What a year this has been! With your help, Tampa Jewish Family Services touched the lives of over 13,000 people of all faiths. We did this by providing food, counseling, financial assistance, family programming and referrals. When you stop and think about it, all of this work was done by a staff of eight. I cannot express how dedicated and hardworking they all are. I am very fortunate to have such a team.

Each day we receive phone calls requesting food, funds to help pay an electric bill, money to help cover the mortgage or someone requesting counseling. Sometimes we get requests for something beyond our scope of assistance. When this happens, we will be sure put the individual in touch with those that can assist.

We realize that when we receive a call, the person on the other end can be very frustrated, angry or scared. They also have probably told the same story a dozen times. We start off by listening. Most of the time we know why they are calling and have the answer, but we want to make sure they are heard. Sometimes just listening was all that was needed.