Community Services
NCJW’s powerful voice resonates throughout the community. Through advocacy, education and community service efforts, NCJW members work every day to amplify the voices of those without a microphone.
Take a look at what we have to offer! Learn how to join our group of dynamic volunteers and activists, who truly make change happen.
COMMUNITY SERVICE PROGRAMS 2025-26
ACE – Alzheimer’s Care and Enrichment – In conjunction with the Jewish Community Center, this program provides stimulating activities for Alzheimer patients. For more information or to sign up to volunteer contact Leslie Fischman at lesliecfischman@gmail.com or (504)240-8210
Civic Co-operation – NCJW volunteers provide services throughout the Jewish Community. These activities benefit the Jewish Community Center’s Adloyadah, Jewish Federation’s Jewish Community Relations Council, the Holocaust Memorial Program, Israel Independence Day and Jewish Family Service’s Passover Baskets.
Familias Unidas en Accion was founded in 2018 with the vision of providing immigrant families in the New Orleans Metropolitan area and Louisana with the necessary resources to thrive in a new community. Contact Ana Gershanik at anagersh@aol.com or (504)931-9456
Fox 8 Defenders – NCJW volunteers offer consumer advocacy by responding to problems on the Consumer Help Line, in association with WVUE, Channel 8. For Fox8 Defenders questions and concerns, please contact either (877)670-6397 or (504) 485-NEWS (6397) only or email stramontana@fox8live.com. You can complete a Complaint Form by Clicking Here. For more information or to volunteer, contact Michele Gelman at gelmanv@cox.net or (504)813-5750
Girls on the Run – Girls on the Run New Orleans (GOTR NOLA) inspires girls to be joyful, healthy and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum which creatively integrates running. For more information or to volunteer, contact Lillian Gross at lilliann.gross@discoveryhsf.org or (727)919-3290
Literacy Alliance One Book One New Orleans works with adults who have completed their GED requirements and provides adult education graduation ceremonies. Contact Robin Goldblum at robingoldblum@gmail.com or (504)343-0801
Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights is a nonprofit law office that defends the right of every child in Louisiana’s juvenile justice system to fairness, dignity and opportunity. Contact Barri Bronston at barribronston@gmail.com or (504)352-2534
New Orleans Family Justice Center – NOFJC is a partnership of agencies dedicated to ending family violence, child abuse, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking through prevention and a coordinated response that provides comprehensive, client-centered, empowerment services in a single location, with onsite legal, law enforcement, healthcare and social services for survivors and family members. For more information, contact Susie Jernigan at suejern@gmail.com, (504) 251-8152.
New Orleans Women and Children’s Shelter is the largest homeless shelter for women and children in the metro area. It was founded in 2007 and is in its 18th year of operation. Contact Leslie Rau at leslierau@gmail.com or (504) 669-5678.
Ochsner Israeli Patient Care-giver Assistance Program supports Israeli organ transfer patients and their family members/care-givers while they are temporarily living in New Orleans. The program provides supportive assistance, including welcome baskets. Contact Lis Kahn at liskahn@gmail.com or 504-812-1223
Ogden Museum of Southern Art Family Days – The mission of the Ogden Museum of Southern Art is to broaden the knowledge, understanding, interpretation, and appreciation of the visual arts and culture of the American South through its events, permanent collections, changing exhibitions, educational programs, publications, and research. We are helping to support the Free Family Days. Contact Dori Schulman at rebelbelle4616@gmail.com or (504)237-1625.
RicRack Promoting sustainable practices through the Creative Reuse Shop by assisting in processing donations, sorting, measuring, rolling, tagging fabric and clothing that is received throughout the week. Contact Naomi Kornman at nkornman@me.com or (504)458-3383
Scholarship Programs
- The Irma M Isaacson Memorial Scholarship Fund provides need-based academic scholarships to local Jewish students.
- The Clara and Roy Schwarz Memorial Book Fund provides monies to assist in the purchase of textbooks for Irma M Isaacson Memorial Scholarship recipients.
- The Sara B Stone Educational Enrichment Fund provides grants for additional educational expenses.
- The Vera Klein Scholars Program provides scholarship dollars for education primarily to benefit recipients who are returning to the workforce or redirecting their careers.
- The Oscar J Tolmas Charitable Trust Scholarship provides scholarship funding each year for local Jewish students who will be named Oscar J. Tolmas Scholars.
For more information about scholarship or to receive an application, contact Nancy B. Timm at (504)722-8414 or Nancybtimm@gmail.com
Silence is Violence (Victims Allies Project) provides direct services to victims, creates youth engagement and engages in public advocacy on victim safety with the mission to work toward a safe and equitable New Orleans. Silence is Violence advocates for the establishment of a witness protection program in Louisiana. Contact: Baty Landis at sblandis@longuevue.com or (504)208-8376.
SisterHearts Thrift Store & Decarceration Program offers a space for healing while rehumanizing those suffering from the trauma of incarceration. Transitional employment at the Thrift Store provides a bridge for former inmates to cross into society and for the community to be supportive. Proceeds from the Thrift Store subsidize social skills training and development, transportation, and educational resources to help citizens reintegrate into the world at large. To donate or volunteer contact Lilli Geltman Vohs at lhgeltman@gmail.com or (610)999-9204.
Start the Adventure in Reading (STAIR) provides free literacy tutoring to students in the Greater New Orleans area and surrounding parishes since 1985. Partnering trained volunteer tutors with lower elementary public school children, STAIR’s model focuses on the one-on-one relationship between the tutor and the child. A complete listing of the tutoring sites can be found at http://stairnola.org/our-program/tutoring-sites.html. To get involved, contact Carol Newman at caroln08@gmail.com, (504) 416-5011 or STAIR Volunteer Coordinator Margo Price at margo@stairnola.org, (504) 899-0820. To learn more, please visit STAIR online at www.stairnola.org.
Together New Orleans is a broad-based coalition of congregations and community-based organizations in the greater New Orleans area, with the capacity to address community problems large and small. NCJW volunteers will serve as ‘Super Block Captains’ to deepen civic engagement and voter turnout. Contact Barbara Kaplinsky at kaplinskyb@gmail.com or (504) 982-6259.
Training Grounds takes a unique approach to creating quality-learning experiences for parents, caregivers and children (birth to 5) in a supportive environment. At the We PLAY Center parent educators model appropriate adult/child interactions and facilitate learning opportunities that stimulate healthy brain development for children (birth-3) that foster social emotional, language, cognitive and school readiness skills. Through real time one-on-one coaching by parent educators, parents and caregivers increase their knowledge of ages and stages of child development and nurturing and responsive parenting practices that prepares them to be their children’s first teacher. For more information, contact Robin Giarrusso at rmgiarrusso@gmail.com or (504)400-7011
unCommon Construction It was founded in 2015 out of the need for students to gain real world, work-based learning experience, which schools are not positioned to provide. We are supporting unCommon Construction’s Girls with Grit. Contact Amelia Halstead at ameliamhalstead@gmail.com or (225)572-1402.