JFS Annual Thanksgiving Meal Distribution to Framingham Community: A Collaborative Effort in the Face of COVID

Nov 25, 2020 | Community Partners, Community Programs, Education Equity Initiative, JFS of Metrowest, Pathways to Academic Growth & Enrichment, We are JFS!

Thanksgiving is a time to stop, reflect, and be grateful for so many things in our lives. Even though the Covid-19 pandemic is changing the many ways we gather with friends and family to express gratitude, we are all finding ways to still say thank you though it might not be in person.

Here at JFS we continue to be so grateful for our staff, volunteers, board members, supporters, and collaborative partners. Without them our ability to respond to the many needs of the community would be impossible. So first and foremost, thank you to all of you for your support and hard work during these unprecedented times.

Part of saying thank you during this season is giving back. JFS is an incredibly important safety net to the community and has a myriad of ways to help those in need. It is only through innovation and collaborative partnerships that JFS has been able to stretch the safety net by 35% this year to help over 7,000 individuals and their families through these long and difficult months.

Here are a few examples of how JFS is having meaningful impact in our community:

On Tuesday, expanding on our tradition of distributing Thanksgiving meals to families in need, JFS reconfigured this annual event by setting up a drive-by safe pick up with our collaborative partner Daniel’s Table. JFS has developed a close working relationship with Daniel’s Table on many fronts and they are now JFS’ go-to agency for assistance when our clients are struggling with food insecurity.

Thank you to Daniel’s Table, as well as the over 50 participants, who worked tirelessly yesterday to distribute Thanksgiving meals to over 630 individuals and 150 families. A special thanks also to Framingham’s Mayor Yvonne Spicer, Superintendent of Schools Robert Tremblay, Assistant Superintendent Joseph Corazzini, and MA State Representative Jack Lewis for helping out with the distribution.

Among the board members, JFS staff, and community members participating were…

  • JFS board president Josef Volman, his wife Dana, and their son Dylan
  • Board member Jodi Bring and her daughter Nicole 
  • Board member Debbie Gotbetter
  • Board member Neil Ross 
  • JFS staff: CEO Lino Covarrubias, Lucia Panichella, Gail Gregory, Malvina Goldfarb, Nermin Helaly, Charys Lopes, Maggie Kenney, Mahmoud AlJasem, Ahmad AlJelou, and Jessica Mirabal
  • Steve, Michelle, and Ruby Bearak
  • Carol and George Hengerle
  • Deborah, Sophie, and Alexa Kaplan
  • Bob, Ethan, Emma, Owen, and Braeden Champlin
  • Cora and Larry Gordon
  • Lisa Deveau
  • The Framingham Flyers Boys Ice Hockey Team
  • Sheldon Golder (volunteer photographer)

For more information about yesterday’s event, please read — JFS Program Spotlight Series: Lucia Panichella Discusses Preparations for the Annual JFS Thanksgiving Dinner Distribution