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 For decades, Jewish Family Service of Tidewater and Beth Sholom Village shared a commitment to serving older adults through a continuum of care. The two agencies helped build successful hospice and palliative care services, while each also operated home health programs. As the healthcare landscape changed, JFS ended its home health program, and the hospice program was sold. Beth Sholom later closed its home health program and sold “the Home,” but its commitment to supporting Jewish seniors continued.

 Today, that shared legacy is taking new shape. JFS continues to offer a broad range of services, while Beth Sholom advances its mission through the Beth Sholom Village Foundation, which invited local organizations to apply for funding to support seniors. Jewish Family Service, along with several other organizations, received grant funding to help meet the growing and changing needs of older adults.

With support from the grant, United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and JFS will work together to develop programs that engage Jewish seniors across multiple areas, including fitness, education, social connection, and cultural experiences. The agencies also hope to strengthen collaboration with other organizations serving older adults throughout the region. 

 “There is so much we can do by working together,” says Kelly Burroughs, chief executive officer of Jewish Family Service. “Increasing social and educational activities, cultural experiences, and accessibility for older adults is one of the agency’s primary initiatives this year. Doing this in partnership with our sister organizations means that we can make an even larger impact.” 

 Betty Ann Levin, executive vice president/CEO of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, agrees, noting that “the Sandler Family Campus is an ideal location for engagement across program areas, including health and wellness classes in conjunction with JFit, intergenerational engagement with PJ Library and Strelitz, and through our Center for Active Living at the Simon Family JCC.”

 The vision extends beyond campus-based programs. Through the BSV Foundation grant, JFS will expand its social service continuum for older Jewish adults by offering case management and coordination for critical support such as transportation, financial assistance, burial assistance, home safety modifications, shopping help, and light housekeeping. The need is already clear. “Within the first two weeks of the grant,” says Burroughs, “JFS received three requests for assistance with burial arrangements, two financial assistance requests for eviction prevention, and one request for repair of an air conditioning unit.” These services can make the difference between crisis and stability, helping older adults remain in their homes, age in place, and stay connected to community. One donor recipient, who was struggling to pay their mortgage due to some temporary challenges, recently shared their appreciation:

“It is difficult to put into words the immense relief and peace of mind your support has given me. Your kindness has made a profound difference in my life.”

Jewish Family Service, along with fellow grant recipients are building services that honor the generations who helped shape this community—and ensuring that older adults and people with disabilities continue to be cared for with dignity, compassion, and connection.

A decade after becoming an executive assistant at Beth Sholom Village, the mother of three is now arguably at the center of the entire local Jewish community as its executive director. “We sold the nursing home and assisted living facility (the Terrace) in 2023 (the College Park campus is now Maimonides Health Center), then partnered with Pembroke Square Associates to build Aviva Pembroke, the senior living independent high rise adjacent to the former mall,” she says. At that point, Krajesky, who had earned a license as a nursing home administrator and become BSV’s vice president of administration, was wondering about her own professional future.  

“Nobody knew Beth Sholom better than Lauren,” says Fay Silverman, now BSV’s chairman of the board. “We had to decide whether to continue constructing more senior housing in the region or take interest income from the sale proceeds and invest it back in the community.” The board went with the latter option and fortunately, Krajesky was available, willing, and able to steer the effort. “We could not be more excited to have her lead our next chapter as a principally grant making organization.”

 Beth Sholom Village and Pembroke Square have hired an experienced outside firm, Greenbrier Associates, to manage Aviva and its 153 apartments, 114 of them for independent living, 27 for assisted living, and 12 for memory care residents. 

 “My office as well as my assistant and religious director are at Jewish Family Service on the Sandler Family Campus,” says Krajesky. For the team, it’s an ideal location, given that several of the agencies based there, such as United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and JFS itself, are two of 24 beneficiaries of the first $837,000 the Village has distributed in 2026. “Chabad of Tidewater, Congregation Beth El, Ohef Sholom Temple, Temple Israel, and Strelitz International Academy are others that have received money to fund projects to help seniors with transportation, health care, food insecurity, the arts, and other essential services,” says Krajesky.  “But it’s not just Jewish groups that we’re supporting.”

 The Judeo-Christian Outreach Center, Virginia Opera, Peninsula Agency on Aging, Prime Plus, Meals on Wheels, and Habitat for Humanity are also benefiting from BSV’s support.   

 “Habitat is using the money to repair homes for low-income seniors and Virginia Symphony is taking a quartet to senior living facilities,” says Krajesky, who spent considerable time this year making local non-profits aware of the opportunity. “We expect that many of these first recipients will continue to apply for contributions going forward but that more will join them as they become aware of us. It’s a real blessing to be able to help.”

