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Los Angeles Jewish Health Online Donation Form Did you know that 75% of the seniors served by Los Angeles Jewish Health rely on government assistance? Meeting their needs is a considerable challenge. Donor and community support is what makes it possible and what makes life at Los Angeles Jewish Health so special. DONATE NOW Los Angeles Jewish Health Tribute Cards Los Angeles Jewish Health Tribute Cards honor, commemorate and recognize life's most important events with a unique message of care and compassion.To make your special Tribute Card purchase and donation today, select from among the cards below, then follow the steps on our easy-to-complete form. You will receive an e-mail notifying you that your Tribute Card has been sent.When the occasion calls for a special remembrance, your purchase of a beautiful Los Angeles Jewish Health Tribute Card and the tax-deductible gift you make with it contribute vital support to LAJHealth's life-enhancing services. You can also request a Tribute Card by phone by calling 818.774.3324

Los Angeles Jewish Health Online Donation FormDid you know that 75% of the seniors served by Los Angeles Jewish Health rely on government assistance? Meeting their needs is a considerable challenge. Donor and community support is what makes it possible and what makes life at Los Angeles Jewish Health so special.DONATE NOWLos Angeles Jewish Health Tribute CardsLos Angeles Jewish Health Tribute Cards honor, commemorate and recognize life's most important events with a unique message of care and compassion.To make your special Tribute Card purchase and donation today, select from among the cards below, then follow the steps on our easy-to-complete form. You will receive an e-mail notifying you that your Tribute Card has been sent.When the occasion calls for a special remembrance, your purchase of a beautiful LAJHealth Tribute Card and the tax-deductible gift you make with it contribute vital support to Los Angeles Jewish Health's life-enhancing services. You can also request a Tribute Card by phone by calling 818.774.3324 Legal Name: Los Angeles Jewish Home for The AgingEIN #: 95-3510024

There is no one single secret ingredient to the Los Angeles Jewish Home’s success. Our extraordinary staff, talented administrators, trailblazing board members, and generous donors all play a critical role in creating the kind of warm, nurturing, supportive environment that has earned the Jewish Home its stellar reputation nationwide. However, one bit of Jewish Home magic deserves special attention: its incredibly dedicated cadre of volunteers, who tirelessly give of themselves—day in and day out—to improve the lives of the seniors we are so privileged to serve. Aylene Kovary Gift Shop Volunteer, Eisenberg At the Jewish Home, volunteering is central to our mission and to the smooth operation of our daily schedule. Volunteers hail from different places (some are loved ones of current or former Jewish Home residents; others are community members who have heard about our work and are excited to join in to help), but they share a common interest and intention, says Stacy Orbach, the Jewish Home’s director of volunteer services. "No matter how they come to us, our volunteers are so grateful for the services we provide to seniors. They understand how much elderly men and women have done for our community, and they are eager to show their appreciation by giving back," she says. Volunteers participate in the life of the Jewish Home in a myriad of ways, from reading to residents, to troubleshooting their technology issues, to assisting with special events. Many bring in their certified therapy dogs to visit with residents and enhance their emotional well-being. Others help lead our growing music therapy program, or simply play an instrument and bring it with them to the Home to share their skill with a deeply grateful audience. Another area of participation for volunteers is our intergenerational programming, which enables kids to spend time with our residents and delight them with their youthful vigor, as the younger generation learns so very much from the seniors. Phil Moser, Book Cart/Book Distribution Volunteer During the initial stages of the pandemic, we had to put a temporary pause on allowing volunteers onto Jewish Home campuses; securing the health of residents is always our top priority. Now, as the ongoing health safety protocols remain in place, we are ready to welcome volunteers back on campus. Volunteers must be vaccinated and have received at least one booster. Even when COVID-19 necessitated isolation, there was another population of volunteers who did not have to vacate the Jewish Home premises: our residents themselves! Many of them spend a portion of their day volunteering in a broad range of capacities, from the mailroom to the arts and crafts studio, to our active Resident Councils. Resident Robert Lehman is just one example. After arriving at the Jewish Home in 2011, he discovered that volunteering helped him put his own challenges in perspective. "When I first got to the Home, I was focused on my own health issues, but then I realized there are so many people here in need of more assistance than I am," he recalls. "Volunteering helped me forget about my own troubles and concentrate instead on uplifting other residents as I worked to meet their various needs." Robert’s volunteer efforts have included serving as President of one of the Jewish Home’s Resident Councils. In that capacity, he would meet each week with Jewish Home staff to address his fellow residents’ questions and concerns. "The council was a vehicle for residents to express their needs and requests, and I am so grateful they confided in me and enabled me to serve them," Robert says. "I did my best to make everybody comfortable, and I worked hard to get people the ‘yes’s’ they were hoping for!" Aylene Kovary helping a patron Stacy points out that, whether they are residents or community members, volunteers make a crucial contribution at the Jewish Home. "Some of our residents can feel isolated from time to time, and volunteers help them feel they’re no longer alone," she says. "In addition to their able minds and bodies, our volunteers bring us unconditional love, which is the greatest gift we could possibly ask for." To learn more about volunteer opportunities at the Jewish Home, contact Stacy Orbach at (818) 774-3219 or [email protected].

