Beth Sholom Village’s Auxiliary recently awarded Jewish Family Service a gift that makes it possible for 20,000 meals to be provided to hungry people in Tidewater. Collaborative projects between Jewish Family Service and Beth Sholom Village have taken place for generations and both agencies have a long-standing mission to help seniors.
“Thirty-three years ago, when I worked for JFS, I oversaw the Food Pantry,” says Sara Jo Rubin. “Now, as a member of the Beth Sholom Village board of directors, I am thrilled to see that the Beth Sholom Village Auxiliary group is helping carry on the mission with this gift to JFS. It is so wonderful to see the continued collaboration of two fantastic agencies, both of which have served seniors in the Jewish community for decades.”
Beth Sholom Village Auxiliary has about 450 members, with 12 serving on the Auxiliary board. Edie Schlain, who has been board president for nine years, says, “The Auxiliary has always cared about seniors. If anyone needed anything, we were right there. We’ve always been there, and we will continue to be there through our foundation. We look forward to our continued work with JFS.”
The gift of $10,000, which was made on Tuesday, June 24, was donated directly to Jewish Family Service’s account at the Food Bank of Southeastern Virginia.
“Having our account replenished in this way is so fantastic!” says Kelly Burroughs, CEO for JFS. “People may not realize that JFS purchases food from the Food Bank; it is not given to us. The prices are greatly reduced, so we can make a dollar stretch so much farther by shopping at the Food Bank than when we must buy retail.”
“Hopefully, the money that was donated represents enough meals to keep the JFS pantry stocked until Thanksgiving,” says Brooke Rush, JFS director of development. “The pantry is busier than ever. Just this morning we had 19 people come in need.”
The demographic at the pantry is primarily older people who live on fixed incomes which may not last throughout the month. One senior, Martin (pseudonym), recently called the pantry for help. “I’ve been living on saltine crackers and water for five days,” he said. “And now I am out of crackers.” He explained that his daughter will help him when she visits in a couple of weeks. Of course, he could not wait for his daughter to arrive. Rush packed a box of groceries and brought them to him on her way home. “He was waiting on his porch,” she says. “I would love for JFS to develop a Pantry on Wheels so that we can reach more people who don’t have access to the pantry due to limited transportation.”
Jewish Family Service already provides home-delivered meals to seniors. Now, JFS wants to expand its ability to serve more home-bound seniors with the new Pantry on Wheels model. The food pantry, located at the Sandler Family Campus, is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10 – 11 am, and is available by appointment.
Chris Tan, CEO for the Food Bank of Southeastern Virginia, expresses his appreciation for organizations such as Beth Sholom Village and Jewish Family Service. According to Tan, 70% of every food donation goes back to the community through partner agencies’ food pantries. “We are so happy to have partners who do such good work for the community,” he says.
As Beth Sholom Village 2.0 continues to evolve, and they move to the Sandler Family Campus (see article on page 21), Jewish Family Service “is thrilled to welcome them to the shared office space.”
Stephanie Peck, JFS board president, says, “Having Beth Sholom Village’s staff here in the offices at JFS just makes sense. Both agencies have a long history of providing high quality services to seniors. We can only get better when we work together.”
Jewish Family Service and Beth Sholom Village continue their support of Jewish seniors