“Beth Sholom Village was always a critical provider of housing and health care services for seniors across the region,” says Silverman. “Now we have a different mission. With Aviva filling up and having strong professional oversight, we can focus on using our resources to make a difference for others. It feels really good to do this.”

And Lauren Krajesky is directing it all. “It gives me so much pride to collaborate with our committees to review applications,” she says. “And the dollars will grow.”  Indeed, she expects BSV may have a million dollars or more to donate each year going forward, based on the stock market. “I will be able to walk downstairs and see patients, caregivers, and professionals interacting in JFS Alzheimer’s Café or drive over to the Dozoretz Hospice House, the only one of its kind in Hampton Roads, to see our investments at work.”

For more information on the Beth Sholom Village Fund and how to secure assistance, visit 

bethsholomvillage.com or call Lauren Krajesky. She’s more than happy to help share in BSV’s good fortune.   

 Margaret Sawyer and Alice Titus, co-chairs of Ohef Sholom Temple’s archives, along with their team, spend hours each week exploring and preserving documents, photographs, and oral histories that chronicle nearly two centuries of Jewish life in Tidewater. 

 Both women devote their Wednesdays to the temple’s archives as volunteers. Their motivation is simple.

 “American Jewish history sometimes gets omitted,” says Titus. “Sometimes it’s because people don’t know it. Sometimes it’s because they choose other things to focus on.”

 While researching local stories, Titus was struck by how often Jewish contributions appeared only in passing. “You pick up older histories of Norfolk and Tidewater, and they only sometimes mention a Jewish person. They only sometimes mention a Jewish congregation,” she says. 

 OST’s archives provide a fuller picture of the region’s development by documenting the civic, cultural, and philanthropic roles Jewish residents have played throughout Tidewater’s history. 

 “We’re collecting things that have not been published or mass circulated,” Titus explains. Unlike a library, which houses published materials that can often be found elsewhere, archives preserve unique historical records.

 The work is meticulous, but it often leads to unexpected discoveries. Volunteers spend hours cataloging documents, rehousing materials in archival folders, and learning the stories behind each collection.

 Researchers, filmmakers, authors, and family members regularly turn to Ohef Sholom’s archives for assistance. For example, the archives supported research into the SS Quanza, a ship carrying Holocaust refugees back to Europe that had to stop for coal in Norfolk in 1940. Records preserved in the archives documented the efforts of local Jewish leaders who advocated for the passengers. 

  “I don’t think there’s ever a Wednesday that somebody doesn’t have an ‘aha’ moment,” Sawyer says of the archives’ team’s regular meeting time. “All of a sudden something jumps out at you.”

 In addition to preserving historical records, the archives also connects families to their own history.

 One day, while sorting through family records, Sawyer found handwritten notes created decades earlier by a congregant who had passed away, but whose family still belonged to the temple. She made copies and passed them along to the woman’s granddaughter. 

 “She was in tears,” Sawyer recalls.

 In another particularly meaningful case, the archives provided documentation that helped establish a deceased woman’s Jewish identity, allowing her to be buried in a Jewish cemetery in New York City.

 Those moments transform routine archival work into something more personal, offering glimpses into lives that might otherwise be overlooked.

 Among the collection’s most valuable holdings are more than 40 oral history interviews, preserving the voices and experiences of community members.

Titus and the other volunteers also offer educational programs and presentations highlighting the archives’ collection and efforts. 

 For Sawyer and Titus, preserving history is about more than organizing old documents. It is about ensuring that future generations inherit stories and hear the voices that shaped Jewish life in Tidewater.

 Last December, volunteers at Temple Emanuel started this project by tearing down old coat racks, repainting the walls a calming blue and installing stained glass paper on the windows to give the hallway a shiny glow. As it is with many projects, one bit of inspiration lead to another. The hallway was beautiful, but it was now glaringly obvious that the classrooms, floors, doors, and ceiling needed lots of TLC.  

Fast forward a few months and a lot of hard work, and thanks to a generous grant from Tidewater Jewish Foundation, Temple Emanuel Religious School has undergone extensive renovations and will be able to realize the dream of a new school building. 

The renovation goal is to modernize the aesthetic while maintaining historical integrity. First, the beautiful parquet floors were refinished. Next, volunteers and contractors tore down the textured, stained wallpaper and hand scraped glue off the walls, priming it for paint. The lower elementary classroom doubled in size to give the children a larger space to move through multi-sensory learning centers. Finally, ceiling tiles are being replaced, doors are being sanded and repainted, and all wall décor is being redesigned. 

