JF&CS tribute dinner executive cochair Evan Gartenberg, right, with agency president Chris Katz
If you go
What: JF&CS 26th Annual Tribute Dinner
When: Thursday, Oct. 8, 6:30-10 p.m.
Where: Congregation Ohev Shalom-Marlboro Jewish Center
Cost: $150/person; raffle tickets are available at $100 for a five-day vacation at the Marriott Grand Cayman
Info: Contact 732-774-6886 or jfcsmoncty@jfcsmonmouth.org
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JF&CS tribute dinner executive cochair Laura Krantz said the event “should be an amazing night.”
September 21, 2009
With the economy stagnant and outside sources of revenue strained, the Jewish Family & Children’s Service of Greater Monmouth County is counting on its annual tribute dinner as an important source of funds.
“Every year the tribute dinner is our largest fund-raiser of the year,” said dinner executive cochair Laura Krantz of Wayside. “It should be an amazing night.”
The Oct. 8 dinner will honor Barry Fisher of Manalapan, and will feature a roast with New York Post sports columnist Phil Mushnick, an ad journal, and a silent auction.
The dinner comes as the agency struggles to maintain its funding sources. Executive director Paul Freedman said that JF&CS received $40,000 less in funding from the Jewish Federation of Monmouth County this year than last, and anticipates a cut in 2010 as well. It also lost about half of its $60,000 in contract money for delivery of social services from Monmouth County. Meanwhile, he said, “the demand for services has increased.”
The agency’s programs include in-home counseling for seniors, assistance to Holocaust survivors, adoption services, mental health services, camp scholarships, emergency financial assistance, and a food and clothing pantry.
“We budgeted $100,000 net for this event, and that’s quite a challenge,” said Freedman.
“There are so many programs that JF&CS offers to our local community,” event executive cochair Evan Gartenberg of Long Branch wrote in an e-mail. “People may not be aware, but one of the services that JF&CS provides is adoption assistance. One of my favorite board meetings was having the opportunity to meet a couple that the agency helped adopt a child from a foreign country. The joy that this organization brought to that family was something to be seen.”
Gartenberg, a former JF&CS president and board chair, also cited the agency’s assistance to Holocaust survivors and the elderly in Monmouth County and its offering of mental health and social services “for over 30 years. These are just some of the reasons that I dedicate time to JF&CS.”
While the dinner represents a key source of funding, Freedman said, JF&CS has managed to turn to other avenues for assistance. “You have to have diverse streams of revenue to support” programs, he said.
JF&CS also runs furniture stores in Asbury Park and Long Branch, which sell both used and new items. The Long Branch store, he said, is now “in the black. We’re also looking to possibly open a third store in partnership with an organization in Middlesex County.”
An on-line fund-raising website is also in development.
Faced with the pressures of a down economy, Freedman said, “We’re not taking this lying down; we’re being very proactive. If we don’t make what we budgeted, we’re going to have to take a hard look” at the agency’s programs and services.
“My first obligation is to the organization’s continuance and that it’s going to be there in the future.”
For more information on JF&CS honoree Barry Fisher, see “JF&CS to pay tribute to community activist,” Aug. 4.
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