2024-2025 COMMUNITY IMPACT REPORT
2024-2025 COMMUNITY IMPACT REPORT
Message from Leadership
 |
Jody Dales Board Chair |
During my four-year tenure as Board Chair, JFS underwent unprecedented transformations that initially responded to Covid's impact, then adapted to meet current needs, and now focuses on ensuring future sustainability.
In just three years, The Kitchen has revolutionized community care, becoming the model of industry excellence in service delivery. In 2024, JACS and JFS integrated service offerings with immediate benefits.
In three years, our permanent home on Commercial Drive will be where impact becomes the living expression of our values and a platform to amplify the innovation already underway.
I, together with a dynamic board, have been privileged to be part of these accomplishments. But the heart of JFS has always been our professional staff on the front lines of this work.
Shelley Rivkin is an exceptional leader, and as leadership transitions to her, I have complete faith in her capabilities to guide the board through the next phase of success.
Serving on this board over the past decade has been among the most rewarding experiences of my life. I am deeply grateful for your trust.
With heartfelt thanks,
Jody Dales
Chair, Board of Directors
 |
Tanja Demajo CEO |
As I reflect on the past year at JFS, I am struck by both the growing complexity of the needs we are responding to and the strength our organization has built to meet them with care, intention, and purpose.
Across our programs, demand continues to rise driven by food insecurity, mental health and addiction challenges, aging in place, and housing instability. In response, JFS has focused on strengthening our operations, deepening collaboration across services, and reducing barriers so people can access support when they need it most.
Over the past year, we expanded food recovery and redistribution, increased access to counselling and seniors supports, strengthened case management and housing stabilization, and integrated JACS Vancouver into our continuum of care ensuring compassionate, culturally aligned addiction support within JFS.
Looking ahead, the renovation of our permanent home on Commercial Drive will mark the next chapter in this work, allowing impact to be delivered with greater integration, accessibility, and dignity, and ensuring JFS is positioned to meet community needs well into the future.
Thank you for the trust you place in JFS and for standing with us as we continue this important work.
With deep appreciation,
Tanja Demajo
Chief Executive Officer
We respectfully acknowledge that JFS operates on the unceded, ancestral, and traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ / səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
We honour their deep and ongoing connection to these lands and are committed to reconciliation through our work in community support, wellness, and social justice. With humility and gratitude, we strive to serve in a way that reflects respect, equity, and care for all.
Impact At A Glance
JFS works year-round to support over 3,000 children, adults, and older adults in our community. By helping people become more resilient and connecting them with resources to uplift their lives, we are working together to build a stronger community.
Look at what $8.3M has done in our community this past year!
lives enriched by receiving groceries, meals, grocery cards and all our food services
hours of information and referral services delivered through workshops, ensuring older adults could access the benefits and services they need
individuals received case management support to navigate crises and rebuild stability
hours of compassionate home support provided to empower older adults to continue living independently—safely, comfortably, and with dignity
distributed in emergency, medical, and financial aid
pounds of food distributed to nourish families and individuals
plant-based Kosher meals prepared at our Kitchen and distributed to the community
counselling sessions provided, empowering over 390 clients to improve their mental well-being and stability
volunteer hours invested—from seniors' companionship and grocery shopping to food packing and meal deliveries
"I recently had the pleasure of meeting with Zoe, who was absolutely amazing in sharing ideas and resources to help my family access low-cost food and benefit from the groceries emergency plan. I deeply appreciate everything JFS has done for me and my family. It means so much to us, and I don’t take this help for granted. I hope one day to be in a position to contribute back and help others as you have helped me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart."
- JFS Case Management Client
Stories and Highlights
When Care Becomes Community
At JFS, we believe aging should be filled with dignity, connection, and the comfort of knowing you are not alone. Our Healthy Aging programs do more than meet practical needs; they surround older adults with care, compassion, and community so they can continue living safely and meaningfully in the place they call home.
When Care Becomes Community
At JFS, we believe aging should be filled with dignity, connection, and the comfort of knowing you are not alone. Our Healthy Aging programs do more than meet practical needs; they surround older adults with care, compassion, and community so they can continue living safely and meaningfully in the place they call home.
This year, our team supported thousands of seniors through home support, counselling, transportation, meal delivery, advocacy, and friendly outreach. Our Home Support Program, delivered by trained and dedicated staff, provides personalized assistance with daily activities, from bathing and meal preparation to housekeeping and medication reminders, ensuring older adults can remain independent while feeling safe and respected. These supports are especially critical for our Holocaust Survivors, who often require trauma-informed care, stability, and gentle relational support. JFS continues to walk alongside survivors with sensitivity, honouring their histories while supporting their daily needs with dignity.
