Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community

Center for Community Services: The Center for Community Services provides assistance to thousands of disabled persons, homebound and isolated seniors, hospice patients, and veterans in Harris County and 18 additional counties in Southeast Texas. The Center administers three national service programs: Foster Grandparents, the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), and Senior Companions, along with Meals on Wheels and a senior transportation program known as J Ride. The 80 Senior Companions and Foster Grandparents volunteers provided 69,000 hours of service to community organizations in the form of mentoring at-risk youth and providing companionship to isolated seniors along with respite for their caregivers. See Schedule O During the year, 658 RSVP volunteers provided 71,000 hours of service across an 18-county service area. RSVP volunteer efforts focused on providing independent living services for older adults, disaster preparedness education to the public, and education to prevent Medicare fraud. The Meals on Wheels program successfully delivered over 127,000 meals to adults age 60+ living in southwest Houston. The JCC Meals on Wheels program is the fourth largest provider of hot meals in Harris County and served approximately 690 seniors in our community last year. Meals were delivered by 300 volunteers in addition to paid drivers. Meals include holiday, shelf-stable, and supplemental weekend meals for those clients who are most food insecure. By receiving food at home, the clients are able to maintain nutritional health, receive daily contact with another human being thereby decreasing isolation, and maintain a sense of independence and dignity, thereby delaying nursing home care. The J Ride program provides safe, reliable, non-emergency transportation for adults aged 60+ and adults with disabilities. J Ride was created in collaboration with Jewish Family Service, Jewish Federation of Greater Houston, and Goldberg B'nai B'rith Towers. In addition, the Center provides a variety of social, educational, and fitness activities for adults over age 60.

Center for Jewish Living and Learning: The Center is committed to creating a vibrant and welcoming environment that encourages people to lead engaged Jewish lives of meaning and purpose. The Center is a destination for Jewish experiences and connection for people of all ages, from infants to adults. Learners participate in adult Jewish education through the Melton & More program as well as other lectures and programs annually. The Center also offers many cultural art experiences including the Ann and Stephen Kaufman Jewish Book & Arts festival, Dance at the J, the Houston Jewish Film Festival, in-house theater productions, and a family performing arts series. Thousands of individuals attend these wonderful and enriching events annually.