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The Annual Heart & Soul Gala of Jewish Family Service of San Diego is on Saturday, March 3, 2012 starting at 6:30 pm at the Hyatt Regency in La Jolla. This year’s theme, A Legacy of Service, celebrates Jill Borg Spitzer, long-time Jewish Family Service CEO, who is retiring after 26 years of service. The organization will be honoring Spitzer for her extraordinary accomplishments, inspiring leadership and communal service.

The Heart & Soul Gala is a major fundraiser for Jewish Family Service, which has addressed the significant increase in members of the community who need help due to the economic downturn. Jewish Family Service provides more than 50 programs to the community including JFS Economic Crisis Response Program, the Hand Up Youth Food Pantry, the Jewish Employment Network, Jewish BIGPals, On the Go Senior Transportation, and much more. Last year, the Gala raised $850,000 that went support these crisis programs. Jewish Family Service continues to meet the ever-growing and ever-changing needs of our community.

The 2012 Heart & Soul Gala is chaired by Murray Galinson, Jennifer Levitt and Ashley Stone, with Auction Chairs Leslie Fastlicht Russo and Valerie Viterbi. “Our outstanding committee is hard at work putting together a memorable party, a silent auction with hundreds of prizes, a live auction with unique once-in-a-lifetime experiences, and great entertainment,” said Galinson.


About Jill Borg Spitzer

Jill Borg Spitzer came to the Jewish Family Service in San Diego 1984 by way of Hoboken, New York, Columbia University and Jewish Family Service in Denver. At the time of her arrival, she had spent 12 years as a social worker and counselor and came to San Diego as the Director of Professional Services. Jewish Family Service in 1984 was a relatively small organization dedicated primarily to providing counseling services plus some services to the elderly. In 1986, after the retirement of Jewish Family Service’s executive director, Jill assumed leadership of the 20-person nonprofit whose annual budget totaled about $500,000.

In the late 1980s, the organization, in collaboration with the Jewish Federation and the Jewish Community Center, sought to reach out to the Jewish community in San Diego’s North County, opening a small office in Carlsbad. Jewish Family Service felt that this was too far north, so moved its North County services to Encinitas while expanding its presence into the Poway and Rancho Bernardo regions. The strategy then, as it is today, said Jill, was to position itself as a responsive community-based agency, with a key objective to touch lives beyond its walls.

With mentoring and oversight from board members, and a staff of dedicated professionals and many generous donors, Jill guided the growth of Jewish Family Service to provide comprehensive human care services to people of all ages and faiths.

With Jill at the helm, Jewish Family Service began to focus on social service issues that were not being addressed

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Community: La Jolla

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