The final product will be a cheerful, modern, nurturing school environment that will match the motivating energy from the teaching team. The grant helped transform an archaic space into a lively, energetic learning environment. 

Registered and prospective families are invited to Temple Emanuel Religious School’s open house on Sunday, Aug. 23 at 10 am to see the final product and learn more about the school. 

Dr. Sarah Davis is Temple Emanuel’s Religious School director.

 Jewish life in Tidewater is built on connection, community, and caring for one another. Whether someone has lived in the area for decades or is new to the area, there are countless ways to become part of something bigger than oneself.

 One can celebrate a holiday with friends, visit the Simon Family JCC, support a local Jewish organization, cheer on a community fundraiser, attend the Viginia Festival of Jewish Film, or spend time getting to know someone from a different generation. This list could go on forever.

 But wait, there’s something else to add to the list. Become a BeAR mentor.

 For one hour each week during the school year, BeAR volunteers read with second graders in local Title I schools. It sounds simple, but that hour becomes something special. Children build confidence, discover the joy of reading, and know that someone believes in them. Mentors leave with something too, a sense of purpose, new friendships, and the satisfaction of knowing they’re helping shape the future of the community.

 There’s a reason Judaism places such value on caring for others. Communities don’t become strong by accident. They become strong because ordinary people choose to show up for each other.

 As the new school year approaches, BeAR seeks caring adults in Norfolk and Virginia Beach who are ready to make a difference – one child and one hour at a time.

 The next chapter starts soon, and there’s always room for one more person to help write it.

To learn more about becoming a BeAR mentor, contact Robin Ford at 757-321-2304 or rford@ujft.org. 

 That philosophy has guided Peck’s decades of leadership within the Jewish community and now shapes his vision as the new board chair of Tidewater Jewish Foundation. At a time when many organizations are focused on meeting today’s challenges, Peck believes TJF has a unique responsibility: to strengthen the long-term financial foundation that will allow Jewish life in Hampton Roads to thrive well into the future.

 Central to that vision is TJF’s ambitious goal of growing its endowed assets to $500 million. For Peck, the number is not the destination; rather it is what that level of philanthropic investment could make possible.

 Peck says he envisions synagogues strengthened by permanent endowments, agencies with the resources to innovate and expand programming, scholarships that open doors for more students, and community institutions better equipped to address growing security needs. Instead of simply sustaining operations year after year, organizations would have the freedom to invest boldly in the future.  

“If we achieve this vision,” Peck says, “the exciting things we can do as a community will be limited only by our imagination.”

 That long-range perspective is what first drew Peck to the Foundation.  “TJF is designed to protect the investments our parents and grandparents made,” he says. Inspired by the Jewish teaching of the man who plants a carob tree knowing he will never enjoy its fruit, Peck believes every generation has a responsibility to plant seeds whose greatest impact will be realized by those who follow.

 He also hopes to reshape how the community thinks about philanthropy. “One of the greatest misconceptions we must change is that philanthropy is only for the wealthy,” Peck says. “There are meaningful opportunities for individuals and families at every stage of life to create lasting impact.”

 As he begins his term, Peck is quick to recognize that TJF’s momentum is the result of decades of dedicated leadership. He credits the Foundation’s past and present board members, volunteers, donors, and community partners for investing their time, talent, and treasure to build one of the region’s strongest Jewish philanthropic institutions.

 “The outstanding leadership of those who came before us has put TJF on an exciting trajectory,” he says. “I’m honored to serve alongside an exceptional board of directors as we build on that foundation together.”

 Peck believes the Foundation’s greatest work is still before it. “TJF looks at the long game,” he says. “Our role is to ensure that future generations inherit a Jewish community that is strong, resilient, and prepared for whatever comes next.”

 Jewish News appreciates all who support the newspaper with generous contributions – whether in honor of or in memory of friends or loved ones or as a Friend of Jewish News.

In memory of
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To donate, please go to jewishnewsva.org/donate/ or send a check, 

with details of who should be notified of your contribution, to:

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No matter the reason for giving, all contributions are appreciated.

Thank you!

 For Tidewater Jewish Foundation, helping turn those ideas into reality is exactly why Community Impact Grants exist.

 Designed to strengthen Jewish life, the grants provide funding for projects and initiatives that create measurable impact throughout Jewish Tidewater. While many people associate grants with innovative new programs, Community Impact Grants support a broad range of needs, including special events, educational initiatives, collaborative programs, capital improvements, security enhancements, equipment purchases, and cultural experiences.

