By Reporter staff

Jewish Family Service announced that it is expanding the We Remember You program in order to help members of the Jewish community all year-round. Fund-raising will now be done during the pre-Passover season, rather than the period before the High Holidays. Tax-deductible donations should be sent to JFS with “We Remember You” written on the memo line. Checks should be mailed to Jewish Family Service, 500 Clubhouse Rd., Vestal, NY 13850.

“We decided to expand the program to include all the Jewish holidays, but to do our major fund-raising during the spring season,” said Rose Shea, director of JFS. “We will continue to help the 17 families who receive these funds in order to help them celebrate all Jewish holidays. Plus, I will continue to check in with them to see how they are doing throughout the year, just as I do now.” 

We Remember You originally focused on providing meals for Rosh Hashanah with community members and local grocery stores donating food that was passed out to those in need. The program later included gift certificates to grocery stores for those who wanted to purchase their own meals. When the COVID pandemic began, the focus turned to raising funds, which were then provided to JFS recipients to purchase their own meals. 

“What we realized,” Shea said, “is that we don’t just remember people on Rosh Hashanah. JFS raises and distributes funds throughout the year for all the holidays. We decided to combine this under one heading: we remember our community members all year-round! However, the main fund-raiser will be before Passover.”

Shea noted that the community has always been very generous, but she believes moving the fund-raising to the spring will benefit the community. “There are so many fund-raising campaigns and other expenses due in the fall that we decided it would be easier for people to donate in the spring,” she added. “The amount of support this community provides to its members in need is amazing and I am proud to be part of this effort.”