At Jewish Family Service (JFS), innovation is not an add-on — it is a core strategic priority. Our strategic goals explicitly call for new, creative approaches to today’s most complex social challenges, a commitment already demonstrated through initiatives such as Home-Share and other forward-thinking service models that expand access, dignity, and community connection.
Recently, members of the JFS Volunteer Services team gathered for a focused design retreat at the The JFS Innovation Center — a space intentionally created to spark creativity, collaboration, and forward-looking problem solving. The goal: to intentionally redesign how volunteer and community engagement functions across JFS so we can deepen impact, increase clarity, and expand service in a sustainable way.
Each year, more than 300 volunteers work alongside JFS staff to support individuals and families across Metrowest. As community needs evolve, it is essential that volunteer engagement evolves too. This retreat marked the start of a structured innovation process to ensure JFS continues to build meaningful, effective, and scalable volunteer opportunities that match today’s realities.
A Space Built for Innovation and Honest Conversation
The JFS Innovation Center — opened in loving memory of Susan Copeland — was designed specifically for this kind of work: bringing people together across roles and perspectives to think boldly, test ideas, and challenge assumptions. By stepping away from daily routines and into a creative environment, the team was able to slow down, reflect, and engage in true design thinking.
Through guided exercises and candid discussion, participants explored:
- Where current volunteer models are working well
- Where friction or gaps exist
- What future volunteer engagement could look like
- How to better align volunteer energy with emerging client needs
- Ways to scale service while maintaining quality and dignity
The session emphasized openness, curiosity, and constructive tension — all essential ingredients for meaningful innovation.
Gratitude to Our Design Session Leaders and Partners
Special thanks to Mary Beth Rettger of Rettger Consulting, who served as a JFS Innovation Coach and guided this structured design process. Her leadership helped create space for creativity, honesty, and disciplined experimentation.
We are also grateful to JFS Board member Ann Budner of ABudner Strategy Consulting for her participation and strategic insight, and to every JFS colleague in the room who showed up with candor, vulnerability, and a willingness to wrestle with hard questions.
As shared in a note following the retreat, participants brought “time, energy, openness, and honesty” to the kickoff session — naming both what excites them and what feels challenging. That level of engagement is what turns a planning meeting into a true innovation process.
Building the Future of Volunteer Impact at JFS
This kickoff session marked the first step in a structured, multi phase design process that will continue over the coming months and represents the beginning of an ongoing effort to refine and strengthen JFS’s volunteer model. With strong foundations already in place, the team is now working to clarify priorities, develop new approaches, and expand opportunities for volunteers to contribute to high-impact work across the agency.
Innovation is not a one-time event — it is a practice. And at JFS, it is powered by people who are willing to think differently, work collaboratively, and stay grounded in mission.
This effort reflects JFS’s broader commitment to investing in innovation, leadership alignment, and community driven solutions.
Thank you to all who bring creativity, innovation, and inspiration to JFS. Your ideas and energy position us to meet the community’s changing needs with agility, purpose, and impact — now and in the years ahead.