From the Desk of CEO Judy Halper: June 2024

What would you do if you had a few more minutes of daylight? Hopefully you will answer that question quickly because we are approaching that time of year when, very gradually, the sunlight will start to diminish. Before you know it, we will be lamenting we didn’t do more with these precious long days.

I don’t mean to sound like a “Judy-downer” (I didn’t want all the Debbie’s out there to feel persecuted) – I’m just hoping to remind everyone there is much we can accomplish with the extra hours of daylight, if we put our minds to it.

At JFCS, during summertime, we are grateful to coordinate the activities of our community to celebrate Pride activities. At Loring Park, the weekend of June 29-30 you’ll find Shabbat services taking place, and a variety of familiar faces staffing the J-Pride booth. Beginning this month, JFCS volunteers will join with PRISM staff and volunteers to assist participants on several Tuesday afternoons throughout the summer and early fall to receive farm fresh produce.

We’ll also be taking advantage of many of the local playgrounds and parks for our PJ Library Shabbat in the Park events and Shalom Baby Circle Times, scheduled to accommodate as many young families as possible. Even our Counseling services benefit from the extra daylight. While our Walk + Talk therapy occurs throughout the year, delivering support in summertime through this modality has the benefit of providing nurturing rays of sunshine alongside boundless compassion and thoughtful insight.

There are so many ways extra daylight enriches our physical, emotional, and spiritual health and outlook. We are grateful for your support year-round and remind you that throughout the summer we are here if you are interested in volunteering, or supporting our programs and services in other ways. We always welcome your referrals! Summer is a great time to address an issue or problem or gain a new perspective.

We are Here for all. Always.