2009-12-12 00:25:32 -

The Koret Foundation has awarded another $1 million grant to Bay Area Jewish family and children’s service agencies, doubling its support for residents who continue to struggle with temporary job loss or home foreclosure in the ongoing economic downturn, Koret President Tad Taube announced today. In combination with $817,800 to Bay Area soup kitchens and food banks in the period since the economic decline began, this new grant brings Koret’s investment in Bay Area economic emergency services to $2.8 million for the current crisis.

Working with the Bay Area’s three Jewish family service agencies, the support will continue to shore up 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.

In December 2008, Koret awarded $1 million to 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 leveraged the three agencies’ resources, establishing a community referral network to ensure coordination of services across the three regions; JFCS managed the program for all three Jewish family service agencies.

In 2008, Jewish family service agencies across the Bay Area reported a 25 percent increase in requests for services, and several thousand more families sought help during 2009 as the economic crisis continued.

Koret’s swift assistance has enabled JEAN to help 720 households comprising 2,500 individuals regain their economic equilibrium; JFCS projects nearly two thousand more individuals will seek help in 2010.

“We are proud to partner again with Jewish Family and Children’s Services, a responsive and responsible organization that serves both the Jewish and general communities, to aid those who are still or newly in need,” Taube said. In addition, Koret’s board has awarded $817,800 since the onset of the current economic emergency in September, 2008, to 14 organizations that directly help the hungry and homeless, including the Glide Foundation, the Salvation Army, St. Anthony Foundation and the San Francisco Food Bank.



The Koret FoundationSusan Wolfe, 415-882-7740 swolfe@koret.org : mailto:swolfe@koret.org