Leave a Legacy

The Hebrew Shelter Home is an important part of Lois Davis’s life. “It’s because I grew up a treasured child and was a loved wife,” she explains. “I was very fortunate to have been taken care of with love all of my life. Here there are people who weren’t as lucky as I was, and I want to help them.” That’s why Davis has established a $1 million endowment fund to support the Hebrew Shelter Home. The home provides temporary shelter in a kosher setting for women and children in the Jewish community facing homelessness and domestic violence. Working with the Jewish Federation of Cleveland and JFSA, Davis set up the fund to annually support the home’s capital improvements and programming for at-risk families there. Davis says she hopes The Lois J. and Larry Davis Family Endowment Fund –named after her and her late husband – will inspire others to join this effort and help raise the endowment to $3.5 million, which would significantly reduce the need for annual fundraising for the Home.

JFSA Life Director Dee Kleinman admits she had limited knowledge of JFSA at first. “I didn’t know much about JFSA prior to joining a committee in the late 90’s,” says Dee, who was recruited to
volunteer by a dear friend. That changed quickly as Dee became more involved in the agency. “I’m so impressed by the variety of services JFSA offers the community and by the professionalism of the staff. They really care about their clients.”

Besides serving as the Chair of the Volunteer Services and Community Engagement Committee, Dee has a special connection with JFSA’s College Financial Aid Program. Ten years ago, Dee created a named scholarship in her granddaughter’s honor to support college seniors and graduate students. “My granddaughter was graduating from college and I wanted to give her a meaningful gift,” explains Dee. “Creating a scholarship for those in need seemed like the perfect idea. Every year, my granddaughter and I choose the scholarship winners together. It’s a wonderful experience to be able to share with her and it’s very fulfilling to know we are helping someone else achieve their goals.”

It’s just one of the many ways Dee leads by example. She knows her time and financial support have a significant impact. “JFSA is a community,” says Dee. “The board members, staff, volunteers and clients – we are a community.”

Chicky Drost (of blessed memory) a JFSA Life Director, said her first memories of JFSA were when her father, Archie Drost, served on the board in the 1970’s. “Our family has been supportive of JFSA for a long time,” explained Chicky, who has witnessed the agency’s growth. “Over the years JFSA has become a solid organization with many amazing programs. It is stronger now than ever before.”

In 1990, the Commerce Park office building was renamed “The Drost Family Center” in recognition of the major support provided by the Drost family. Chicky saw firsthand the positive effects JFSA has had on a family member who has lived in one of JFSA’s residential homes for a number of years. “My cousin is well taken care of,” says Chicky. “She loves her roommates and JFSA is very attuned to her sensitivities. The fact that she has a place to call home is wonderful.”

Chicky had always known about the diverse challenges people face. “The community needs are always changing and fortunately for us, JFSA is always there,” she says. “The agency touches so many lives in so many ways. Cleveland without JFSA would be a bleak place.”

Norm Wain (of blessed memory) enjoyed a successful career as a prominent businessman in the radio industry, but his life was not without challenges. Norm moved to Cleveland in 1954 and by the early 60’s was invited to join the JFSA Board. He knew JFSA helped the community, but he never expected he would be on the receiving end of services. “Never in a million years did I think I would need JFSA services, but in the late 60’s, I found myself in a deep depression.”

Knowing what JFSA had to offer, Norm made an appointment with a counselor. “He opened me up right away and got to the basis of my problems,” says Norm, who came to realize that work and family stress were causing his issues. “Depression is real and it’s debilitating. But he lifted the veil from my face. I was able to unburden myself and that is how I got healthy again.” Upon his counselor’s suggestion, Norm began to educate himself about business and sales and as a result his whole life changed. “I owe all my success to JFSA and the counselor who told me I wasn’t crazy. I
don’t know where I’d be today without him.”

Norm attributes JFSA’s continuing success with its ever growing mission. “In the 60’s, JFSA had a fairly narrow mission. Today the breadth of services is surprising,” he notes. “JFSA practices Tikkun Olam in everything they do. I would advise any family, Jewish or not, to come to JFSA for help.”

JFSA Board Member Jon Wise is eager to tell people about the benefits of the Holistic Recovery Services offered through JFSA. For the past 10 years, these services have enabled his family member who struggles with mental illness to grow and live more independently. “A person who has a mental illness needs more support than the family alone can give,” explains Jon. “This program allows individuals to spend time with people who don’t look at you like you’re different. The stigma is gone.”

