Nine area agencies in the general community that help those in need will receive $20,950 in grant funding, according to the Rabbi Robert P. Jacobs Jewish Fund for Human Needs (JFHN). The Jewish Fund, a joint program of the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) and the St. Louis Rabbinical Association (SLRA), with support from the Jewish Federation of St. Louis and its Lubin-Green Foundation, is the vehicle of the organized Jewish community for allocating grants to St. Louis area grassroots social services agencies that have little or no Jewish presence.  

“The agencies receiving funding this cycle do critical work in the St. Louis region,” said JFHN Chair Julie Eastlund. “They represent a broad spectrum of agencies, including an agency that helps formerly incarcerated women get back on their feet, an organization that enables the elderly and those with disabilities to stay in their homes, and two agencies that help teens in under resources neighborhoods get job experience.”

This cycle’s agencies are: 

• Annie’s Hope, $2,400 grant — Provides comprehensive support services for children, teens and their families who are grieving the death of someone significant.  Most clients served are of limited financial means and could not otherwise afford to pay for therapy services as part of the grieving process. 

• Community Women Against Hardship, $1,000 grant — Provides personalized and evidence based programs and services to enable families struggling with poverty to become more self-sufficient.

• English Tutoring Project, $2,400 grant — Provides on-site assistance to children from refugee and immigrant families to acquire English language skills so they can succeed in school and in life.

• Let’s Start, $3,150 — Aims to break the cycle of incarceration in families by working with formerly incarcerated women and their children to provide support for recovery and reintegration, and mitigate the effects of parental imprisonment.

• Lift for Life Gym, $2,400 — Provides St. Louis city children a safe, enriching environment in which to strengthen their bodies, enrich their minds, develop healthy social relationships and learn to make positive life choices.

• North Grand Neighborhood Services (Angel Baked Project), $2,400 grant —Assists youth in North City/County by providing employment and small business training.

• Room at the Inn, $2,400 grant — Provides emergency shelter and a stabilizing support system to women and families in need.

• Safe Homes for the Elderly and Disabled (SHED), $2,400 grant — Provides home maintenance help so that  elderly and disabled clients can live independently and stay in their homes

• St. John Community Improvement Corporation $2,400 grant — Provides afterschool and summer programming, including summer jobs and job training, for at risk youth and literacy and parenting programs for low-income adults 

For more information about JFHN, contact Gail Wechsler at 314-442-3894 or [email protected] or visit jfhn.org.