annual reports
Message From The Board Chair and The President & CEO
Dear Board Members, Friends, Supporters, Volunteers,
Community Leaders, Partners and Neighbors:
We are privileged to present you with the 2011 Annual Report for Ruth Rales Jewish Family Service (JFS). The 2011 fiscal year (September 1, 2010–August 31, 2011) was another year of tremendous growth and changes for JFS.
One of the most significant achievements was the opening of the Shirley & Barton Weisman Delray Community Center in November 2010. Since its opening, the Center has become a vibrant hub of activity with over 200 people walking through the doors each day. We invite you to stop by anytime and visit to see what’s happening there!
Our counseling and mental health department saw the addition of psychiatry and psychology services providing an affordable option to the community. The addition of a staff psychologist allowed JFS to renew our partnership with Nova University’s Psychology Department to provide a practicum site for doctoral level students.
The Forster Family Kosher Food Pantry took advantage of partnerships with BJ’s Wholesale Club and was awarded a significant grant from the Walmart Foundation which enabled us to stretch our dollars further. We also stepped up our community food drives and expect to continue to see growth in this area.
Through the generous support of the Viner Family Foundation and Hands on Tzedakah, we added a case manager for families and children in crisis which has proven to be a wonderful addition. We started the Caring Doctors Program in partnership with the Palm Beach County Medical Society to provide short-term, affordable health care to uninsured adults aged 19-64 from area doctors who see patients in their offices and receive sovereign immunity from the partnership.
Our Holocaust program grew over 100% with JFS now serving over 240 Holocaust survivors. Thank you to the Claims Conference, and a supplemental campaign which raised nearly $100K so that we could absorb this increase without starting a waiting list. As a result of a demonstration grant from the Retirement Research Foundation, we also saw significant growth in our Kibbitz & Ride volunteer driver program which is now serving over 100 seniors providing affordable transportation.
All these successes continue to enhance our ability to provide quality programs and services to the community. None of this could be accomplished without our dedicated staff, caring volunteers, dedicated board and many supporters. We express our heartfelt gratitude to all of you whose generosity helps us to provide hope to those in need living in Boca Raton, Delray Beach and Highland Beach.
We hope you will join us in taking pride in our accomplishments in 2011 and look forward to only good things in the coming year.
Sincerely,
