To strengthen lives and enhance our diverse community by providing exceptional and transformational human services.
OUR VISION
Guided by Jewish values, we strive for a community where everyone lives with dignity, security, and hope.
OUR WORK
We live and work at the intersection of compassion and hope.
2,981 clients
28% increase from 2023 offered 145 programs at the Russian Jewish Cultural Center distributed 1,824 weeks worth of groceries to 214 households and 685 individuals provided 103,577 hours of home care for Holocaust survivors
221 clients served
counseled
Dear Community Members,
A LETTER FROM THE CEO
Our team at Jewish Family Service is passionate about the work we do. We know you care too, so this report’s purpose is to share our successes of 2024 with you. Thank you for supporting our vital work.
ONE COMMUNITY THRIVING
Our community’s needs have driven our accomplishments:
• Our program that cares for older adults with memory challenges was already—despite being less than a year old—awarded a significant grant only given to 21 organizations nationally. The award noted our innovative, person-centered nature programming.
• Our first Amazon Virtual Food Drive was successful beyond expectations, and able to perfectly match needs with gifts.
• We grew our expert staff to better care for our community amidst growing demand.
• We received widespread praise for leading the first-ever Resilient Minds Symposium, an educational gathering to destigmatize mental health challenges affecting youth and young adults in our community.
• In 2024, our food pantry provided a record amount of groceries.
• Since 2022, we have reached out with care and companionship to 785 isolated older adults.
• We’ve established strong, multi-year partnerships with funders to fulfill our mission.
ONE PERSON AT A TIME
At JFS, before anything else, we see the human being first. We see you, your neighbors, and those you love first. Because we care, we will continue to join hands with you, our community and partners, to work towards our goal of one community thriving, one human being at a time.
Warmly,
Liz Vogel CEO, Jewish Family Service
YOU GIVE HOPE ONE PERSON AT A TIME
Meet Len
“Without
Ken,
my life would be much quieter.”
At 94, Len Mitzman (on right in photo), is only able to make it to his synagogue three times a year. His wife passed in 2001. Through K’vod Connect, a Jewish Family Service program that reaches out to isolated older adults, he now has regular company: program volunteer Ken Germain. They have become friends, bonding over their love of travel and more. Len describes Ken as “a wonderful gentleman.” And Ken loves that their friendship is “a two-way street.”
Meet Felecia
“I reconnected with my Jewishness.”
Felecia, 64, had a difficult home life growing up and fell away from family and Judaism. She lives on SSDI (social security disability insurance), regularly visits our food pantry, and hasn’t been to synagogue in years. Last year, she received a JFS Passover Delivery bag. “I didn’t know how to make the meal—so I learned,” she says. It reconnected her with her Jewishness and “some of my best memories of my mom and dad.” She was proud that she learned to make her own matzo ball soup.
Meet Frances
“I
felt unanchored and lost.”
After her husband and her son died in quick succession, grief stopped Frances (identity changed for privacy) cold. And her Parkinson’s was worsening. “It became too much to carry my own laundry” she said. After her rabbi suggested Jewish Family Service, our counselor Melissa met with her weekly for six months. Frances found healthy ways to honor her grief and prioritize her own needs. “I’ve always walked through the world a competent person,” said Frances, “but I couldn’t have moved forward without Melissa.”
I feel privileged to serve an organization that, to me, epitomizes the Jewish ideal of tikkun olam—repair of the world.
