When Our Neighbors Call, JFCS Answers With Your Help

Jewish Family & Career Services is often among the first to answer the call when uncertainty touches our community. From providing food and rent assistance, to counseling, career support, and care for older adults, JFCS is often that vital lifeline for thousands of our neighbors each year.

More than 2,400 individuals and families turned to JFCS for help last year and that number continues to climb steadily in 2025 (as it has over several years prior).  JFCS saw a 20% increase in requests for food assistance through the Sonny & Janet Meyer Food Pantry and a significant rise in mental health referrals, particularly among young adults and families last year. Last year, JFCS reached nearly 600 Jewish individuals through intentional outreach events and initiatives reaffirming that our services will always prioritize the Jewish community. When crisis struck, Jewish individuals turned to JFCS first, signifying that our community knows where to find trusted, Jewish focused support when it’s needed most.

Rarely does a client walk through the door with just one challenge, and our agency continues to see more complex and layered needs. That’s what makes JFCS unique; our ability to address multiple challenges at once.

A single mother might come to us for career assessment and coaching after a job loss, only to discover we can help her feed her family in the interim.  The family of an older adult may come to us for transportation assistance and find their loved one can have connection through volunteer phone calls that ease isolation. A young person healing through therapy might also find new purpose through career guidance.

This “wraparound care” often helps clients not only meet their immediate needs quicker but move toward long-term stability and self-sufficiency with greater confidence and resolve.

“JFCS has always been about creating certainty in uncertain times,” said Dr. David Finke, Chief Executive Officer. “Whether someone is facing food insecurity, mental health challenges, or job loss, JFCS helps individuals and families address multiple challenges and move from crisis to stability.”

The harsh reality is, the need for interconnected services has grown sharply in recent years as cuts to vital programs have left larger and larger gaps in areas like senior care, refugee and immigrant services, and food and rent assistance.

That’s where community support steps in to make the difference.

JFCS is currently in the midst of our Annual Campaign, a vital funding lifeline for us each year, but one that takes on extra significance to JFCS this year.

This is the moment to make a difference. With rising needs and limited funding, every dollar counts toward keeping our pantry shelves full, our counseling services accessible, and our programs for older adults and job seekers running strong. Immigrants, families, and neighbors across Louisville are counting on us; and we are counting on you.

Our Annual Campaign allows JFCS to remain flexible and responsive, addressing emerging needs as they arise and ensuring that no one is turned away.  It helps sustain our network of “wraparound care” and support that restores dignity, strengthens purpose, and gives hope to thousands of individuals and families across Louisville each year.

“Community donations make up the difference,” Finke said. “Community support helps us keep families in their homes, food on the table, hope within reach, and help is here when it’s needed most.

“Our community’s strength has always come from our willingness to show up for one another,” Finke added. “For many, this campaign is more than a fundraising effort, it’s an invitation to join in Tikkun Olam, repairing the world, one family at a time.”

How to Give

Gifts to the JFCS Annual Campaign can be made easily and securely online, by mail, or by phone. Donors may also give through a donor-advised fund (DAF), IRA qualified charitable distribution, or employer matching gift, all of which count toward the campaign goal.

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