Month: September 2019

“My JELF loan is giving me the opportunity to study education.  Knowing the Jewish community is supporting my education and helping me accomplish my dream of going to college is very comforting.  Thank you for believing in me.  It is a wonderful feeling that the Jewish community is behind me and is helping me accomplish […]

“JELF made it possible for me to attend Wesleyan University where I founded a preschool program for low-income children, worked in the Cognitive Development Lab, volunteered at a local clinic, taught a student forum on education policy, became a leader in a feminist activist group and wrote a 150-page thesis.  I graduated with high honors […]

“Thanks to JELF, I am attending the University of Central Florida (UCF) and taking my General Education classes toward my goal of attending medical school in the future.  I am enjoying my studies as well as my sorority.  Thanks, JELF, for helping me achieve these goals!”

“JELF has provided me with the comfort that I can pay for things like rent and food while focusing on my studies and involvement in Jewish extracurriculars!”

“My father passed away when I was 14, and my mother had to raise three children. Someone connected me with Nat Shulman, of blessed memory, at the Charleston JCC and he got me involved with JELF. From there, my life was transformed – I am the only college graduate in my family. I have owned two […]

“I had the good fortune of being accepted by an excellent in-state school, but paying for it was another question. I was eligible for federal grants and government-backed loans, and I was even eligible for a work-study program. Despite maximizing all of these, I was still short of funds I needed to pay for college. Without […]

“JELF’s last dollars loans helped me afford my education at Emory University and the Medical College of Georgia in the 1980s. In times of crazy tuition costs, these funds can allow a student to live in acceptable housing and not be forced to work 40 hours per week, on top of pursuing a full-time degree. […]

“Without JELF, my dream of going to law school in NYC wouldn’t be possible. Thank you for your unwavering support, JELF!”

I grew up in Miami, Florida and went through the public school education system since kindergarten. My parents always tried to find a way for me to stay connected to Judaism.  Though I did not like it very much, I attended Hebrew School in preparation for my Bar Mitzvah. Then, upon starting 10th grade, my […]

“JELF helped me go to SCAD, the Savannah College of Art and Design. I’m a Junior, and currently a painting major, minoring in art history.  JELF is also helping me to follow my dreams to be a painter like my Zayde, who was also a Holocaust survivor.”

“While doing my undergraduate work at Indiana University, I received a JELF loan. After college, I went on to obtain a Master’s degree and Educational Specialists degree in Counseling. In 2013, I received my PhD in Psychology. Currently, I am in a private psychotherapy practice with offices in Midtown Atlanta and Smyrna, Georgia. I work […]

Dr. Benjamin Warsaw is a classical pianist, composer, teacher, and accompanist, and has performed numerous solo and ensemble concerts throughout North America. Concert highlights include, Schwartz Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; Yamaha Hall and Haydn Birthplace, Vienna, Austria; O’Shaughnessy Theatre, Minneapolis, MN; JFK Birthplace, Boston, MA; and performed original compositions for President Carter during a […]

JELF has always been about community to me. The loans come from generous donors whose mitzvot are blessings to recipients and families, strengthening our unity as Jewish Americans. Even the JELF staff are household names to my family. My success is largely related to the stress-free, and of course interest-free, financial aid JELF offered. “My […]