Celebrating a Year of Impact: Looking Ahead with Resolve
- 18 hours ago
- 2 min read
Our Annual Meeting on August 27th, brought together the people who make Jewish Family Services of Silicon Valley possible: our staff, volunteers, community partners, donors, and Board of Directors.
Together, we celebrated a year of impact and looked ahead to the opportunities before us. At the heart of this year’s meeting was one simple message: JFS is not one person, one program or one organization. It is a community of people who believe that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity, compassion and respect.
A special thank you to past Board Chair and current Board Member Ruth Bareket for opening the meeting with a thoughtful invocation.
Highlights from the meeting include:
One Service is Not Enough
In her presentation, President and CEO Susan Frazer shared how JFS is evolving to meet the increasingly complex needs of our community.
"No one arrives at our door with just one need."
That's why JFS is one connected ecosystem of care. Rather than addressing a single challenge, we look beyond the immediate need to support the whole person—bringing together the right services to help people move forward with greater stability, health, and independence.
Stewarding Our Future
Vice President of Finance & Operations Annabella Sakasai presented our annual financial report, highlighting the thoughtful stewardship and community support that make our work possible. Every donation, volunteer hour, and partnership helps ensure JFS can continue serving our community for years to come.
Honoring Those Who Give So Much
The evening was a chance to recognize accomplishments and thank everyone who makes our work possible and continues to believe in what we can accomplish together.
Five outstanding volunteers received the Bobi Shulkin Volunteer of the Year Award for their extraordinary service:
Frederica Iacobovici
Avery Kaufman
Maria Otto-Mendel
Dina Sargis
Alice Wald
We also proudly recognized:
Congregation Beth David, recipient of the Cal Lubrin Community Partner Award, for its outstanding partnership and commitment to our mission.
Jewish California, recipient of the Vlada Gelfund Visionary Award, for its visionary leadership and steadfast advocacy in strengthening communities and supporting organizations like JFS.
Celebrating 25 Years of Service
We also honored Elena Kulvets and Azita Eshagh, who each celebrated 25 years with JFS Silicon Valley. Their decades of compassion, dedication, and trusted relationships have touched countless lives and helped shape the organization we are today. We are deeply grateful for their extraordinary service.
Welcoming New Leadership
We thanked outgoing Board Chair Ricki Gafter for her exceptional leadership and welcomed Bill Halper as our new Board Chair, along with Molly Jozer as Vice Chair.
We are grateful to every board member whose leadership, expertise, and commitment continue to strengthen JFS and guide our future.
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