November’s Adoption Awareness Month Campaign Every November for Adoption Awareness Month, JFS partners with WTVR CBS 6 to present “A Hand to Hold,” a multimedia campaign spotlighting children in Central Virginia’s foster care system waiting for a loving family. Each day in November, CBS 6 will air the unique story of a youth or teen […]
Spotlight on JFS Social Workers
The theme of this year’s Social Work Month is #SocialWorkersAreEssential, and JFS is spotlighting our own essential social workers from around the agency! You’ll get a peek into an average day, hear why they decided to become a social worker, and learn what it takes to do the job. Please join us in honoring and […]
Connecting Hearts at JFS Connected Hearts This November
November is Adoption Awareness Month. Since 2015, Connecting Hearts at JFS has celebrated with the “A Hand to Hold” campaign in partnership with WTVR CBS 6. Every day in November, CBS 6 features a child or sibling group in foster care awaiting adoption in central Virginia on Virginia This Morning, the evening news and their […]
Connecting Hearts helps kids meet potential forever families
This article was originally published by WTVR CBS 6. Click HERE to read Connecting Hearts: Program lets foster kids meet potential forever families in the original format. The need for families to adopt foster children in Virginia is great, but experts say taking the leap to become an adoptive parent can seem scary at first. A […]
Fighting for Children this Foster Care Awareness Month
“There is nothing like having someone there who can support you and care for you” says Chris, 24 years old, CEO of a local music label. For Chris, having a permanent loving home was not always guaranteed. Chris’s life in the foster care system began at three years old. He was placed into foster care […]
A Word from JFS Adoption: Halloween Edition
Happy Halloween! By: JFS Adoption Some kids begin to brainstorm what they would like to be for Halloween months in advance and cannot wait until it is finally October 31st. But for a lot of children, Halloween can be either really confusing or really scary. Why do you have to dress up to get candy? […]
JFS Adoption Partners with Connecting Hearts
In 1953, JFS assisted with its first infant adoption in the Richmond Community. This came at a time when the Ladies Hebrew Benevolent Association (LHBA), now JFS, wanted programs to better care for families and children. In the sixty years since the birth of the adoption program, JFS has expanded its adoption options to serve […]
Adoption First Language
The words we use when communicating have value. They not only convey fact, but they evoke feeling. Using positive adoption language helps to dispel adoption myths, emphasize the importance of family and reflect the true nature of adoption. By using accurate adoption language we help educate others and diminish the misconceptions of adoption. Terms to […]
Loneliness and Isolation: A New Epidemic Among Elders
Anyone can feel lonely—even people who are surrounded by family. Asim Shah, MD, professor and vice chair for community psychiatry in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine, defines loneliness as an emotion that strikes when someone feels socially isolated. That feeling can set in within a marriage, at […]
JFS participating in The Race to Parenthood 5k
The Race to Parenthood 5k is the featured event and fundraiser for the Road to Parenthood, a volunteer run, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that promotes infertility awareness, education, and support to help those who struggle on their path to parenthood. The race raises funds for the Road to Parenthood and the Road to Parenthood Grant Fund […]