CJFS Personal Care Program Celebrates 20 Years!
The CJFS Personal Care Program, which provides in-home assistance to low-and moderate-income seniors, is celebrating its 20th year! Watch this short video to learn all this program does to support independence and enrich quality of life!
Boy, do we have fun when Mary Horn of UAB Arts in Medicine comes to CARES! #movement UAB Heersink School of Medicine
Bowling at our CJFS CARES dementia program is just part of the fun! To learn more, contact Program Director Pam Leonard, [email protected] or 205.960.0806. #dementiacare #respitecare #bhamal
Thank you John Scalici and Get Rhythm for bringing your drums and music to CJFS CARES! CARES provides 4 hours of respite care that is fun, engaging and loving! To learn more, call Pam Leonard at 205.960.3411. @johnscalici #dementiacare #drumcircle #bhamal
CJFS CARES is back - live and in person - and it is FUN! CARES is 4 hours of cognitive, social and physical engagement for people with memory/movement disorders. To learn more, contact Program Director Pam Leonard, [email protected] or 205.960-3411.
If you didn't get to hear CJFS CARES Director Pam Smitherman Leonard and caregiver Ashley McDuff Clarke on The Morning Blend With Reg & Will last week, here's your chance! Ashley discusses the challenges of being a dementia caregiver, and Pam provides information about our amazing respite program! Many thanks to our friends Scott Register and Will Lochamy at @birminghammountainradio! #dementia #caregivers #bhamal #BHM @regscoffeehouse
Thanks to our generous supporters, Hands Up Together 2021 honoring Nancy Collat Goedecke raised more than $330,000 to provide care and support for older adults, regardless of their faith or financial ability! #generosity #bekind #kindness
Our Hands Up Together 2021 Sponsors
CJFS Pandemic Partnerships
Serving Seniors During the Pandemic
CJFS works with community partners to enrich life and support independence for individuals and families
Watch as CJFS pivots to meet the needs of our clients during the COVID-19 global pandemic.
CJFS 'Pivoting During a Pandemic'
Watch as CJFS pivots during the COVID-19 global pandemic to meet the needs of their clients.
CJFS CARES Sing-Along Songs, Volume 2
You asked for it and here it is!! Volume 2 of CJFS CARES Sing-Along Songs for those with dementia & Alzheimer's. CJFS CARES Assistant Program Director Elise Lapidus Grace and local singer/actor Greg Womble sing favorites from years past that are sure to bring a smile to your face. Download and print the songbook so you and your loved-one can sing along:https://cjfsbham.org/tyfoon/site/fckeditor/CARES%20songbook%20Volume%202.pdf
Suzanne Remembers Mom at CARES
Suzanne Gibson Moseley's volunteer experience at CJFS CARES, working with adults affected by dementia, brought joy into her life after she lost her mother to the same disease.
CJFS Serves Older Adults in Greater Bham, Regardless of Faith or Financial Ability
Through CJFS, Margie is able to continue living independently after a stroke, Shmuel finds community on the Buz-A-Bus and Suzanne achieves healing through giving back, after her mother's death from Alzheimer's disease. Collat Jewish Family Services is a United Way of Central Alabama partner agency that provides care and support for older adults, regardless of faith or financial ability. Learn more at www.cjfsbham.org ... Video Production by John Kacker and Jason Ruha of Protagonist Digital
Marianne: My Life Can Still Be Active ...
After a severe stroke forced her to prematurely give up her career, her home and her car, Marianne Dreyspring was determined to stay independent and engaged with the world. See how CJFS' Personal Care, Transportation and Cyber-Seniors programs help keep Marianne happy and active!
Volunteering at CJFS CARES
Volunteers are esssential to the daily operation and long-term success of our CARES respite program, which provides four hours/day of cognitive, physical and social stimulation for people with dementia and related disorders. Many volunteers in this program are themselves older adults, including Bobby Fierman and Alan Berman, who are featured in this wonderful video by Jason Ruha and John Kacker of Protagonist Digital!
Birmingham Sunlights at CJFS' 2018 Hands Up Together Event
The Birmingham Sunlights' memorable rendition of "Didn't It Rain" during Collat Jewish Family Services' 2018 "Hands Up Together" event, featuring Eric Essix & Friends. The annual event provides funding for CJFS programs that enrich life and support independence for older adults in greater Birmingham, regardless of faith or financial ability.
Ivy Defeats the Odds
For Ivy Smith, a kidney transplant meant a chance to live a full life ... but it has also brought great challenges. Through CJFS, Ivy gets where she needs to go, including her doctor visits, despite having had to give up her car. Ivy's story is one of several we shared at Sunday's Hands Up Together 2018 event honoring Karen and Joel Piassick at Dorothy Jemison Day Theater at ASFA. Thanks to Jason Ruha and John Kacker and Kristi Dougherty Walker for producing this video, and many thanks to our generous sponsors and attendees. See Ivy's story here!