 Past grants have supported everything from community-wide concerts and Holocaust remembrance programs to Jewish cooking experiences, campus engagement initiatives, playground improvements, broadcasting technology, and security upgrades.

 “If a project has the potential to strengthen Jewish life and community, we want organizations to consider applying,” says Ann Swindell, TJF’s grants administrator.

 One of the biggest misconceptions, according to Swindell, is that organizations must navigate the grant process alone. “I want organizations to know they don’t have to figure it all out by themselves,” she says. “If you have an idea, a question, or you’re not sure whether a project qualifies, call me. I’d much rather have a conversation early and help strengthen an application than have someone miss an opportunity because they weren’t sure where to start. These grants exist to support our community, and my goal is to help organizations successfully move from idea to impact.”

 Over the years, Swindell has become a trusted resource for organizations throughout the application process, helping applicants think through project goals, measurable outcomes, budgets, timelines, and reporting requirements.

 “Community Impact Grants aren’t about creating hurdles,” she says. “They’re about helping organizations create meaningful impact. I want applicants to view me as a resource from the first conversation all the way through final reporting.”

 The current grant cycle closed July 10, but organizations that missed this deadline are encouraged to begin planning now for the next cycle, which opens November 15 and closes January 10, 2027.

 Rooted in the traditions of Chabad, Brashevitzky has spent her career helping children, families, and educators in Tidewater discover Judaism as a living, relevant, and personal tradition. 

 Brashevitzky’s story begins with her upbringing at Chabad of Tidewater, where Jewish education was a way of life. From an early age, she was taught the importance of sharing Jewish learning with others, a value that became foundational to her approach as an educator and leader. 

 Even as a child, she stepped naturally into leadership, running youth Shabbat groups and engaging other children in Jewish life. By 19, she was teaching full-time. Her early involvement evolved into a lifelong calling. 

 Brashevitzky’s current role as Judaic Studies director at Strelitz International Academy came after she began raising her family with her husband, Rabbi Levi Brashevitzky. When her third and youngest child was in kindergarten, Brashevitzky says she embraced a leadership opportunity, describing it as the beginning of a new chapter in her professional and communal life. 

 Emphasizing that Jewish tradition is not static, but alive, Brashevitzky’s view, which is shaped by Chassidic tradition, is that the Torah speaks across generations, offering wisdom for experiences and challenges that remain part of the human experience. 

 In today’s world, Brashevitzky sees Jewish education as both grounding and essential. As young Jews encounter a wide range of identities and influences, she believes Jewish learning provides continuity and connection. She also acknowledges that Jewish community feels especially meaningful during a time of increased antisemitism. 

“When the world is scary,” she says, “Jewish education feels like coming home.” 

 Outside the classroom, Brashevitzky’s work at Chabad of Tidewater reflects that same philosophy. Together with her family, she welcomes Shabbat guests from across the community and around the world, designs engaging holiday programs, and leads a women’s personal growth group rooted in Jewish wisdom. 

 Brashevitzky’s commitment to building community among parents, staff, and families shaped her decision to pursue a Master of Social Work, which she sees as a natural extension of her work. At Chabad of Tidewater, she assists with everything from pastoral counseling and grief support to addressing food insecurity and connecting individuals with needed resources. 

 Her perspective reflects a broader philosophy that Jewish values and social-emotional health are inseparable. Caring for others, sharing what one has, and taking responsibility for one another are central expressions of Jewish teaching, while emotional and spiritual wellbeing must be considered together. 

 When reflecting on the people who shaped her path, Brashevitzky points to her parents, Rabbi Aron and Rychel Margolin, and the Lubavitcher Rebbe as central influences. 

 “The Rebbe was a big part of my universe as a child, but something I’ve chosen as an adult,” she says. 

 Being recognized as an Outstanding Jewish American in Tidewater, she says, is both humbling and meaningful. 

 “It is pretty cool. I am really touched and honored that someone would think of me. It is nice to know that when you work really hard, the impact is seen. I pride myself on being inclusive, and I am so happy that was recognized.” 

  Through classrooms, family engagement, and community life in Tidewater, Brashevitzky continues to advance a vision of Jewish education that is accessible, connected, and alive—one rooted not only in teaching tradition, but in helping people see themselves within it. 

Interested in nominating someone to be recognized as an Outstanding Jewish American in Tidewater? Visit JewishVA.org/TidewaterHeroes or contact Sierra Lautman at SLautman@UJFT.org.