Programs like Better at Home, Seniors Outreach and Navigation, and Seniors Sharing Shabbat offer both practical help and heartfelt connection. For many, these visits, conversations, and shared meals are reminders that they are seen, valued, and cared for.
Behind every service is a story. One 80-year-old client, living alone without family or a support network, was referred to JFS after her health declined and her apartment became unsafe due to a bedbug infestation. When our staff first visited, she was exhausted, covered in bites, and worried about her beloved pet. JFS coordinated treatments with building management, helped prepare her home, arranged furniture removal, and advocated with the local health authority to ensure she received a new bed and safe living conditions. While she was hospitalized, our team continued the work so she could return to a clean, restored home, and to peace of mind. Later, she shared, “You gave me my life back.”
These life-changing supports are only possible thanks to our donors, volunteers, and partners. Together, we are ensuring every older adult can age with dignity, safety, and belonging.
Walking Beside People Through Crisis
When crisis strikes, Jewish Family Services is often the first place people turn—and sometimes the only place. This year, through our Case Management and Emergency Financial Aid programs, JFS provided immediate, compassionate support to hundreds of individuals and families facing homelessness, food insecurity, financial crisis, and violence.
Walking Beside People Through Crisis
When crisis strikes, Jewish Family Services is often the first place people turn—and sometimes the only place. This year, through our Case Management and Emergency Financial Aid programs, JFS provided immediate, compassionate support to hundreds of individuals and families facing homelessness, food insecurity, financial crisis, and violence.
With donor support, JFS helped Noah, a 60-year-old living in his car after an injury left him unable to work. Within days, our team assisted with housing applications, connected him to an outreach worker, secured a basement suite, and helped him access a rent subsidy—transforming uncertainty into safety and stability.
Emergency assistance also enabled Angela, age 75, to move from a hotel into a subsidized home within weeks, and supported Mia, a single mother fleeing domestic abuse, in securing a safe, permanent home for herself and her young child. “You made a terrifying time survivable,” Mia shared.
Beyond individual cases, JFS responds when communities experience collective trauma. Following the tragic violence at the Lapu-Lapu Day Festival, funding from the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver enabled JFS to partner with Filipino BC, deploying trauma-informed case workers to support affected families during the earliest days of grief and recovery.
Because of you, people facing their most difficult moments found stability, dignity, and the reassurance that they were not alone.
Strengthening Mental Health and Belonging
This year, JFS focused on one clear goal: making mental-health care accessible, reducing stigma, and building spaces where people feel seen, safe, and supported. At the core of this work was our counselling program. Through a low-cost, barrier-free model, JFS delivered more than 2,300 counselling sessions, ensuring individuals who might otherwise go without care could access timely, professional support.
Strengthening Mental Health and Belonging
This year, JFS focused on one clear goal: making mental-health care accessible, reducing stigma, and building spaces where people feel seen, safe, and supported.
At the core of this work was our counselling program. Through a low-cost, barrier-free model, JFS delivered more than 2,300 counselling sessions, ensuring individuals who might otherwise go without care could access timely, professional support. For many clients, this care was life-changing.
As one client shared, “My counsellor brought me out of a dark place. I finally felt seen.”
Beyond one-to-one support, JFS invested in community-wide mental-health education and dialogue. In January, with support from United Way BC, we hosted Passport: Mental Health, a full-day event that brought together over 150 participants and 10 partner organizations. Through hands-on workshops focused on trauma-informed care, movement, food connection, and older-adult mental health, participants gained practical tools and renewed hope. One attendee reflected, “I walked away hopeful for the first time in months.”
That same commitment to openness and understanding shaped our partnership with the Vancouver Jewish Film Festival to present OUTSIDER, a documentary exploring severe mental illness through the life of Vancouver-born artist Maury Ornest. The screening and panel discussion created a rare, honest space for grief, compassion, and conversation—reinforcing that mental illness is not something to be hidden, but understood.
Together, these efforts reflect JFS’s belief that mental health support must be accessible, stigma-free, and rooted in connection so no one has to face their struggles alone.
One Year In: Creating a Culture of Compassion and Recovery
In its first year under the JFS umbrella, JACS Vancouver has become a vital program for individuals and families facing addiction, a place where no one has to struggle alone. More than 500 people participated in JACS programs this year, showing just how deeply the need for Jewish-informed recovery support runs in our community.
One Year In: Creating a Culture of Compassion and Recovery
In its first year under the JFS umbrella, JACS Vancouver has become a vital program for individuals and families facing addiction, a place where no one has to struggle alone. More than 500 people participated in JACS programs this year, showing just how deeply the need for Jewish-informed recovery support runs in our community.
