March 14, 2006

(San Francisco, CA) – In an important step towards addressing pressing needs in the Bay Area Jewish community, the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties recently made a series of grants to support programs focusing on the economically vulnerable, particularly children living in poverty, and interfaith families and couples. These grants, made possible through dollars raised above and beyond the Federation’s 2005 Campaign fundraising goal, focus primarily on two of the Federation’s five strategic objectives that were illuminated in the Federation’s Jewish Community Study, published in 2005.  

FAMILIES DEALING WITH POVERTY

As shown in the Community Study, almost one in ten Jewish households in the Bay Area are considered to be low income. Children ages 12 or younger living in single-parent households are the most economically vulnerable. In addition, findings show that most Jewish single and single-parent households have incomes below the regional median household income, and a majority of Jewish LGBT households also have incomes at this level. The grants that focus on these issues, therefore, will help provide much needed services to these populations, including after-school programs, health-care assistance, employment assessment and services and emergency care for victims of domestic violence.

• Jewish Community Center of San Francisco (JCCSF): a grant of $15,000 to enable children of low-income families to participate in the JCCSF’s Havurah Youth Center after school programs.
• Jewish Family and Children’s Services: a grant of $70,000 to assist single parents in San Mateo County and LGBT households in San Francisco County. This assistance will include the establishment of a center for single Jewish parents serving 150 low-income adults and children, as well as the development of a case management system to provide services to improve the families financial, social and emotional situations. Services will include health care, employment assessment and skills and educational needs.
• Jewish Employment Network (JEN): a grant of $70,000 to help expand this existing program on the Peninsula. This program, which focuses on those who are under- or unemployed, provides workshops and individual and group counseling in career planning and job search techniques. Two hundred individuals will be served via the workshops and 100 more through counseling. Local synagogues, JCCs, schools and Jewish preschools will partner with the program to help identify and reach out to those in need.
• Shalom Bayit: a grant of $16,000 to provide 240 additional hours of counseling and financial assistance to battered women and their children in the Federation’s service area. The funds will be used to give emergency assistance to victims of domestic violence to help them secure emergency housing, legal advice and other related needs.

• INTERFAITH GRANTS

  Interfaith marriage has changed the face of Jewish communities across the country. Within the Federation’s service area, over half of all married couples (56%) include a non-Jewish partner. In 40% of interfaith marriages, Judaism is practiced in the home, either exclusively or with another religion, and only 13% of interfaith couples belong to synagogues compared with 45% of couples with two Jewish partners. In an effort to further integrate and educate interfaith families and couples into the Jewish community, the following programs received grants:

  • Congregation B’nai Israel, Petaluma: a grant of $20,000 to fund an Interfaith Gateways program. Between 40 and 50 new interfaith couples and families will be welcomed to participate in Jewish-related activities, such as Shabbat dinners at the homes of interfaith congregants, monthly Jewish education workshops, monthly Jewish education for families and special interest clubs.
  • Congregation Rodef Sholom, San Rafael: a grant of $5,000 to fund “Open Tent,” a program designed to help the 330 interfaith couples and families currently in the congregation to participate fully in ongoing Jewish congregational life. The initiative includes seminars, a mentoring program and a retreat. Outreach to new families and couples will also take place.
  • Hillel at Stanford University: a grant of $5,000 to fund the Interfaith Outreach Initiative. Services will be provided to interfaith couples affiliated with the University through classes, seminars, support groups and chavurot.

  The Jewish Community Federation is the central organization for fundraising, planning, outreach and leadership development for Jewish communities in San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties. In FY 2004-05, the Federation’s annual campaign allocated $16.9 billion to some 60 agencies providing social services, educational and cultural programs in the Bay Area, in the U.S., Israel and elsewhere in the world. In fiscal year 2005, the Federation’s Endowment Fund, with assets exceeding $1.05 billion, provided more than $215 million for a variety of grants, seed projects and emergency needs in fiscal year 2004/2005. For information, call 415.777.0411 or visit www.sfjcf.org.