Volunteer Service Descriptions

Jewish Family Service Board of Directors

Community members in California’s Coachella Valley are recruited to serve on the board of directors. Board members serve an initial one-year term, followed by two-year terms, if re-elected. Board meetings are held nine to 10 times a year, and members are expected to serve on at least one committee. There is an annual meeting, usually held in April. (see JFS Board of Directors)

Board Committees

Our board of directors also oversees numerous standing committees, such as fund-raising, communications and strategic planning. Committee membership comes from the board of directors and the community at large. Committee service has no set term, and is an excellent way for people to learn about our services, programs, and operations. If you’re interested in serving on the board of directors at some point, committee membership is a great way to get started.

Office Aides

Volunteer office aides work a minimum of four hours a week at our main location in Palm Springs, Calif. While tasks vary based on the skills of the volunteer, they tend to include greeting clients; answering the telephone; filing; organizing client records; and data entry for those with computer skills.

Friendly Visiting

One of our more popular volunteer efforts is called "Friendly Visitors." Under the supervision of the volunteer coordinator, these loving people visit homebound older adults weekly. They provide isolated seniors with companionship and social interaction. Those visited live in their homes, retirement communities, assisted living facilities or nursing homes.

Transportation Assistance

Many of our volunteers drive seniors on errands. It may entail a trip to the supermarket, the bank, a senior center or a doctor’s office. We also partner with Volunteer Driver Corps, a program of Partnership to Preserve Independent Living For Seniors and Persons with Disabilities. This program matches volunteer drivers with seniors and adults with disabilities, and the drivers may receive monthly reimbursement for each person they help.

Shabbat Welcome

It’s hard for elderly and disabled seniors to attend religious services. So we take a “Shabbat Welcome” program to them! Trained volunteers visit nursing and retirement facilities each Friday to conduct a special Shabbat program. Traditional blessings are read, including lighting of candles and reciting of the Kiddush, a blessing over the Sabbath wine. Some volunteers either sing songs or tell stories. As much a social activity as a religious ceremony, Shabbat Welcome gives Jewish residents at these facilities a place to acknowledge their heritage and faith in a warm and joyful way. Everyone is welcome!

Telephone Reassurance

Volunteers make regular telephone calls to isolated seniors and adults that want or need daily contact with someone else. It may be a senior whose children live thousands of miles away, or a disabled veteran who is lonely. This service reassures at-risk adults, trying to help them feel a part of the community, and know that JFS will respond quickly if and when help is needed.

Chanukah and Passover Food Baskets

Each year, our volunteers prepare and deliver packages of food in keeping with these Jewish holidays—to an average of 50 homes twice a year. For example, the Chanukah baskets include a menorah, candles, fruit and bread. The local chapter of B’nai B’rith, which has helped fund the project since its inception, is the primary supporter of this program.

Complete guidelines are outlined in our Volunteer Manual, which is available by calling our office. If you have questions about volunteering, please call Gladys Becker at 760/325-4088.

If interested in taking the next step, please complete our Volunteer Inquiry Form.


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