The Jewish Family Service Agency (JFSA), founded in 1977, provides professional social services to clients in need, including counseling, senior services, adoption, a food pantry, and emergency financial aid. Its focus is on the Jewish community, but the JFSA serves families and individuals regardless of their religion, race, age, disability, sexual orientation, or national origin. Services are provided in a confidential setting, and many are offered free of charge or on a sliding scale.
The Jewish Family Service Agency (JFSA) records (1954, 1979-1993) contain organizational records, minutes, committee information, planning documents, newspaper clippings, newsletters, photographs, and volunteer information collected by Bea Levinson. There are also two folders of material about Bea Levinson, who was chairperson of the JFSA Long Range Planning Committee.
Bernard ?Bernie? Kaufman and Barbara (Raben) Kaufman were married in 1961 in their childhood home of St. Louis, Missouri, at the ages of twenty-one and nineteen respectively. In 1968, they moved to Las Vegas, joining Bernie?s brother, Herb, in the growing city who had opened the first store. Bernie assisted in managing the family businesses four stores, until they were sold in 1982. At that time, he went into the car rental business; he sold that business in 2000 and then went into airport advertising. Barbara focused herself on raising their children, Carrie and Andrew, and once the children were in their teens, she went to work for her brother as a bookkeeper. In this interview, the Kaufman?s reflect upon their upbringing in St. Louis, where they met and married, and making the decision to move to Las Vegas. They discuss the experience of running the stores and the impact on business as the retail environment changed over the years. The Kaufmans also talk about their involvement with the Jewish community, including B?nai B?rith and Sisterhood, and how it?s grown over the years. They also discuss the impact of the Jewish community members in gaming as well as other sectors, and the increase of congregations over the decades.