JFCS Commemorates 160 Years With Party At Please Touch Museum
By Hadas Kuznits
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Jewish Family and Children's Service of Greater Philadelphia celebrated 160 years on Wednesday with a birthday party at the Please Touch Museum.
Paula Goldstein, President and CEO of JFCS, says she's incredibly proud of the work her organization has done for more than a century and a half.
"We started as the first Jewish orphanage in North America in 1855," she says, "and taking care of family is what we do best."
Goldstein says JFCS helps place children into adoptive and foster homes; but they also provide other services like bullying and drug prevention, as well as financial assistance to families in need.
"I have a large family myself," she says, "and I know that none of us are immune from life's struggles."
Emily Beck of Haddon Township, New Jersey adopted her son Earl through JFCS.
"Some of our dearest friends now were people we've met through the agency," Beck says, "and his kids are close in age to my son."