March is Women’s History Month, and JFCS is eager to celebrate!
We value the women and gender-diverse individuals who ensure success throughout our organization, as employees, clients, donors, volunteers, and community partners. As a majority-woman workplace, we are always mindful of the importance of supporting women and people of all gender identities in reaching their fullest potential. This month offers a meaningful opportunity to reflect on the values we uphold not just in March, but throughout the year.
March is also a time to reflect on the historical inequities that have limited recognition of women and marginalized gender identities, and to recommit ourselves to fostering greater awareness and inclusion moving forward. It invites younger generations to appreciate the achievements, resilience, and innovation of those who came before them, while encouraging women and gender-diverse individuals to lead boldly in spaces where they may once have felt unseen. Ultimately, communities are strongest when every person is acknowledged and celebrated. Observances like Women’s History Month help ensure that each individual’s contributions are recognized and valued, regardless of gender identity or background.
We invited JFCS staff to share quotes about women and gender equity that resonate with them and reflect their personal inspiration. Here are some quotes our staff chose:
- “As long as women are using class or race power to dominate other women, feminist sisterhood cannot be fully realized.”
-bell hooks - “A genuine feminist politics always brings us from bondage to freedom, from lovelessness to loving… There can be no love without justice.”
-bell hooks - “Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women.”
-Maya Angelou - “If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman.”
-Margaret Thatcher - “If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”
-Lilla Watson - “I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.”
-Audre Lorde
Our Senior Crime Victim Advocate, Paul Troy, has his own thoughts about Women’s History Month:
“As I think about Women’s History Month, I am reminded of why I work at JFCS as a crime victim advocate. My mother is a survivor of domestic violence. In the mid-70’s, there were no domestic violence shelters, no emergency protective orders, and no victim advocates in Eastern Kentucky to help her get away from my abusive father. But my mom was strong and determined. Case management, family therapy, career counseling, and legal advocacy are all services that JFCS now offers that were unavailable when my mom was trying to escape an abusive relationship. This month I am thankful to be able to honor my mom and all of the other women who are working so hard to keep their children safe.”
Together, these reflections and stories from our staff serve as a powerful reminder that it is not just about looking back; it’s about continuing to uplift, support, and celebrate one another every day. We thank our staff for sharing so many powerful insights, and we are proud to know that our organization is guided throughout the year by our shared passion for women’s causes and all causes of justice.
“Because of JFCS and the Sonny & Janet Meyer Food Pantry, my family is able to have a good meal every day.”
– Nechelle, Food Pantry client
Since 1908, Jewish Family & Career Services has been guided by the Jewish values of Chesed, Kavod, Kehilah, Tzedek, and Avodah. These values are not abstract ideals. They come alive every time we place a bag of food into the hands of someone who doesn’t know where their next meal will come from.
As we enter the High Holidays, we are called not only to reflect, but also to act. The JFCS High Holidays Food Drive, is a powerful way we live out these values as a Jewish Community.
This year, our goal is to collect 8,000 pounds of food for the Sonny & Janet Meyer Food Pantry. This is a goal made necessary by the staggering increase in hunger across Louisville. Today, more than 186,000 of our neighbors face food insecurity—a 48% increase in just two years. Behind each number is a child, an older adult, or a family struggling to live with dignity.
The JFCS Food Pantry, including our satellite pantry at Shalom Towers, has become a vital safety net for our clients. Before the pandemic, we distributed just over 4,000 pounds of food each month. Today, demand has doubled to more than 8,000 pounds monthly, including kosher options and personal care items that preserve dignity as well as health.
Every can, every bag, every dollar matters. To keep shelves stocked at the Sonny & Janet Meyer food pantry, we need your support.
How You Can Get Involved in the High Holiday Food Drive
- Fill a bag at your congregation and return it by Yom Kippur.
- Drop off donations at JFCS, the Trager Family JCC, or participating congregations anytime between now and October 5th (drop off on October 5th at JFCS between 1pm and 3pm).
- Make a financial gift to JFCS through our 2026 End of Year Campaign.
- Invite others: friends, family, colleagues; to join in this mitzvah day on October 5th from 1pm to 3pm. RSVP Here!
On Sunday, October 5, families are invited to a Family Mitzvah Day at JFCS to sort food, and for children to create cards for clients and donors; a beautiful opportunity to have a service day as a family!
This Season, Let’s Work Together to Feed our Neighbors
The High Holidays remind us of our shared responsibility to repair the world. Together, we can ensure no parent sends a child to school hungry, no older adult chooses between food and medicine, and no family feels alone in their struggle.
This season of reflection can also be a season of action. Your gift, whether food or financial, turns Jewish values into daily sustenance and lasting dignity at Jewish Family & Career Services.
JFCS is grateful for its many volunteers! We don’t know where we’d be without the goodwill of Louisville community members like you. In the 2024 fiscal year, volunteers contributed over 1,700 hours to JFCS, with most volunteers working with the JFCS Sonny & Janet Meyer Food Pantry. We give a special shout-out to Iman Shulti. Julie Hutchings, Tami Penner, Ann Farmer, Cynthia Ingle, and Zina Dubrovensky, all of whom engaged in over 65 volunteer hours with us over the 2024 fiscal year!
We’d like to emphasize our gratitude to have the help of so many volunteers. On Wednesday, April 9 between 11:30 am and 1:00 pm, JFCS is holding its annual Volunteer Appreciation Brunch. We encourage all volunteers to attend these festivities! There will be delicious food as well as wonderful opportunities to interact with fellow volunteers and with JFCS employees. You’ve given so much to us, and we’d love to give a little something to you in return!
