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The History of Jewish Family Services
In 1898, a visionary group of Jewish leaders from Wilmington embarked on a journey to improve people’s lives in the community. Originally named the Hebrew Charity Association, the organization’s early mission was clear:
To alleviate the suffering of unfortunate members of our Jewish community; to assist them to become self-supporting; to act as a peace committee to adjust the differences between member of the Jewish community; and to perform all such duties as may come before us in the name of charity.
By November 1930, the Hebrew Charity Association was incorporated, comprising 17 signatories who met regularly in an office at the corner of Eighth and Orange Streets in Wilmington. Under the 23-year leadership of Morris Levy, the organization achieved great stability, touching lives through financial, legal and medical aid.
By the 1960s,
services had expanded dramatically and the agency’s name
was changed to Jewish Family Service of Delaware. In
2005 the agency again changed its name to Jewish Family
Services of Delaware. Today the agency serves more than
1600 individuals throughout the Brandywine Valley and
Delaware.
JFS continues to evolve to
this day, yet its core mission has never changed:
To provide counseling, care management and
community education, guided by Jewish values, to strengthen the well-being of
the individual, family and community.
JFS
maintains extensive collaborative partnerships nationally, statewide and
locally. These collaborations serve to strengthen our programs, assist in
advocating for our clients raising public awareness and offer the best
practices. The partnerships include the State’s Department of Children Youth and
Their Families, the Department of Health and Social Services and non-profit
agencies including senior centers, community centers, youth groups, educational
institutions & retirement communities. Agencies that maintain contractual
relationships for JFS services including but not limited to
West End Neighborhood
House Life Lines program,
B’nai B’rith House, Ministry of Caring, the YMCA
Resource Center, United Cerebral Palsy and Bayada Nurses. JFS
is also associated with an extensive network of social service organizations
throughout the state including the Coalition for Children and Family Agencies
and the Delaware Aging Network.
JFS is a
partner agency of the United Way of Delaware, a constituent agency
of the Jewish Federation of Delaware and a member of the national
Association of Jewish Family and Children’s Agencies. Its services are
fully accredited by the Council on Accreditation.
Past Presidents
1899–1922 Morris Levy*
1923–1924 Louis Topkis*
1925 Charles K. Breuer*
1926 Max Keil*
1927–1929 Louis Topkis*
1930–1931 Charles K. Breuer*
1932–1934 I. B. Finkelstein*
1935–1936 Nathan Miller*
1937 Max Keil*
1938–1940 Henry Tavel*
1941–1942 Nathan Miller*
1943–1944 Max Keil*
1945–1947 Philip Cohen*
1948–1949 David S. Keil*
1950–1951 Charles Lipstein*
1952–1954 Hillard Greenstein*
1955–1957 E. M. Budner*
1958–1960 Adolph Markel, Jr.
1961–1962 Julian Agroos*
1963–1964 Edward Schall
1965–1966 Charles Klein*
1967 Jacob Balick |
1968–1969 Marilyn Gelb*
1970–1971 Judith Wilk
1972–1973 Theodore C. Zutz
1974–1975 Andrew Miller
1976–1977 Bernard Kreshtool*
1978–1980 James Chaikin
1980–1982 Ruth Balick
1982–1984 Irwin Engelson
1984–1986 Gilbert Sloan
1986–1988 Efrem Lieber
1988–1990 Leslie Newman
1990–1992 Norman Pernick
1992–1994 Joan Wachstein
1994–1996 David Krigstein*
1996–1998 Lawrence Drexler
1998–2000 Andrew Aerenson
2000–2002 Glenn Engelmann
2002-2004 Jill Engel Flambaum
2004-2006 Stephen R. Tanny
2006–2008 Natalie Woloshin
2008-2010
Steven A. Colton
2010-Present
Arlene Wilson
*Deceased
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