News

Parents are stretched to the limit, but our kids need us more than ever. If this feels impossible, that’s because it is! Join other parents for a weekly group that offers supportive encouragement on a range of “how tos”:

• keep young children entertained
• share work time and space with a spouse
• address and maintain emotional health
• making deliberate connections with friends during this often-isolating time
• and so much more

Please join us if you are up for giving and receiving support as we continue to manage our kids, our families and our own needs throughout the summer.

This group is open to parents of children of all ages (infancy through high school). 

Facilitated by: Claire Greenhill, MS

Thursdays, 11/5, 11/12, 11/19 at 8:00 p.m.

To register, email info@jfsneny.org, call 518-482-8856 or register online here.

You will be emailed a link / phone number to join the group via Zoom. If you need one-on-one help accessing Zoom, please contact JFS.

Read more about the postings here.

Wednesday, August 19 at 10 a.m.

Mary Brummagyn, SPHN, from the Albany County Department of Health will speak about the 2020-21 flu vaccine, discuss developments on a COVID-19 vaccine and general principles for infection control.  We will discuss how to resume social interaction and at the same time, keep risk for infection as low as possible. Good health in any season begins with good information and proactive planning.

NNORC has embraced online video and audio conferencing using a service called Zoom, so we can continue to offer you programs. Prefer not to use a computer or smartphone to participate? No problem! All you need is a telephone line to join in. Please call 518-514-2023 or email us at NNORC@jfsneny.org to sign up so that we can give you the correct access link or phone number for you to participate. You can also contact us for a one-on-one Zoom tutorial with a staff member. We look forward to seeing you or hearing from you!

Our Jewish Community is grief stricken. We stand in solidarity with our black brothers and sisters in the Jewish community and beyond, as we all mourn the violent death of George Floyd. Our community rejects racism and bigotry in all its forms in our society.

Along with Civil Rights leaders, local officials, and other religious leaders, we express our respect and empathy for every human being as we are taught that each person is created B’Tzelem Elohim [in sacred image of God]. We renew our commitment to pursue justice and to work together for meaningful and lasting systemic change.

Our tradition teaches: “Do not stand idly by while your neighbor bleeds” [Leviticus 19:16]. Therefore, we will uphold our responsibility to work alongside our neighbors to build a more equitable, caring, and just world.

Capital District Board of Rabbis
Jewish Family Services of Northeastern New York
Albany Jewish Community Center
Schenectady Jewish Community Center
Jewish Federation of Northeastern New York

Wednesday, June 24 at 1 p.m. 

People have the right to make their own end-of-life decisions, but only a minority of people do. We frequently recommend using times when people gather to share thoughts regarding end-of-life preferences. (Some families are doing this currently over Zoom, FaceTime or another medium.) Sadly, the current pandemic reminds us that these occasions may arise without much warning. David Hoffman, DPS CCE, Associate Dean for Academic Initiatives and Associate Professor, Ethics and Health Policy at Maria College, will join us to discuss some of the important topics to cover, easy-to-use forms found online, and ways to make this subject less uncomfortable for us to discuss.  This session should help individuals exercise their autonomy in decision-making, while minimizing avoidable difficulties for their loved ones.

NNORC has embraced online video and audio conferencing using a service called Zoom, so we can continue to offer you programs. Prefer not to use a computer or smartphone to participate? No problem! All you need is a telephone line to join in. Please call 518-514-2023 or email us at NNORC@jfsneny.org to sign up so that we can give you the correct access link or phone number for you to participate. You can also contact us for a one-on-one Zoom tutorial with a staff member. We look forward to seeing you or hearing from you! 

Wednesday, June 17 at 1 p.m.

Diana Bangert-Drowns returns to share her creative spirit with the NNORC.  Together with Diana, we will create a collage – an abstract landscape or other image of interest to you.  Materials needed are things you have around your house:  scrap paper, old greeting cards, junk mail, magazines and catalogues.  Select images or printed words that speak to you.  Other embellishments to consider:  scrap cardstock from boxes, yarn, thread, buttons, beads, and even grains of rice!  Tools to have on hand: scissors, glue/gluestick, a hole punch and pinking shears.  Nice additions: colored pencils, crayons and markers, a wooden spoon, and a damp rag to clean your fingers as you work.

Being housebound does not have to limit your creativity!

NNORC has embraced online video and audio conferencing using a service called Zoom, so we can continue to offer you programs. Prefer not to use a computer or smartphone to participate? No problem! All you need is a telephone line to join in. Please call 518-514-2023 or email us at NNORC@jfsneny.org to sign up so that we can give you the correct access link or phone number for you to participate. You can also contact us for a one-on-one Zoom tutorial with a staff member. We look forward to seeing you or hearing from you! 

Wednesday, June 10 at 1 p.m.

JFS Wellness Program Manager, Nanette Brenner, OTR will discuss ways in which we can bring activities into our daily lives “virtually.” This will be a chance for some of us to get to know one another, discover shared interests, and focus on doing things that we enjoy and that have a positive impact on our emotional well-being.

NNORC has embraced online video and audio conferencing using a service called Zoom, so we can continue to offer you programs. Prefer not to use a computer or smartphone to participate? No problem! All you need is a telephone line to join in. Please call 518-514-2023 or email us at NNORC@jfsneny.org to sign up so that we can give you the correct access link or phone number for you to participate. You can also contact us for a one-on-one Zoom tutorial with a staff member. We look forward to seeing you or hearing from you! 

Wednesday, June 3 at 1 p.m.

Are you cooking in your own kitchen more often these days?  Most of us are also not shopping as often as we used to before the current health crisis. Karen Mort from Cornell Cooperative Extension will talk about how to take an inventory of our pantry, fridge and freezer and tell us how we can create simple, healthy meals with what we have on hand.  Safe, budget-smart shopping strategies will also be shared.

NNORC has embraced online video and audio conferencing using a service called Zoom, so we can continue to offer you programs. Prefer not to use a computer or smartphone to participate? No problem! All you need is a telephone line to join in. Please call 518-514-2023 or email us at NNORC@jfsneny.org to sign up so that we can give you the correct access link or phone number for you to participate. You can also contact us for a one-on-one Zoom tutorial with a staff member. We look forward to seeing you or hearing from you!