Volunteers play a diverse range of invaluable roles here at JFCS. Friendship Corner and Food Pantry volunteers help stock the clothing closet and food pantry as well as assisting clients with shopping during the week and on open pantry days, while Crime Victim Services volunteers offer emotional support to crime victims. Oral History Project volunteers take part in interviewing Louisville residents with stories to tell.
Venturing outside of our organization’s walls, Shabbos Friends volunteers provide the Jewish Sabbath to Jewish seniors living in local assisted-living facilities and nursing homes each month. Friendly Visitors check in on local home-bound seniors to help with feelings of isolation, engaging in hobbies such as gardening, landscaping, and interior design. Community Towers volunteers assist residents of the senior care home with technology.
We’re currently looking for volunteers in a few new opportunities. Immigrant and Refugee Services volunteers will assist clients with English as a second language in practicing conversation, while volunteers with Commercial Driver’s License experience will help train JFCS students enrolled in the CDL program. We’re also on the lookout for workshop volunteers to help with Individual Development Account (IDA) Program topics such as saving, budgeting, banking, buying a home or car, and the like.
Even if you don’t wish to commit to regular volunteering, we provide many opportunities to assist with one-time events. On March 30, volunteers helped pack Passover food bags and sort donations from the Passover Food Drive during our Family Mitzvah event. We had a great time with you all and look forward to seeing you at our brunch!
Meanwhile, our annual MOSAIC awards will take place on May 15, and we need the help of volunteers to keep everything in order. You can choose from a variety of important tasks, from setting up to monitoring attendees during the event to dismantling things afterwards. Please sign up for shift(s) of your choice (and learn more about the specific ways you can contribute on the day of MOSAIC) at this link!
We look forward to seeing you soon. JFCS is always appreciative of your help. Only with the assistance of community volunteers like you could we ever hope to achieve the positive role in the Louisville community that we’re proud to hold! If you’re interested in any opportunities we provide, please contact Michelle Klecner at mklecner@jfcslouisville.org.
The theme for International Women’s Day on March 8, is #AccelerateAction with a focus on celebrating differences as something that makes us stronger rather than divides us. At JFCS, something we strive for each day is acknowledging differences and celebrating them as something that makes us stronger as an organization and community.
If we can envision a world where everyone can show up as their authentic selves without the fear of judgment, we will be a stronger society. May this be something we recognize and work towards on International Women’s Day, and continuously throughout the year.
We recently asked the women of JFCS’ staff and Board of Directors to share their thoughts on various questions related to International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month. See what they said and how they are celebrating women throughout March!
What does International Women’s Day mean to you? What does it mean to celebrate this day?
We live in a world that was not designed for women, yet women are the life force that keeps our world growing and evolving, in both the literal and metaphorical sense. As an OB/GYN, I take immense pride in caring for women. I honor them, I protect them, I give them what they need to create good in the world. It is a privilege to do so and one I cherish deeply.
Avi Hahn, JFCS Board Director
International Women’s Day is a reminder to take an intentional look at and purposefully celebrate the incredible things women have accomplished and contributed to our world, often in the face of huge adversity. I think it’s also a time to reflect and appreciate how those who came before us paved the way for us in our professional fields and personal lives to unapologetically be our fullest selves.
Dr. Sarah Roos, Psychologist
It’s a day of celebrating the journey of progress and success that women have fought so hard for. The journey is not over, and women need to be recognized and celebrated going forward.
Michelle Klecner, Volunteer & Events Manager
What is your favorite quote about women?
“I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” – Audre Lorde (submitted by anonymous)
“Women belong in all places where decisions are being made … It shouldn’t be that women are the exception.” -Ruth Bader Ginsburg (submitted by Cindy Key, Career Counselor)
“If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” -Shirley Chisholm (submitted by Valecia Quinn, Director of Navigate)
“Be the woman who fixes another woman’s crown without telling the world it was crooked” Amy Morin (submitted by anonymous)
“Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness.” – Oprah Winfrey (submitted by Michelle Klecner)
“For women, the need and desire to nurture each other is not pathological but redemptive, and it is within that knowledge that our real power is rediscovered.” -Audre Lorde (submitted by Whitney Boswell, Klein Older Adult Manager)
Well-behaved women seldom make history. (submitted by Lyndy Alexander, Chief Financial Officer)
What is a proud accomplishment you have from this past year?
Getting hired at JFCS!
Michelle Klecner
One of my proudest accomplishments was being asked to serve as the Chair for Metro United Way’s Community Impact Cabinet, with the term starting last November. While I take every opportunity to learn and contribute to my community, it was apparent that my work and actions demonstrated that I could provide a greater impact by serving in a leadership role. I remember Robert Gunn, Chief Impact & Equity Officer, sending me a message – “From the onset, you have shown leadership, engagement, and added a tremendous amount of value to the CIC.” Very appreciative of Mr. Gunn recognizing my capabilities and providing me with an opportunity to lead the CIC team and working in partnership with him to serve the MUW community. For my drive, determination, and a strong work ethic, I pay tribute to one of the strongest women I’ve known and aspired to be… my late mom – Ruth!
Valecia Quinn
How do you think JFCS’ mission and vision celebrate women?
Living life confidently is part of the JFCS mission statement, and that is what every woman should be able to do. JFCS provides programs and services for anyone; men, women, and non-binary, to live life confidently and expand possibilities for all.
Michelle Klecner