The recipients of JVS’ Scholarship Fund face more than just financial hardship. Often, they are the sole supporter of their families, if they have any at all, and many of them come from poverty, abuse or homes where one or more parent suffers from medical illness. Many are also new to this country, having fled dire situations in Iran or the Former Soviet Union. The one thing that every recipient has in common though, is the belief in the importance of education and the drive to succeed. JVS has fostered these values since 1972, and has since awarded more than $2.9 million to needy Jewish students. On July 12, JVS will celebrate the accomplishments of the 2007-2008 JVS Scholarship Fund awardees at a special ceremony at UCLA Hillel, starting at 7:00 p.m.

The JVS Scholarship Fund is supported entirely by donations from individuals and private foundations. Judy Felsenthal, Chair of the JVS Scholarship Committee, comments, “From a donor’s perspective, there’s nothing more gratifying than seeing exactly where your philanthropy is going. The JVS Scholarship Fund gives donors an opportunity to meet the students they’re sponsoring – some will even develop mentoring relationships – and to pass on the important value of helping others, or “tzedakah,” to the next generation. “

Alice Feldman is a second year doctoral student at Western University of Health Sciences College of Pharmacy. Her mother, who passed away earlier this year, was a single parent with a life-long struggle against severe depression. As a teenager, Alice found herself being used more for financial support than emotional support, and at age 16, moved in with her grandparents, both cancer survivors. She has been on her own and working her way through school since starting at Los Angeles Valley College, spending two years there before transferring to UCLA, where she received her Bachelors degree in 2004. Alice traveled to Israel with Taglit-Birthright, and speaks to prospective students on that group’s behalf.

“Unlike many other faith-based scholarships, we place no limits on what or where our students can study. Our only requirements are that they be Jewish, reside in Los Angeles, be attending full-time at an accredited school in the U.S., and most importantly, demonstrate financial need,” said Scholarship Fund Manager Hilary Mandel. “As the costs of education continue to rise, we increasingly have trouble meeting the demand, as there are so many out there who really deserve the help.”

Since childhood, Jonathan Franks’ family has struggled to make ends meet. Jon’s father has been unemployed since suffering from disabling chronic back pain, leaving his mother to support a family of five on her salary as a pre-school teacher. His mother has recently cut back her work to care for Jonathan’s grandmother, who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. Despite these family hardships, Jonathan just completed his first year at UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, and is interested in specializing in surgery. Jon also received the JVS Scholarship while earning his Bachelor degree at UCLA, where he was (and remains) very involved in on-campus Jewish activities.

JVS has established several new programs to benefit scholarship recipients and their families, in addition to just financial aid. To help ease the burden on these students, JVS offers its Scholarship Family Career Assistance Program to provide job search assistance to the recipients’ parents; New Linkages, an internship program where students who are interested in Jewish community service are placed in Jewish community organizations; and other career-focused and mentorship programs.

Says three-time recipient and UCLA senior Jamie Zimmerman, “Growing up in a single-parent household, my family frequently faced financial hardship and, at times, endured homelessness. Additionally, I was raised in an extremely abusive environment. When I was just fifteen years old, I became the sole support for my family, working full time while pursuing a professional acting career and achieving straight A’s in school. These challenges were compounded by my father’s passing when I was sixteen. Eventually, the situation at home progressed to the point where my health and safety were threatened, making further contact with my mother impossible. As a result, I am currently a fully independent student.”

Notwithstanding these barriers, Jamie has excelled at UCLA and beyond. She has been a leader in the Jewish community on campus, serving as the UCLA Hillel representative at a conference in Argentina last year. As part of the American Jewish World Service Volunteer Summer Program in 2005, she lived and worked for two months with 15 other Jewish students in the Amazon basin of Peru. Jamie will spend this summer living and working in a refugee camp in Zambia with FORGE (Facilitating Opportunities for Refugee Growth & Empowerment), where she will be making a documentary film of her experiences. In her final year at UCLA, where she in the prestigious Honors Collegium, Jamie has received early acceptance to Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, where she will matriculate after completing her BA in Anthropology next spring.

JVS, a non-profit, non-sectarian organization founded in 1930, has helped hundreds of thousands of people overcome barriers to employment, including people with disabilities, refugees and immigrants, and women in transition. For more information, visit www.jvsla.org.