News

Virtual Reminiscing

Wednesday, May 20 at 1:00 p.m.
Join Erin Plonka, NNORC Director of Community Care, for a chance to share stories and have a few laughs.

Contact NNORC to sign up (518-514-2023 or nnorc@jfsneny.org). We will then email you a link to the program meeting or give you a phone number to call in. We are using a platform called Zoom. For video conferencing, you can use it from your computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone. If you need help getting familiar with Zoom, just call NNORC and we will help you get started

Healthy Boundaries and Family Ties Virtual Group

Join JFS clinician Claire Greenhill for a rich discussion about families, children, boundaries and more. Wednesday, May 13 at 1:00 p.m.

Contact NNORC to sign up (518-514-2023 or nnorc@jfsneny.org). We will then email you a link to the program meeting or give you a phone number to call in. We are using a platform called Zoom. For video conferencing, you can use it from your computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone. If you need help getting familiar with Zoom, just call NNORC and we will help you get started.

Support JFS on #GivingTuesdayNow

#GivingTuesdayNow is a global day of giving that will take place on May 5, 2020. It is an emergency appeal for generosity and unity in response to the unprecedented needs cause by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since March, JFS has witnessed and responded to critical needs right here in the Capital Region. In the last 6 weeks, we have:

Delivered over 1300 meals to seniors and families facing hard times due to COVID-19
Made over 860 supportive phone calls
Shopped and delivered groceries 105 times
Garnered over 900 YouTube views of chair yoga
Recruited 60 volunteers to help deliver meals and buy groceries in partnership with Jewish Federation
Engaged 55 seniors in live Zoom programs like book club, Albany history discussion, cooking, and more
Received countless calls from people who just wanted to say, “thank you.”
Distributed over 120 masks to seniors and families
Provided support to more than 25 people in our new virtual groups

Our critical work cannot continue without the support from people like you. Can we count on your generosity to join the movement to do more good and to help families in our community?

Here is a link to our Emergency Assistance Form.

Mindfulness Practice & Discussion Group

Mindfulness is the practice of being fully present in the moment – it takes practice, but it can help with emotional regulation, anxiety, depression, and managing day-to-day stress. This group will provide guidance, discussion, and practice mindfulness activities.

(Re)Developing a Balanced Life

In this group, we will discuss and help participants implement ways to regain and maintain resilience, identify tools to fuel your spirit, and engage in activities to address boredom, lack of purposefulness, and isolation. Activities will be modified for physical limitations you may have. This will also be an opportunity to discuss shared interests that you value and enjoy.

Student Support Group

This group is for middle- and high-school students experiencing frustration with being stuck at home. We’ll talk about what it’s like being trapped with your family full-time, missing your friends, the loss of end-of-school-year activities, and other stressors.

Coming Up for AIR: A Support Group for Seniors

Facilitated by the JFS Senior Resource Network team, this group is for older adults to discuss Aging Information and Resources and other timely issues. We will address staying connected when you feel disconnected, coping with the barrage of changes and realities that impact your life, maintaining safety in your home, preserving healthy habits and self-care, and more.

Please join us…

…for a community-wide Holocaust commemoration. We will meet online April 20, 2020 at 7 p.m. with the entire Capital Region in remembrance of our six million fellow Jews who perished in the Holocaust.

JFS is Open and is Supporting a Range of Community Needs

This is a scary and uncertain time for us all. We are all having to learn a new normal…with directives regarding COVID-19 changing every day. For many of you, your family and friends, it’s also threatening mental health and emotional well-being and sparking serious questions about food access and long-term care options for older adults.

JFS is open and supporting community needs. We are:

grocery shopping for older adults and those with underlying health conditions
connecting to essential doctors
answering critical questions and
providing counseling and virtual support groups

JFS professionals will now offer expanded virtual support, with added hours on Fridays and Sundays. We are partnering with Jewish Federation of Northeastern New York to increase our volunteer capacity to meet community needs.

Please use this form if you know of a specific individual who needs immediate help or:

To access our clinicians at JFS, please call us at 518.482.8856 to schedule a telephone appointment
For grocery and essentials requests, to access rides for essential doctors’ visits or related support through Project 5, please call us at 518.514.2143.
To speak with a Senior Resource Network specialist, please call 518.482.8856.

We are creating resource flyers on stress management, self-care, getting help, and more. They will be posted on our website and on Facebook (@JFSNENY).

Thank you for sharing this information as we work together to help those who need it most.

B’shalom,

If you are able to subsidize our efforts to support our community, please donate to our Emergency Assistance Fund. More than ever, we are counting on your support as the urgent demand for services increases.