Education and awareness played a central role. Events like the Third Seder, led by Rabbi Joshua Corber, created a powerful space for healing and connection. “At other Seders we talk about freedom — at this one, we had people who actually found it,” one participant shared. JACS also hosted its first Community Day of Learning, joined the International AA Convention, and began designing early-intervention workshops for youth.
Direct support grew significantly as well. With an Addictions Counsellor and Recovery Coach now on staff, JACS provided free counselling and navigation to more than 30 clients and families. Two ongoing support groups, Jewish Addiction Circle and JACS Family Circle, have become lifelines for those in recovery and the people who love them.
Perhaps the most meaningful feedback came from a client who said, “For the first time, I didn’t feel alone. I felt understood.”
One year in, JACS Vancouver is fostering a culture of compassion, courage, and recovery.
Caring Through Life's Transitions
Navigating end-of-life planning can be overwhelming, especially for older adults with limited income, family support, or access to trusted guidance. This year, JFS brought comfort, clarity, and connection to this sensitive journey through our Dying, Death, Burial & Bereavement Resource Fair.
Caring Through Life's Transitions
Navigating end-of-life planning can be overwhelming, especially for older adults with limited income, family support, or access to trusted guidance. This year, JFS brought comfort, clarity, and connection to this sensitive journey through our Dying, Death, Burial & Bereavement Resource Fair, funded by Vancouver Coastal Health’s Smart Fund and the May and Stanley Smith Charitable Trust.
Nearly 80 attendees visited information tables hosted by 15 community organizations, receiving practical support on wills and paperwork, low-cost funeral options, grief resources, and culturally sensitive guidance. A dedicated quiet-counselling space provided a private and calming environment for those needing a moment of support. One attendee shared, “I felt cared for during a conversation I never thought I could have.”
Events like this not only help older adults navigate immediate needs, they also create space for reflection around values, wishes, and legacy. Many participants shared how meaningful JFS has been in their lives and expressed interest in how those supports might continue for future generations.
As one participant expressed, “Thinking about the future made me realize I want my final gift to reflect what mattered most to me.”
To learn more about leaving a legacy gift to JFS, please contact us at development@jfsvancouver.ca or 604-637-3306.
Nourishing Today, Building Tomorrow
This year, JFS supported more than 2,300 individuals through a comprehensive network of food programs designed to meet people where they are with dignity, choice, and connection.
Nourishing Today, Building Tomorrow: Food Security Through Access, Education, and Community
This year, JFS supported more than 2,300 individuals through a comprehensive network of food programs designed to meet people where they are with dignity, choice, and connection.
Through our Grocery Program, JFS provided regular access to healthy food for over 1,100 community members each month, including 258 children and 470 older adults. More than 2,450 grocery bags were distributed monthly through The Kitchen and seven neighbourhood hubs, ensuring access for those facing mobility, transportation, or geographic barriers. Thanks to generous donors and partnerships with local farms — including Stable Harvest, Windset Farms, Athiana Acres, Canadian Farm Produce, Heppell’s, Richmond GAIA Farm, Sparkes Corn Barn, and Barbara Heller’s garden — clients received fresh, local produce every week.
As one client shared, “The food I get from JFS means the world to me. It has kept me going.”
Food recovery and prepared meals were equally essential. JFS rescued and redistributed thousands of pounds of food, reducing waste while increasing access to nutritious options. More than 17,000 prepared meals were delivered to older adults, people with disabilities, and others unable to cook for themselves, over 20 partner agencies received fresh food from our recovery initiative, and over 300 families received support to maintain meaningful food traditions during Jewish holidays.
Education and empowerment are central to long-term food security. Through Community Kitchens, guided by JFS staff and UBC Dietetics interns, participants built cooking skills, confidence, and social connection. Interns also developed a 5-Day Meal Planning Guide, helping older adults prepare nutritious, affordable meals using grocery program items. One participant reflected, “You made me feel safe, included, and able to cook again.”
Children and families engaged through RJDS Food Lab, JFS Breakfast Club, and Veggie Voyagers, where hands-on cooking, gardening, and farm visits fostered curiosity, confidence, and healthy habits. As one educator shared, “Food Lab builds comfort and connection — especially for newcomer children.”
Together, these programs ensure that JFS is not just addressing hunger; we are building resilience, dignity, and opportunity through food.
“The Thriving Seniors program has been an absolute lifeline for me as I adjusted to life as a widow. The financial planning and housing resources provided me with the guidance and reassurance I needed to make important decisions with confidence. Beyond that, the travel series has been a true delight, I may not be able to visit new places in person, but through these sessions I’ve experienced the thrill of exploring the world. Most importantly, this program has introduced me to a wonderful group of friends who have brought so much joy and companionship into my life. I can’t express how grateful I am for this program, it has truly made all the difference in this new chapter of my life.”