In 2011, the Planned Lifetime Assistance Network of Northeast Ohio (PLAN) merged with the mental health programs offered through JFSA’s Ascentia, allowing PLAN members greater access to valuable wrap-around services like representative payee services, employment services, pooled disability trust funds and case management. “These are vital resources for families who can’t do it all themselves,” explains Jon, who previously served on PLAN’s board of directors. “It’s been an enormous help and brings us peace of mind.”

Jon also knows how important it is that families know their loved ones are taken care of even after the family is gone. “It’s important for the community to support those with mental illness,” he says. “They need guidance. Who’s going to do it if we don’t?”

The Miller Good family’s multi-generational support of JFSA is as exceptional as it is inspiring. Their legacy begins in the 1950’s with matriarch and former JFSA Board Chair Anne Miller*. “My grandmother’s first love was JFSA,” explains Sid Good, a third generation board member. “Even after her term as President was completed in 1956, she remained an active board member for many, many years. Helping others was her passion.”

That passion endures today as the Good family continues to serve the community. Anne’s daughter and JFSA Life Director Sally Good helped launch the Families at Risk division. She and Sid also serve on several JFSA committees and participate in agency volunteer activities, often recruiting the fourth generation of Goods to get involved. “Giving back to the community is just something you do,” says Sid. “I grew up watching my grandparents and parents help others. Those are values I know my niece and nephews are learning, too.”

One reason the Good family continues to support JFSA is the dynamic nature of the agency. “JFSA has kept up with the times,” explains Sally, who notes that the needs are continuous, but ever changing. “JFSA has always been one step ahead of the curve,” adds Sid. But anticipating needs is only part of the equation. “It’s the quality of the services we offer that has sustained the agency for 140 years. At the end of the day it’s all about caring for those in need,” says Sid. “That was something that my grandmother always understood. I think she’d be thrilled with JFSA today.”

JFSA Life Director and former Board Chair Bill Wortzman grew up in the inner city of Cleveland in the 1940’s with his mother, two brothers, and a sister. “My mother had a full plate,” explains Bill, whose brothers both had mental illness. “In those days if you had children that were mentally ill, you didn’t talk about it. You kept it in the closet. The emotions that you felt as a parent were not able to be expressed.” But Bill’s mother was able to get help from JFSA. “That weekly visit meant everything to my mother,” says Bill who remembers taking a street car and two buses to the JFSA offices at Huron and 6th Street every week. The agency offered much more than counseling. “We were on welfare. I remember JFSA helping us with food and clothing. They helped my brothers.” As Bill got older he craved independence. “As a teenager I thought, ‘I’m never going to ask for help. I’m going to make sure that I can stand tall. I’m going to go to college and get an education’,” explains Bill. “But I didn’t have a dime to go to college.”

Ultimately Bill did turn to JFSA and received a grant which helped him pay for college. “It allowed me to achieve the independence I was looking for,” says Bill. After graduating with two degrees and becoming a successful businessman, Bill decided it was time to give back and volunteer at local nonprofits, including JFSA. “It felt so meaningful because I had come full circle. Here was an organization that had done so much for me, and I felt I had an obligation to help them.” Bill has since established several funds at JFSA, including a scholarship and endowment fund to support mental health programming. He says that although he once felt embarrassed, he now feels pride about his association with JFSA.

Bill also spends personal time with clients as a volunteer delivering Rosh Hashana gift bags to isolated elderly clients on JFSA’s Mitzvah Day. Bill spends extra time with each client, helping to make their holiday a little brighter with conversation along with the gift bag. In addition, Bill leads the effort to raise funds to pay for each gift bag. Last year over 80 gift bags were delivered to clients by individuals.  Thank you Bill for all you do for JFSA!

Trish Adler’s passion for helping others, particularly women suffering from domestic violence, began when she participated in a special training session that would completely change her perspective on domestic violence. “During the training, I came to realize that I had been in emotionally abusive relationships in the past. It was like a light bulb went off. I had never recognized the abuse before.”

After moving to Cleveland in 1996, Trish joined the JFSA Board of Directors to create the agency’s first teen dating violence prevention program. “When I was younger I had no knowledge of the different types of abusive relationships. Maybe if I had, I could have avoided them. That’s why I feel it’s so important to educate teens and give them the tools to recognize abuse.” Today that program is known as “Know Abuse™” and has educated tens of thousands of area teens about healthy dating relationships.

In addition to advocating for teen education, Trish is also dedicated to women survivors of domestic violence. Through her work, Trish became close to three JFSA clients and survivors of domestic violence. “We’re still in touch,” says Trish. “We talk on the phone and I have them over for dinner. Their stories are incredible and I’m happy to see them doing so well.” Trish continues to work with JFSA because she understands how essential the agency is for the community. “There are so many different needs,” says Trish. “JFSA is a safety net. Without it, people would have nowhere to turn.”