Herb Amster Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation
Herb and Carol Amster Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation
Easing Life Transitions for Those in Need
The roots of Jewish Family Services (JFS) date back to 1978 when a group of volunteers wanted to help address the needs of Jewish refugees arriving from the Soviet Union. Since then, JFS has expanded its work in Washtenaw County and its vision dramatically.
Today, JFS provides everything from refugee resettlement services to employment services for non-English-speaking people, case management, family life education, mental health referral, and senior services. The Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation has been there every step of the way, providing more than $245,000 in grants to support a range of services from $20,000 to help Hurricane Katrina evacuees to $15,000 for senior transportation services.
Most recently, a $26,000 planning grant helped launch a new center named in honor and memory of Herb Amster, a well known business and civic leader who passed away in 2010. Herb and Carol Amster have generously supported many local nonprofits with their time and gifts, including JFS and AAACF. The Herb Amster Center will develop revenue-generating services to help ensure JFS’ long-term sustainability, while helping individuals and families achieve economic independence. In this way, the Center will also live up to Herb’s famous credo: "Do good things, but remember the bottom line…so you can do
more good things."
One of the many ways the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation
supports all that is good in our community.
Read more "good" stories at:
aaacf.org/stories
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.