by Susie
Davidson
Advocate
Correspondent
BOSTON - On
June 20, Lisa Schiffman will be acknowledged for volunteer effort above and
beyond when she receives the first annual Jewish Family and Children’s Services
Simone Lottor Exceptional Service Award. Schiffman has coordinated
JF&CS’s Jewish Community Information Service since 1992, which aids
individuals who seek information on all aspects of the Jewish community, is
also a site coordinator with Family Table (Greater Boston’s Kosher food
pantry), and has volunteered at the JF&CS’s Friendly Visitor program
for isolated elders.
“For
information,” says JF&CS’s Diane Nahabedian, “as a friend
to an older adult, or making sure every family has enough to eat, JF&CS
volunteer extraordinaire Lisa Schiffman has been there.”
Schiffman
is also the Department of Transportation (DOT) Liaison Librarian in the
Engineering and Science Libraries at MIT, where she provides reference and
research services to the Library at the Volpe National Transportation Systems
Center (U.S. Dept. of Transportation), and a Reference Librarian in MIT's
Barker Engineering and its Science Library.
“I
spend my workdays helping patrons find information on all sorts of
topics,” she says, “including science, engineering and
transportation. I use books and, more frequently, on-line databases for this
research. And I spend [some of] my volunteer hours at the Jewish Community
Information Service helping callers find information on a wide range of topics
related to the Jewish Community.”
In true
altruistic form, Schiffman appears to get as much as she gives. “I get
such a huge amount of personal satisfaction from volunteering," she says.
"I help people in my professional career, and can continue to do the same
in my personal life. My parents were also very involved in volunteer work, and
now my daughter is volunteering while she is in graduate school. It is an
important legacy to pass on.
“Through
the Jewish Community Information Service, I am available when a family is
looking for a mohel, someone is looking for their great grandmother’s
cemetery plot as they trace their family lineage, singles want to meet other
singles in the Jewish community and need to know how to begin, or parents are
looking for Hebrew school.”
A New York
native, Schiffman graduated from Wellesley College. “I was introduced to
JF&CS,” she recalls, “because my mother’s health was
failing and we needed services. One Friday evening I went to a Shabbat service
heard Leonard Fein say that ‘more elderly would die from loneliness than
anti-Semitism’. I decided to extend my volunteer hours, and became a
Friendly Visitor.”
“If it weren’t for Lisa
Schiffman,” says Nahabedian, “there would be countless individuals
and families searching for answers. Imagine the difference Lisa Schiffman has
made in the lives of so many individuals in the community just by volunteering
her time each week.”
The award,
to be presented annually to a JF&CS volunteer who exemplifies the values of
Tzedakah and service to the community, was created by the Lottor Family in
honor of the memory of Simone Lottor, who volunteered in JF&CS programs
such as Visiting Moms, Friend to Friend, Home Care and Home Health Programs.
“Simone took our work into her
heart and made it her work,” says Peggy Kaufman, Director of
JF&CS’s Center for Early Relationship Support.
Lisa
Schiffman makes no change in her dedication or duties. “If you've got a
question,” she says, “give us a call at 617-558-1278, ext.
260.”
The award
presentation will be on Thursday June 20, at a luncheon given by JF&CS.
The Board
of Directors and staff of JF&CS wish to recognize Lisa for her hard work
and dedication to the Greater Boston community and our agency.
------------------------------------------------------------------------Jewish
Family and Children's Services : News
JF&CS
participates in Feinstein Foundation matching grant to fight hunger Fri Apr 19
16:20:18 2002 Alan Shawn Feinstein, 70, of Cranston, Rhode Island, is offering
$1 million as seed money to nonprofit agencies that help fight hunger.
JF&CS/Family Table, Greater Boston's Kosher food pantry, is among the
Jewish community agencies nationwide participating in this effort.
For the past five years, The Feinstein
Foundation has offered a Challenge Grant of $1 million each year, to be divided
among organizations that use it as a fundraising spur to raise money to fight
hunger in their communities. The money is divided proportionately among all
agencies who participate in this two-month program, which began on March 1, and
ends on April 30, 2002.
To participate in this fundraising
effort, please make a donation to JF&CS/Family Table before the end of
April (click on our "giving" link, or go to
http://www.jfcsboston.org/giving.shtml). A proportionate amount of the
Feinstein money will be added to your donation, and the larger your donation,
the more money JF&CS/Family Table gets to fight hunger here in Boston.
Annual Meeting will welcome Alan Dana as
new President Fri Apr 12 14:45:02 2002 JF&CS is pleased to announce the
installation of Alan Dana as the new President of our Board of Directors. This
will take place at our 56th Annual Meeting on May 15. This year's theme for the
meeting will be "Celebrating JF&CS Senior Services: A Safety Net for
Our Community."
About JF&CS | Events/News | Programs
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Phone:
617.227.6641 All content ©2001 Jewish Family & Children's Services
> I've
attached an article by Diane Nahabedian of Jewish Family and
>
Children's Service, which you are welcome to use as source material if you
> decide
to write a freelance piece for the Advocate.
>
Lisa
Schiffman
Jewish
Family & Children’s Service
Exceptional
Volunteer
---
"Lisa S. Schiffman" <lsschiff@MIT.EDU> wrote:
I've
attached the press release from Jewish Family & Children's Service
describing the Simone Lottor Exceptional Service Award. Should you have
difficulty with the text attachment, you can read the text on the JF&CS
website at http://www.jfcsboston.org/news.shtml