Living Independently ... With a Little Help
A disabling neurological disease has not kept Birmingham resident George Medlock from making music - or from continuing to live on his own. In this short video, George shares his inspiring story.
How the CARES respite program helped Jeff and Mary Ash find c...
When Jeff and Mary Ash moved to Birmingham to seek better care for his early-onset dementia, they didn't know a lot of people. That changed when Jeff began attending CJFS CARES, a respite program that provided cognitive, social and physical stimulation for him and a break for her. Along the way, they found a community where they were accepted and supported.
Margy's Story
When Margy Rosenbaum reached her 90s, she decided it was time to give up her car - and she worried. How would she stay connected to friends, get to the beauty parlor, avoid feeling isolated and depressed? Today, Margy doesn’t worry about any of that, because the purple CJFS Buz-A-Bus keeps her on the go!
CJFS Cyber Seniors
If you've been wondering what happens at CJFS Cyber Seniors classes, check out this video. Better yet, sign up! A few spaces remain in the current class at the Friedman Center for Jewish Life on Overton Road! You'll be paired with a Samford University student who can help you learn to use your smartphone, tablet and/or laptop. ALL faiths are WELCOME and classes are FREE, but REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED! Remaining classes are at 1 pm Sept. 26; Oct 3, 17 & 24; Nov 7 & 14. To register or learn more, contact [email protected] or 205.278.7118.
CARES Summer Concert Series
We're having a GREAT time at this year's CARES Summer Concerts - a fun and friendly place for dementia patients and their loved ones to socialize. Thanks to the Birmingham Jewish Foundation and Central Alabama Aging Consortium for funding this program, and thanks to Hollye Horton, Gregory Odrezin and the other talented musicians who have made these concerts a success! The July 14 concert will feature the Red Mountain Theatre Company Performing Ensemble, and on July 28 we'll hear our talented friend Nancy Hastings Hornsby! All concerts are at 1 pm at the Friedman Center for Jewish Life, 3100 Overton Rd. CARES Summer Concerts are free, but registration is required! For more information or to sign up, contact Jennifer Nemet, [email protected] or 205.879.3438. For more information about CJFS CARES, visit http://cjfsbham.org/cjfs-cares-2/
CJFS HUT 2017 Sponsors
At our Hands Up Together event on May 16, CJFS raised more than $180,000 to provide care and support for older adults, regardless of faith or financial ability. We couldn't have done it without the support of our generous sponsors!
CJFS 2017 Client Video
How does CJFS enrich life for older and disabled adults? For Margy, it’s the Buz-A-Bus, which helps her maintain important friendships. For George, it’s a personal care attendant who tidies up his apartment. For Jeff, it’s the CARES respite program, which provides him with cognitive, physical and social stimulation and gives his wife, Mary, a few hours for herself. We're grateful to these CJFS clients for sharing their stories. They're among hundreds in greater Birmingham who live independently, with an enriched quality of life, with help from CJFS!
Hands Up Together 2017 Sponsors
We are SO grateful to our 2017 Hands Up Together event sponsors, who helped us raise more than $180,000 to serve older adults, regardless of their faith or financial ability! The event at Dorothy Jemison Day Theater - Alabama School of Fine Arts on May 16 honoring Sherri Corenblum Romanoff and David Romanoff was a huge success, and we couldn't have done it without you! Karen Allen Nancy Collat Goedecke Charlie Collat Emily Hess Levine Gail L. Bayer Annie Bayer Goldberg Brownell Travel David Roberson Cobb Hazelrig Ricki Kline Judy Kriger Marjorie Perlman Lee Ann Petty Regions Bank Steve Royal Bunny Rotenstreich Ed Meyerson Candy Meyerson Carole Marcus Pizitz James Sokol Robin Libby Bloomston Marc Bloomston Adrienne Biel Brook Barbara Royal Eleanor Rose Godfrey-Burnick Daniel Burnick Michelle Bearman-Wolnek EBSCO Industries, Inc. Ilene Engel Lisa Rosen Engel Brenda Friedman Amy Goldstein Chauvin Gary Gordon Melanie Parker Grinney Ricky Koslin Lyons J Heyman Jr Rochelle Hanan Koslin Michael Koslin Donna Kraselsky Sheri Krell Jerry Sklar Jean Marcus Sklar Roy Berger Andi Berger Brian Perlman Stuart Royal Schaeffer Eye Center