This year was all about the volunteers.

Jewish Family Service’s 2026 Annual Meeting was held on March 24, 2026 at the Mayerson JCC, to a full house and, for the first time, captions in Russian as well as English. It featured Jewish Family Service CEO Liz Vogel and Board President Ellen Feld, MD. But at its core, Jewish Family Service went out of its way to appreciate its donors and its volunteers, from the thank-yous spoken from the stage right down to the Graeter’s ice cream in the back.

Challenging Times

In her keynote, Vogel spoke about looking for the sparkle—the joy—despite difficult times. And she shared some of the places she found that sparkle: in the good JFS does, and in the community that cares about JFS and uses its services.

These are challenging times, said Vogel, and she expects needs to remain high in 2026. Despite this, she said, in 2025, “We helped more people than ever before….[And] we moved people from dark to light.”

Linda Kean, JFS’s Chief Operating Officer, offered some uplifting statistics about JFS’s volunteers overall. In 2025, increasing pressures on the government safety net meant a client increase of almost 20 percent. A record number of clients—3,488—were served. Partly in response, JFS was able to double its numbers of volunteers, also to a new record—nearly 175 people. In total, these volunteers gave 1,539 hours, which calculates out to about a half hour per client.

Volunteer of the Year Award Winners 

Then Kean offered the surprise of the night: three Volunteer of the Year award winners instead of just one. This year the Miriam Dettlebach Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service was handed out three times, all to volunteers at the Heldman Family Food Pantry at the Barbash Family Vital Support Center. Each person has volunteered for 14 years or longer. 

The three Miriam Dettlebach Award recipients were Judy Barnett, Kim Juran, and Nancy Steinberg Warren.

About Judy Barnett, Kean said, “Every Wednesday, for the past 14-plus years, Judy has been helping clients shop and overseeing distributions from the freezer with enthusiasm. Judy’s joyful presence, week in and week out, has helped create a warm and welcoming environment. Occasionally, we do allow her to go on vacation and visit family in Israel; we are grateful that she returns quickly. Upon learning that she was receiving this award, Judy shared, ‘I’m very humbled to be helping people in need, they are very gracious, and I love doing it.’

About Kim Juran, Kean said, “No one delivers groceries quite like Kim. Her role is Chief Schlepper, and she owns it with grace and a smile. Kim has let us know that she will be retiring from her role. Asked her reaction on hearing she won this award, Kim shared, ’I was inspired to donate my time to JFS by my in-laws, Bob and Sue Juran, who continued delivering groceries for JFS well into their eighties. Their dedication motivated me to get involved. I have learned so much from the people I’ve had the privilege to help.’”

About Nancy Steinberg Warren, Kean said, “Nancy packs groceries with such frequency you might confuse her with staff.  We call Nancy a powerhouse for her sheer speed and strength. She has served on our board for 11-plus years and as our Board President from 2021 to 2023. 

“Liz Vogel shared, ‘Nancy lives the call to engage in gemilut hasadim (acts of loving-kindness). Her level of service can be described as emulating our creator. She is a strategic contributor to our board leadership and generously steps forward to help others at every opportunity.’ When asked why she likes volunteering, Nancy said, ‘I like that it's not brassy or loud. It's behind the scenes, which is a good fit for my personality. But I know that my minor contributions facilitate the overall important mission and impact of JFS.’” 

In Closing

In closing, Liz Vogel asked the audience and the community to help Jewish Family Service move forward, saying, “We have proven, this past year, that we have the power to transform lives and help our community thrive. You have made it possible, and together we will make it possible again in 2026.”