Operation Mattathias

December 8 marks the beginning of Chanukah this year.  The holiday commemorates the struggle begun by Mattathias, a farmer, and his sons for religious freedom and Jewish identity.

One of the traditions of Chanukah is gift giving, particularly to children.  This helps spread the joyous message of the holiday.  Generous donors have again asked Jewish Family Service to offer Operation Mattathias to the Jewish community.  Chanukah gifts are for each child up to 16 years of age.  Special circumstances will be considered.

Last year, 15 children participated in the program.  If you feel your family is eligible and would be interested in participating, call Lisa Morgan at 823-5137 by November 28. 

If you would like to make a donation to the Operation Mattathias fund, please contact Lisa Morgan at 823-5137, or click the link below.


Click here for the form to make donation to Operation Mattathias
  Jewish Family Service of Greater Wilkes-Barre   Kosher Meals on Wheels  
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Grandparents Raising Grandchildren
Nationally, 4.5 million children are living in grandparent-headed households (6.3% of all children under age 18). This represents a 30% increase from 1990 to 2000. Pennsylvania ranks seventh among the states in terms of number of children living in grandparent-headed households, with over 200,000 children fitting into this category. Over 80,000 grandparents in Pennsylvania are responsible for meeting the basic needs of the children in their care due to issues such as substance abuse, illness, death, abuse, neglect, economic hardship, incarceration, divorce, domestic violence, and other family and community crises.
 
Kinship caregivers, particularly grandparents, face a variety of emotional, legal and daily living challenges as they unexpectedly find themselves in the position of raising a second family.
 
To assist the kinship caregivers, the Northeast Pennsylvania Intergenerational Coalition will be sponsoring the 6th Annual Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Conference on May 18, 2012 at Genetti’s in Wilkes-Barre, PA. The Conference will consist of workshops, programs, discussions, presentations by experts in the field, and much more.  The conference is free for all caregivers.  Continuing education credits are being offered through Family Service Association of Wyoming Valley.

Click here for Registration Form


Four Programs to Assist Jewish Youngsters
Seeking Higher Education
There are four programs of assistance for Jewish youngsters graduating from a Wyoming Valley High School. These include:
  • The Rella Roth Fund, named in honor of Rella Roth and provides loan assistance to eligible graduates
  • The Betty Lieberman Sirotkin Fund provides loan assistance to disadvantaged or low income family students seeking assistance for college
  • The Max Bartikowsky Scholarship Fund that provides loan assistance for Jewish students seeking support for graduate school
  • The Gelb Fund that can provide grant assistance to Jewish students seeking some form of post high school education at a college or university
There is no interest on the loans and repayment is scheduled after completion of education. Contact staff person at JFS is Lisa Morgan.

Giving/JFS Tribute Card
Share your thoughts with a JFS Tribute Card. A Tribute Card from JFS is a wonderful way to share your thoughtfulness with family and friends. For a donation of $5 or more (the amount is up to you), we will send a lovely card to the recipient of your choice, letting him or her know of your contribution. Cards may also be purchased in bulk for a handy supply when occasions arise.

"A Family You Can Count On”

Fundraising Opportunity!


A wonderful fundraising opportunity has been bestowed upon us!

Through his Feinstein Foundation, Alan Feinstein, a Rhode Island philanthropist, has offered a Challenge Grant of $1 Million, each year, to be divided among organizations that use it as a fundraising spur to raise money to fight hunger.

As you are aware, Jewish Family Service has maintained a food pantry, Sarah’s Table, for many years. In addition, year-round, we provide financial assistance to individuals and families and raise funds for Passover food items, which helps needy families in our community purchase specialty items. Through the generosity of the “Valley with a Heart” we have also been able to help families who wish to go to the Seders at the Jewish Community Center.

We hope that you share in our enthusiasm for this Challenge. It so nicely helps us to meet our obligation of tikkun olam (repair the world).

Only money raised during March 1 – April 30 will apply towards this Challenge. Your gift can be unrestricted or restricted for our Passover fund. You may also donate food items for our pantry, which will count towards the Challenge.

Please remit payment to Jewish Family Service and thank you so much for your kindness and generosity.

Thank you for hosting our 1st Year Medical Students

Thank you for hosting our 1st Year Medical Students as part of their 2nd Community Week Experience.  TCMC is committed to community-based, patient-centered educational models to help our students become the physician leaders of the future. It is vital for our regions to take an active role in educating TCMC students. Your contributions to the educational process are beyond measure as our medical students immerse themselves in the community in which they are living and learning for the next 4 years.
 
Many national health professional leaders are clear that the future of healthcare is dependent on physicians knowing how to work with communities to interpret community perceptions of health care. Future physicians must be able to demonstrate respect for community integrity, cultural diversity and multiple determinates of health to be effective health care professionals.  With your collaboration, our students are gaining insight into the power of working together through inter-professional teams and knowing the resources and agencies that are assisting members of the communities they serve.
 
With that said, we cannot thank you enough for opening up your agency to our students. We wanted to share a few of the many great comments that our students shared about their agency interactions in our region.
 
“I value the fact that the agency can change the life of a whole family by improving the life of one individual.”
“I was very surprised at how many services they had to offer. They provided so many different services, that it was hard to keep track of them all. It’s amazing how many different support services are available under one roof. They are such an incredible asset to this region.”
I look forward to your continued partnership with TCMC.  It has been a pleasure to learn more about your services and contributions to our regional community.
 
Again, thank you for your willingness to  enrich the educational experience of our medical students.  Please give my regards to Howard. 
 
 
Warm Regards,
Jackie Castanzo
Manager, South Regional Campus
The Commonwealth Medical College | 15 S. Franklin Street, 5th floor | Wilkes-Barre, PA  18711 |