— Joanne Grossman, President
of the
Board
JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE PARTNERS
• Member agency of the Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies
• Partner agency with Freestore Foodbank
• Aging Life Care Association® affiliate
• National Association of Social Workers affiliate
• Greater Cincinnati Northern Kentucky Apartment Association affiliate
Social services for victims of Nazi atrocities have been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany. Some services of the Aging and Caregiver Services program are administered by Council on Aging of Southwestern Ohio.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2024–2025
President of the Board: Joanne Grossman
Vice President, President Elect: Ellen W. Feld, MD
The Fine Paris Fund given by Miriam Bresler Warshauer Cohen
Fran and Craig Coleman
Malcolm and Adell Coleman*
Trudy and Robert Craig
Meredith L. Davis
Amy Diamond
Bonnie and Darryl Dick
Dr. Murray and Anita Dock
Deborah Eckert-Rubinstein
Hugo Eichelberg*
Alyce and Joel Ellison
Ross and Jan Evans
Ellen W. Feld, MD
Diana and Henry Fenichel
Adrianne W. and Richard A. Freiberg
Sue Friedlander*
Roslyn Friedman
Brian and Robin Goldberg
William Goldberg and Suzy MarcusGoldberg
Carrie and Ken Goldhoff
Jeff and Laura Goldstein
Rebecca and Howard Goldwasser
Karen and Richard Goodman
Julie Payton
Edward Rivin
Michael Samet
Gary Smith, DVM
Kurt and Joanne Grossman
Mr. Jeffrey Haas
Stuart* and Roberta Handwerger
David C. Harris and Miriam Terlinchamp
Joyce* and Paul Heiman
Fred and Patti Heldman
Beth and Brian Hertzman
Marty and Sally Hiudt
Jon Hoffheimer
Joanie and Jerry Horwitz*
Scott and Patricia Joseph
Josh and Tracy Juran
Larry and Kim Juran
Meryl and Steve Juran
Howard and Stephanie Kaplan
Mona and Dick Kerstine
Marjorie Knodle
Dr. Hamilton and Debbie Lempert
Andrea Levenson Young and Scott Young
Gloria and Alvin* Lipson
Dr. Michael and Lynne Lipson
Randy and Bonnie Loftspring
Jacqueline Mervis Mack
Meyers Family
Lisa and Jonathan Mezibov
Leslie and Kenneth Miller
Mark and Robin Miller
Ann K. Mulvey*
Joy S. and Thomas Nadler
Lev and Margaret Orlov
Nina and Edward Paul
Julie Payton and Alison Margello
Arnold P. and Eleanor G. Payton*
Bob and Wendy Pelberg
Penny and Myles Pensak
Alice W. Perlman
Joel and Marisa Phillips
Nancy and Charlie Postow
Jay* and Sue Price
Izar Spivak
Marc Weinstein, PhD
Ben Yudin, LISW
Jory Zola
Thank you to the generous members of our Legacy Society including Create Your Jewish Legacy donors. You make our work possible. Jewish Family Service | StarPoint HomeCare | AgeWell Cincinnati 9395 Kenwood Rd, Ste 100, Cincinnati, OH 45242
Dan Rapp
Jenny Rasnick
Leslie and Bernard Reiss
Barbara Rosen
Dick and Kitty Rosenthal
Ari and Deborah Rubinoff
Julie Jacobson-Ruby and Kenn Ruby
Lauren Scharf
Anita and Henry Schneider
Irvin and Ida Schwartz*
Susan Shorr and Dennis Mittman
Andrew and Sally Shott
Simply Giving
Gary and Leah Smith
Paul Spitz
Stacey and Izar Spivak
Debra and Michael Steinbuch
The Corky and Ellen* Steiner Family
John and Merrie Stillpass
Josephine G. Stillpass
Barbara Sutter*
Liz and Jordan Vogel
Nancy S. Warren
Mr. and Mrs.* Robert A. Weil
Richard and Marcia Weiland*
Amy Susskind Weiskopf
Stephan D. Weiss, PhD
David and Nancy Wolf
Alan* and Louise Wolf
Max Yamson and Elida Kamine Yamson
Susan and Ron Zimmerman
Fred Zorndorf*
Helen and Sanford Zussman
Anonymous (14)
Bolded names designate confirmed gifts *Deceased
If your name has been omitted or misspelled, we sincerely apologize. We encourage you to bring any errors or omissions to our attention. Please contact Doris Marks Rodier at 513-985-2961 or dmarksrodier@jfedcin.org.
Family Vital Support Center | Heldman Family Food Pantry 3113 Clifton Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45220