- JFS Client
Celebrating Our Generous Supporters
This year, with the support of over 1,800 donors, JFS touched more than 3,000 lives, engaged 200+ volunteers, collaborated with 75+ partners, and was powered by a dedicated team of 100+ staff.
Thank you for walking this path with us. Thank you for believing in JFS. And thank you for ensuring that, no matter what challenges arise, we keep going.
Thank You to Our Donors and Volunteers
To our anonymous donors, our heartfelt thanks for your generosity and compassion. You have made a meaningful difference for all who have received support because of you.
The list of donors reflects the giving period of September 1, 2024 to August 31, 2025.
Donor Spotlight: Syd Shafron
For longtime supporter Syd Shafron, giving is rooted in a deeply Jewish value: chesed—loving-kindness expressed through everyday acts of care.
Syd’s relationship with Jewish Family Services began decades ago with something simple yet powerful: a tribute card he received for his birthday.
Donor Spotlight: Syd Shafron
For longtime supporter Syd Shafron, giving is rooted in a deeply Jewish value: chesed—loving-kindness expressed through everyday acts of care.
Syd’s relationship with Jewish Family Services began decades ago with something simple yet powerful: a tribute card he received for his birthday. That small gesture made him feel seen and valued, and it inspired him to begin sending JFS tribute cards to honour family milestones and celebrations. What started as a thoughtful way to mark special moments became a meaningful practice of giving back.
Over time, Syd’s generosity grew. Today, he supports JFS regularly through tribute cards, food-security programs, and newcomer supports, areas where he sees immediate impact and lasting dignity. To deepen that impact, Syd established The Syd Shafron Family Fund Supporting Jewish Family Services of Greater Vancouver, along with custom tribute cards, inviting others to join him in acts of compassion.
For Syd, each gift reflects the Jewish belief of kol Yisrael arevim zeh bazeh, that we are all responsible for one another. “By supporting JFS,” he shares, “I feel that I’m supporting the entire Vancouver Jewish community.”
Proud of JFS’s leadership in food security, housing, and care for those most in need, Syd offers this simple encouragement: “For anyone looking to support a Vancouver charity, I would, with all my heart, suggest JFS.”
Through kindness, consistency, and a belief in shared responsibility, Syd’s giving helps ensure no one in our community stands alone.
In Appreciation of Our Volunteers
Volunteers are the heartbeat of JFS. Their compassion, energy, and unwavering commitment transform care into action every single day. We are profoundly grateful for the time, heart, and partnership they share so generously.
Innovators 2025: Thank you for Igniting Change
We would like to express our deep gratitude to all of our Innovators 2025 sponsors, community partners, volunteers, and guests. Your support was instrumental in making this event a tremendous success.
Innovators 2025: Igniting Change
Innovators 2025 was an unforgettable evening — a vibrant celebration filled with connection, storytelling, and purpose. With more than 300 attendees, the room buzzed with energy as longtime supporters and new friends came together over incredible food, flowing drinks, and powerful moments of inspiration.
Celebrating Our Community Partners
We’re deeply grateful for the incredible organizations we’re lucky to partner with every day. Your collaboration, care, and shared commitment make our work possible—and help us create a stronger, more connected community together. Thank you for being part of the journey!
JFS Leadership
Strong governance and staff leadership sustains our mission, ensuring that day-to-day operations and strategic goals work in unity to support our vision of lives uplifted, a world repaired.
The Excavate and Express Workshop was truly a moving and healing experience to journey with others as collectively we wrote our way to healing and tending of intergenerational wounds. Not only did this class help me make peace with the past, it also strengthen me for my descents. From the somatic practice to the connection of the group, to the feeling and writing, many sparks were raised and generations healed. Toda Rabah for such a powerful offering."
- JFS Excavate and Express Workshop Participant
Financial Review 2024-2025 Fiscal Year
You can view our complete set of audited financial statements at jfsvancouver.ca/financial-statements.
$8.3M Raised Together:
$0.6M
$2.2M
$0.2M
$2.1M
$3.2M
$8.0M Invested in Impact:
$1.4M
$3.8M
$0.9M
$0.4M
$1.3M
$0.2M
"This year, our family celebrated Rosh Hashanah with neighbours, bringing two families closer for the Jewish New Year. But, with rising costs, both our families were worried that all the traditional foods and preparations for the holiday seemed financially out of reach. Fortunately, we received financial assistance from JFS to help cover our holiday expenses. The table was filled with all the essentials—round challah, apples, pomegranates, and a roasted chicken with baked vegetables. The children giggled as they dipped apples into honey, and all of us joined in the shofar blowing, its sound a reminder of hope, renewal, and the strength of community support. Thanks to JFS, we were able to start the new year not only with tradition but with gratitude for the assistance that made it all possible."
- JFS Get-Together Grant Recipient