$1 MILLION KORET INITIATIVE TO HELP BAY AREA FAMILIES
THROUGH TOUGH ECONOMIC TIMES
San Francisco, CA (December 12, 2008) – The Koret Foundation Board of Directors has approved a $1 million initiative to support Bay Area families and individuals who are struggling due to temporary job loss or home foreclosure, Koret President Tad Taube announced today.
The announcement follows a record-high package of $410,000 in Koret grants awarded to Bay Area food banks and multiservice agencies, representing a 25 percent increase over last year’s Koret food program.
“The Koret Foundation has taken a leadership role in helping residents of the City and County of San Francisco through economically tough times," said Mayor Gavin Newsom. "At a time when none are immune to the effects of the economic downturn, we are fortunate to have philanthropic leaders like Koret actively engaging with our communities.”
“We can’t solve the full extent of the economic challenges facing the Bay Area, but we can have an immediate and important impact by working with Bay Area food programs and Jewish Family and Children’s Services, a highly effective organization that serves both the Jewish and general communities and is able to respond quickly to the increased need,” Taube said.
Working with the Bay Area’s three Jewish family service agencies, the support will strengthen the agencies’ capacity to respond to the growing numbers of families and individuals who have been laid off, missed mortgage payments, or otherwise been negatively affected by current conditions. Among the services the agencies offer are financial planning, psychological counseling and short-term grants or loans to help people get back on their feet. Jewish Family & Children’s Services of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties (JFCS) will oversee the program for all three Jewish family service agencies.
Over the past few months, Jewish family service agencies across the Bay Area have seen a 25 percent increase in requests for services. In the coming year, several thousand families are expected to seek help. Many of these are first-time clients who never expected to be in a position of need. JFCS is uniquely positioned to offer specific, finite interventions that help people regain self-sufficiency.
“Given the enormous need, we hope that this action on the part of Koret’s Board of Directors will encourage others who are able to step up to the challenges facing our community,” said Koret CEO Jeff Farber.
Koret support will reactivate JEAN — the Jewish Emergency Assistance Network — which coordinates services among JFCS, Jewish Family Services of Silicon Valley, Jewish Family and Children’s Services of the East Bay, and community organizations and synagogues. JEAN will leverage the agencies’ resources by establishing a community referral network that ensures that services across the three regions are coordinated and not duplicated.
“Koret’s support is crucial at a time like this and will enable us to meet this new demand without diverting our funds and attention from our other vital services to the Jewish community,” said Gayle Zahler, JFCS associate executive director, who coordinates JEAN.
In the last 30 years, JFCS has mobilized JEAN to effectively respond to economic crises, natural disasters, the AIDS crisis and the massive resettlement of Jews from the former Soviet Union.
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View news coverage in the following media:
San Francisco Business Times
JTA
CONTACT:
Susan Wolfe, Director
Grantmaking Programs
and Communications
Koret Foundation
(415) 882-7740
swolfe@koretfoundation.org