Jewish Family & Career Services is proud to honor our MOSAIC Award recipients. These five individuals who call Louisville home have made significant contributions in their professions and our community. To date, JFCS has recognized almost 70 refugees, immigrants and first-generation Americans who make our community richer and stronger for their work. We are excited to have Neeli Bendapudi, Di Tran, Berta Weyenberg, Kaveh Zamanian and Bapion Ziba join the ranks of these remarkable individuals.
Neeli Bendapudi (India) is a well-respected university president who has quickly become a Louisville community pillar. Known for ensuring the University of Louisville celebrates diversity, fosters equity and strives to achieve inclusion, President Bendapudi’s story is one of focus and drive.
Di Tran (Vietnam) is a business owner, professor and active community member. After earning his Master’s from the University of Louisville, Di served as a computer engineer at Humana while, at the same time, opening and operating several nail salons in partnership with his family. His story is one of determination and overcoming the odds.
Berta Weyenberg (Cuba) is an educator and community connector through and through. Her passion for helping people – and for food! – is apparent as soon as you hear her story. Marked by her compassion and desire to see others achieve, Berta’s story is one of hope and service to others.
Kaveh Zamanian (Iran) loves spirits – and he will tell you so himself. Which is precisely why he founded Rabbit Hole Distillery in 2012. From his childhood in Iran, his family’s journey to the United States to finally making his home in Louisville, Kaveh’s story is full of taking chances and pursuing dreams.
If you don’t know Bapion Ziba (Burkina Faso) yet, you should. Or you should at least know his food! Ziba’s Bistro is located at Logan Street Market where you can experience internationally inspired dishes with the flavors of West Africa fused with French, Italian, and American cuisine. Bapion’s story, like our other MOSAIC Award winners, is impressive – and JFCS is especially proud because Bapion is a former JFCS Navigate client, too!
Congratulations to each of these amazing Louisvillians for being named MOSAIC Award winners! Over the coming week, we will share more about their individual stories on our blog and across our social media platforms. We will honor their contributions to their fields and our community at our MOSAIC 2021 Awards Presentation on Thursday, May 27 at noon. If you are interested in joining the celebration, register to attend here.
While mass vaccinations across Kentucky have many in our area hopeful, JFCS continues to see how the challenges of the pandemic have impacted our community. This is especially true when it comes to food security.
Compared to February 2020, visits to the JFCS Sonny & Janet Meyer Food Pantry have tripled. When we see the number of visits to the pantry rise 250% from February of last year to March 2021, we know members of the community are taking steps to secure the basic necessities for themselves and their families. Our clients have faced new and unexpected challenges, and have risen to meet them with the support of JFCS.
One of our clients, who has food delivered through our contactless drop-off service, shared with us the difference the Food Pantry makes for them. They wrote:
“As always, I can’t thank you enough for your kindness. Because of your courtesies and concerns, and the generosity of Jewish Family & Career Services, the items you provide me each month are a big help and I am truly grateful. I greatly appreciate the household supplies. The apples you brought me in March were terrific, so if you get apples again in May, please add them to my list…”
Prior to COVID, JFCS expanded our Food Pantry to operate on a consumer choice model. We are excited to return to that service in the coming months. In the meantime, we are working to address client requests, like apples, on an individual basis.
JFCS is able to answer this need with assistance from our donors and supporters, like you. Donate now today and consider becoming a monthly donor to the JFCS Sonny & Janet Meyer Food Pantry by selecting that option on our online giving form.
THANK YOU for helping JFCS ensure all in Greater Louisville live with dignity and purpose!
You have already put MOSAIC 2021 on your calendar for May 25 – 27, so now what? We are so glad you asked!
If you have attended MOSAIC in the past, you know it is a night of excitement and celebration. We honor our MOSAIC Award recipients, we gather with friends and loved ones over good food and we look ahead to another year of expanding possibilities thanks to the generous financial commitments you and your fellow attendees make at the event.
The JFCS MOSAIC Awards event supports our critical work with refugees, immigrants and underserved individuals and families throughout every zip code in Greater Louisville. This year, given the ongoing realities of public health concerns, we are celebrating online over three days with videos, client stories and more!
We are excited to announce that Jewish Heritage Fund for Excellence is our Title Sponsor for MOSAIC 2021! Additionally, Kindred Healthcare has committed to sponsor MOSAIC 2021 as a Platinum Sponsor.
These two phenomenal organizations have not only made a strong show of support and commitment to JFCS through their continued sponsorship of the event, but they have also challenged us to raise more money than ever before for MOSAIC 2021!
Over three days, May 25 – 27, we will host an online giving campaign in support of our work and invite you to participate with us! In response to JHFE and Kindred Healthcare’s challenge, we are asking you to make a gift online to JFCS between Tuesday, May 25 and Thursday, May 27. Help us reach our biggest goal yet while showing your unwavering support for the work JFCS does each and every day!
You can also serve as a MOSAIC Event Ambassador by making a gift of $500, $1,000 or $2,500. If you, your company/organization or someone you know is interested in being a MOSAIC Event Ambassador, please reach out to us at mosaic@jfcslouisville.org or give online, today!
In keeping with tradition, we will honor our MOSAIC Award winners — Neeli Bendapudi, Di Tran, Berta Weyenberg, Kaveh Zamanian and Bapion Ziba — at a special event on Thursday, May 27.
To learn more about the event for honorees and to stay up-to-date on everything MOSAIC 2021, subscribe to our e-newsletter or check our MOSAIC 2021 information page often.
On Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, we invite you to learn about how JFCS works with survivors in our community so they can age with dignity and live as independently as possible.
Yom HaShoah is a time for reflection and remembrance. At Jewish Family & Career Services, we are reflecting on the work we have done to support Holocaust survivors and other refugees and immigrants over the years. From resettling refugees in past decades to helping those same immigrants navigate complex medical and benefits systems today, we have adapted to meet their needs.
One of the most important areas of our work as a Jewish human service agency is supporting Louisville’s Holocaust survivors. In 2020, JFCS served 52 Holocaust survivors. JFCS staff and volunteers made regular telephone reassurance calls to survivors facing an overwhelming sense of isolation increased by the COVID-19 crisis.
We also provided food and essential care items, mental health counseling and home care services to those with a need. Our Holocaust survivor clients were also able to access reparations benefits to help them live with dignity because JFCS was a partner and support system in navigating the process.
This month, JFCS will recognize and honor Genocide Awareness and Prevention Month by highlighting the resilience of some of our past and current clients on our social media channels. As we share their stories, we invite you to learn more about these survivors of identity-based violence and more about the work JFCS does with them and with other refugees and immigrants.
If you are interested in supporting the work JFCS services, including our work with Holocaust survivors, refugees and immigrants, you can donate online today.