Former JVS Employee Recognized for his Work with Refugees

Needham Times Reports on TBS Cares and Career Moves 

JVS CEO, BIDMC VP of HR Op-Ed

Governor Patrick Visits JVS

Seventy-eight-year old Vivienne Kalman of Weston never thought she’d be able to visit Israel again. For Kalman – who first visited the Jewish state three decades ago as a Hadassah activist – a typical, fast-paced Israel tour seemed “quite undoable” for a senior with special healthcare needs. With the help of CJP and the Jewish Vocational Service’s Yesodot (“Foundations”) program, Kalman was able to realize her dream of visiting Israel one more time. As part of Yesodot’s first-ever “accessible” family trip to Israel, Kalman was joined by her daughter and teenage grandson for a 10-day journey of bonding and discovery.

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Department of Labor Report on the JVS Women's Reentry Program


Empowering New Workers

Though Roger Berkowitz has made a name for himself by giving people fish, last week he was honored for teaching them to fish. Berkowitz, president and CEO of Legal Seafoods, Inc., represented his famous establishment at Jewish Vocational Service's spring gala on May 10 and received the latter's third annual Business Leadership Award, presented in recognition for the Legal Seafoods Workplace English Class, established collaboratively with JVS for low- and entry-level employees who are not native English Speakers.

At the end of his shift in the frigid fish house, the 18-year-old worker from Guatemala slapped the last labels on crates of codfish and cherrystones and hurried out of his orange rubber pants. In jeans and a T-shirt, Heriberto Mazariegos raced upstairs to a small conference room at John Nagle Co., on the edge of Boston Harbor, to spend two extra hours at work - learning English. The seafood company, which has been hosting classes since March, is one of a growing number of Massachusetts companies tackling the language barrier among immigrant workers.

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Huang, Chau Among Culinary Arts Graduates

Mei Juan Huang of Allston and Chao Fan Chau of Brighton were among 21 recent graduates of the Jewish Vocational Services' Culinary Arts Training Program. Huang recently celebrated graduating from the program at a ceremony at Madison Park High School in Boston.