Image by Karen Leon

Image by Karen Leon

“Today we are bigger and better than ever and tonight’s celebration is one of the most successful we have ever had!” Alice Tisch Board of Trustees President of The Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services told the festive assemblage. “With our integration of F.E.G.S.[Federation Employment Guidance Service] we expand our footprint of services and—as the largest social services agency in the State of New York—we are helping tens of thousands of New Yorkers live independent lives. We have a caring, true professional partnership with UJA Federation and — I’m honored to say that the Jewish Board stayed true to its glorious and historic roots.”

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“It’s all about three words—Hope, Recovery and Resiience,” said Jewish Board’s CEO David Rivel of the agency which was founded 140 years ago. “While we work for 43,000 clients, we change lives one-at-a-time…. Whether you are a child or an adult, whether you are Jewish or not Jewish…whether you struggle with mental health challenges or…whether there is abuse or violence in your family, we give people hope that their life will get better. And we give them the tools to recover and the resilience to go forward and fight future challenges.”

Image by Karen Leon

UJA Federation of New York’s CEO Eric S. Goldstein declared: “We are UJA and proud of the network of extraordinary agencies that bring outstanding care and services to New Yorkers of all backgrounds. When FEGS was in crisis last year, it was the Jewish Board that stepped up to acquire the critical programming and integrate the services to tens of thousands of vulnerable New Yorkers who would continue to receive important care. Thanks to the Jewish Board there was not a single day of service disruption for a single FEGS client. We look forward to continuing our extraordinary partnership for years to come.”

The event—which raised $1.3 million— honored longtime Board members Erica R. Schwartz with its Saul Z. Cohen Leadership Award and the Yerman-Steinman Family with its Madeleine Borg Lifetime Service Award.

At our table were Jewish Board employees including the daughter and granddaughter of a counselor who had helped transform childrens’ lives including one—that of an Irish Catholic boy—now a productive adult— whose transformative journey was featured in a short animated video, which had the audience on its feet when he took “a bow.”

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