“Think of giving not as a duty but as a privilege.” –John D. Rockefeller Jr.
Our Story
Jewish Charitable Services (JCS) is a non-profit organization dedicated to assisting Jewish and Israeli families and individuals who come to St. Louis for medical procedures, and who need help with transportation, logistics, financial needs, and emotional support, both before their procedures and during recovery. JCS coordinates efforts from many organizations and volunteers to ensure that these families get the best resources available in our community, to support a quick and comfortable recovery.
Our activities include:
Transportation – Picking up and dropping off families and individuals from and to the airport or hospital
Lodging – Arranging free or discounted housing for families
Hospitality – Coordinating with local families to host a family for a dinner or play date.
Info Center and Mental Support – Reaching out to families and individuals upon their arrival in St. Louis, making sure that they know everything they need to know, based on experiences and knowledge from families who previously underwent similar procedures
Food delivery to hospitals, hotels, Bikur Cholim, or Haven House
Coordination with other local organizations that also provide assistance to families coming to St. Louis for medical procedures
Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR)
Many families come to St. Louis specifically so that their children can undergo Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) at Children’s Hospital. SDR is a highly-specialized, life changing procedure that involves sectioning (cutting) of some of the sensory nerve fibers that come from the muscles and enter the spinal cord. St. Louis Children’s Hospital is one of a few Centers of Excellence throughout the world that specializes in this procedure. Patients – both children and adults – arrive in wheelchairs and within months, they are able to walk. However, the recovery period involves intense follow-up and physical therapy, and families usually require assistance throughout this period.
Jewish Charitable Services (JCS) is dedicated to helping families during the recovery period. Many of our volunteers have up to five years of experience in this area, and are able to arrange free or discounted housing, as well as “Food Trains” and other projects. Over time, our volunteers noticed that there was also a need for transportation solutions and for emotional support. To that end, JCS provides whatever solutions we can to aid families during this period.
Transportation
The JCS supplies transportation from and to the airport as well as a dedicated vehicle for medical appointments and personal use.
Emotional- Mental Support
Families coming to St. Louis for medical procedures require emotional and mental support in addition to physical support. These needs have increased since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. We seek volunteers who can support visiting families either through periodic phone conversations or in-person visits and outings.
Another Day At Children’s hospital in Saint Louis Beeri is from Israel and he is one of many success stories that we have witnessed after SDR procedure.
פעילות העמותה מוקדשת לעילוי נשמתם של: יצחק בן רבקה, גבריאל בן יקוט, תקווה בת צביה