(left to right) Lee Sherman, AJFCA President, Susan Bichsel, PhD, JFSA Cleveland President & CEO, Barry Klickstein, AJFCA Board Chair

Every year the Association of Jewish Family & Children’s Agencies (AJFCA) honors agencies for excellence in client services and programming through the KOVOD Awards competition. This year, JFSA Cleveland, the 8th largest Jewish Family Service in the U.S. and Canada, is proud to receive two KOVOD Awards in the Creative Use of Volunteers in Client Services and the Collaborative Program Among JF&CS Agencies categories. JFSA’s Horvitz YouthAbility was selected as the top (1st place) program for Creative Use of Volunteers in Client Services for large agencies. The YouthAbility program is unique in that it engages young adult clients with disabilities to perform volunteer services for other clients, making them both clients and volunteers – helping themselves while helping others. Each month YouthAbility performs up to 600 hours of volunteer service benefitting JFSA programs. The projects are designed to foster a positive connection with others in community, and provide opportunities to contribute in meaningful ways. YouthAbility reaches out to Holocaust survivors, victims of domestic violence, and clients with intellectual disabilities, and in return these special young adults gain confidence, increased self esteem, and other skills. The Tina Project was selected as the 3rd place winner in the Collaborative Program Among JF&CS Agencies. JFSA was one of the first agencies to join in partnership with the collaborative coordinating agency, Domestic Violence and Child Advocacy Center, in developing The Tina Project as a collective response to Ohio House Bill 19ʹs mandate. As a multi-agency, multi-county, organizational collaboration, The Tina Project helps Ohio schools become compliant with the new requirements regarding the teen dating violence and sexual assault prevention education. JFSA Families at Risk staff provide training for students, teachers, and school administrators with its Know Abuse™ teen dating violence prevention program, plus crisis intervention, and an array of support services.