This June marks the 50th anniversary of the ordination of the first woman rabbi in the United States. Sally Priesand was ordained on June 3, 1972, on the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) campus in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her professional milestone was a giant step forward for Jewish women, who have in the past half century distinguished themselves in a broad range of influential rabbinical roles. Rabbi Karen Bender is one such pioneering influencer. In her role as chief mission officer of the Los Angeles Jewish Home, she is an invaluable source of wisdom, compassion, nurturing, and care for thousands of residents, who look to her for guidance and counsel. Her presence at the Home is deeply valued by residents, staff, and leadership alike. "Rabbi Bender has the ability to touch people in a special way," says Jewish Home CEO-President Dale Surowitz. "You can see her gift reflected in the faces of our residents during Shabbat services—how she rekindles memories and helps them access heartfelt emotions. We're tremendously fortunate to have her here." Dale is not alone is his admiration. "Rabbi Bender is an extraordinary human being and a truly amazing rabbi," says Andy Berman, chair of the Jewish Home's board of directors. "The fact that she grabs, and holds, the attention of a congregation whose average age is 91, is just incredible. She makes all of us so proud." It's a sentiment widely shared around the Home. "Rabbi Bender has the ability to see the essence of every resident and connect deeply with them, and she lifts up their spirits with her presence, services, music, humor, and love," enthuses Ilana Springer, CEO/administrator of the Jewish Home's Joyce Eisenberg Keefer Medical Center. In characteristically humble fashion, Rabbi Bender is less focused on her own accomplishments than on her gratitude for the path forged by Rabbi Priesand 50 years ago. Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion President Andrew Rehfeld, Ph.D., presents Rabbi Karen Bender with an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity "We live in a patriarchal society, and not everyone likes to see women in leadership roles," she notes. "When women started being ordained, there was a lot of push back, and Rabbi Priesand took the brunt of it. What's remarkable to me is that she carries those memories so elegantly and chooses not to dwell on the negative, but instead to emphasize all the wonderful things she has done and experienced." Perspective, Rabbi Bender says, is everything. "I've now been a rabbi for nearly 30 years. And, thinking back over my experiences, I could really tell the story in two different ways, and I suspect that would be the case for all women rabbis," she says. "We could share countless examples of the ways people tried to keep us down. Or we can tell it as a glorious, joyful story of aspiration, fulfillment, achievement, and creativity. That's definitely the lens through which I see things." For Rabbi Bender, working at the Jewish Home provides a constant opportunity to reflect on the significance of being a woman rabbi. "I know what it means to the elderly Jewish women I have the pleasure of spending time with every day," she says. "I've had female residents tell me they wanted to be a rabbi, but that it wasn't allowed in their day. Seeing me in this position is beyond nachas—it's empowering. And how wonderful, at this stage of their lives, to be validated, not just as Jews, but as Jewish women."

The Los Angeles Jewish Home is fortunate to partner with organizations across the city to provide care for the elderly men and women in our community. One of our frequent collaborators—and invaluable supporters—is The Jewish Community Foundation. This spring, the Home was the proud and grateful recipient of a generous Reimagine Grant from The Foundation, which provided funding to advance our innovative tele-health program. Assistance from The Foundation helps cover the cost of key Jewish Home personnel responsible for rolling out state-of-the-art mobile telehealth carts that allow many of our residents to access high-quality care without leaving the comfort of a Jewish Home campus. Currently, the telehealth program is being piloted on the Grancell Village campus, and plans are to extend it across all Jewish Home facilities—making the future of senior care simpler, easier, and more comfortable than ever before.