engaging programs for active older adults in the greater Denver community, and JFS is proud to be a member and community partner of the organization. At this year’s Kavod on the Road Conference, Rachel Rotach, MSW, JFS Director of Aging Care & Connections, and Heidi Wald, MD, MSPH, and JFS Board of Directors member, presented on “How to advocate for yourself and your loved ones as you age.” Everyone who receives medical treatment should have someone to support them—to help raise questions, take notes, enhance communication with medical staff, and make sure they are receiving patient-centered care. Navigating the health care system can be daunting, and having both emotional and instrumental support can improve patient outcomes. Being able to communicate your needs, preferences, and rights clearly and assertively is crucial in a patient’s health care journey. Approximately 55 participants attended the session, which highlighted key strategies for effective self-advocacy and advocacy for loved ones, including education and preparation, understanding and addressing barriers to care, and navigating health care systems and community resources. Practical tools were also reviewed. JFS also had a table at the event where people could learn about our aging programs and services. When it comes to your care, it’s up to you to make sure you are heard. Becoming a strong advocate for yourself or family members is central to the care process, and we’re sharing suggestions, tips, and recommendations to make it easier for you to become your own advocate at jewishfamilyservice.org/blog/kavod-on-the-road-how-to-advocate.
COLORFUL INFINITY SYMBOLS
The Power of Connection Neuro-Connect: A Connection Group for Adults with Level 1 Autism is a new monthly social group for Jewish autistic adults who are 21 or older and have a diagnosis of ASD1. We’re excited to offer this friendly virtual space to connect with other autistic adults and strengthen your community. For more information, visit jewishfamilyservice.org/services/counseling-groups.
6
NON PROFIT ORG. US POSTAGE PAID DENVER, CO PERMIT NO. 1217
Jewish Family Service of Colorado Joyce and Kal Zeff Building 3201 South Tamarac Drive Denver CO 80231-4360 Social services for Jewish victims of the Holocaust have been supported by a grant from The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
Happy Hanukkah from our family to yours