(Courtesy of JFSCNJ) Seth Huttel of Springfield and Tara Speyer of Hillside might be new to the board of Jewish Family Service of Central NJ, but their involvement and initiation of programs for all ages and groups of people goes back a while.
Both share a passion for looking out for those in their community and work closely with the JFS volunteer department spearheaded by Danielle McLeer, director; Kathleen Fernandez, food pantry coordinator; and Evely Colon-Coleman, administrative assistant and garden coordinator, to inspire the many volunteers they have involved to go the extra mile.
Huttel has initiated many programs with his fellow JFS board members and members of Congregation Israel of Springfield, and feels particularly devoted to making sure Holocaust survivors celebrate each Jewish holiday with the dignity they deserve. He volunteers in the food pantry regularly, delivers Shabbat and holidays packages for Tomchei Shabbos, and often performs at Café Europa, JFS’ bi-monthly socialization program for Holocaust survivors, and those from the former Soviet Union. He works closely with Debbie Rosenwein, JFS director of Holocaust services, and Greg Yucht, JFS Russian speaking social worker, as well as McLeer, Fernandez and Colon-Coleman, to give out special holiday gifts and treats and have them delivered by volunteers in advance of each Jewish holiday.
JFS board member Tara Speyer works together closely with fellow Hillside community members Ora Sheinson and Bracha Shechter, who initiated the program and head up a committee that formed Tomchei Shabbos of Elizabeth, Hillside and Springfield Shabbat and Holiday Food Packages under the umbrella of the JFS Charlotte Shak Food Pantry. It takes a team of dedicated volunteers who work hard at planning, purchasing, assembling, organizing, and distributing the bi-monthly packages. Larger food distributions take place around all of the holidays. Volunteers of all ages are welcome and students from the Jewish Educational Center elementary, middle and high schools in Elizabeth come regularly in addition to volunteers from the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ.
JFS is grateful for all of its volunteers, donors and staff who are busy at work making sure community members have what they need to celebrate the holidays with joy and dignity.
There is still time to donate to the JFS High Holiday food drive and there will be more distributions for Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Simchat Torah. In the spirit of tikkun olam—making the world a better place—JFS thanks all of its friends and volunteers for their help and wishes everyone a happy and healthy sweet New Year.
To volunteer, contact McLeer at [email protected]. For more information on Tomchei Shabbos, email [email protected]. To make a donation, visit the JFS website at www.jfscentralnj.org/donate.
