Jewish Family Service of Greater Dallas Recognizes Volunteers

Jewish Family Service of Greater Dallas (JFS) announced its annual volunteer appreciation awards on February 27, 2021. ­­In addition to the fourteen individual volunteers being honored were the missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who were named Community Partner of the Year and the first group to receive a President’s Volunteer Service Award.

Kristen Jackson, Director of Volunteer Engagement, described the young missionaries as “full of energy and enthusiasm.”  She states that they went out of their way to make clients feel loved and valued. She also pointed out that many clients are Spanish speaking, and some of the missionaries were fluent in Spanish, which was a great help in assisting them in getting their food and making them feel even more welcome.

“Receiving this award is a huge honor,” said Elder Jayden Checketts of Brigham City, Utah. “Missionaries all over the world spread the love of God through service without thought of reward, but we were grateful to see the fruits of our labors on the faces of those we served with.

“Jewish Family Service is a happy and loving environment that is well organized with a firm purpose: to help those in need. My time with JFS will be one of the most memorable service opportunities I have been a part of during the time I have spent in the city of Dallas.”

The JFS drive-up food pantry partners with North Texas Food Bank, distributing 22 million pounds of food to 20,976 individuals in 2021. Forty-seven missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints volunteered for the difficult to fill, four-and-a-half-hour early morning shift, serving a total of 1000 hours over 40 distribution days. This record number of hours for a community partner to contribute is why the missionaries are the first group to receive a President’s Volunteer Service Award.

Volunteers fill an essential role at JFS.

Cathy Barker, CEO of Jewish Family Service, described how their outreach programs have continued to grow over the past few years. A few years back, they served 14,000 individuals; in 2020, they served 23,000 individuals, and in 2021 they served 39,000 individuals. In 2021, 804 volunteers signed up, filling 6015 shifts. Because of the record number of volunteers, JFS has expanded its services.

“We appreciate [the volunteers and supporters’] constant involvement and loyal support to our mission […] We simply couldn’t do what we do without you,” said Cathy Barker.

“We want to thank each and every one of our 840 volunteers who contributed to the mission of JFS in 2021,” echoed Kristen Jackson. “It was with your help we were able to serve those 39,000 people who needed us.”

Those who received individual awards are:

Dr. Ety Friedman, Outstanding Volunteer Award; Ed Sands, Outstanding Volunteer Award; Rebecca Buell, Leadership Award; Yael Kuchsky, Future of JFS Award; Janis Rosenfeld, Newcomer of the Year Award; and the following received the Hearts and Hands Award: Judy Bazarsky, Debby Dubusky, Noah Fisch, Barbra Furman, Jill Kirschner, Lisa Rothstein, Sieg Schmalz, Jerry Szor, and Tonya Young.

Watch the JFS Volunteer Appreciation Awards ceremony and hear about all of the wonderful volunteers’ contributions HERE.

Featured Photo courtesy of Elder Jayden Checketts.