About

Our History:

Sixty years ago a committee was formed to help Jewish people during the bleak years of the Great Depression. This group of people was housed at one of the local synagogues and helped any family or individual that was in need. Eventually, this group broke away from the synagogue and formed an independent agency that was housed at the Jewish Community Center. Originally this agency was totally volunteer-driven and had no professional or paid staff and was incorporated in 1954.

The organization continued to grow and act on a totally volunteer basis until 1973, when it was decided that the scope of problems needed to be handled by professional social workers. Therefore, in 1973, the agency hired its first professional director. The need for our services continued to grow. In 1982, a major change occurred in the life of Tampa Jewish Family Services in that it changed its location from the Jewish Community Center to a separate facility. This physical plant change created many opportunities for Tampa Jewish Family Services in that all of its staff and volunteers could now operate in a coordinated effort under one roof

The first year Tampa Jewish Family Services received an allocation from the United Way was 1982. This enabled the agency to begin to expand its services to the general community as well as the Jewish community. In 1993, another significant event happened. The agency moved from its separate location to its current location, Tampa Jewish Community Campus on Gunn Highway and joined other communal agencies in one location. This move has allowed for greater collaboration with other Jewish agencies.

Currently, TJFS provides services, using both United Way and Jewish Federation funds, focused on meeting the needs of children, teens, families, singles and seniors in the Tampa Bay community.

Tampa Jewish Family Services  embodies the time-honored tradition of community, of people helping and caring for one another. TJFS is a non-profit human service agency for people of all ages and all walks of life, regardless of race or religion TJFS offers the community a vast array of services and programs that spans across all segments of our lives, from counseling and programs for children to senior adult services that includes counseling, Jewish Connections and  holiday food delivery. From one generation to the next, our obligation is to feed the hungry, guide those in trouble and improve lives.

If you have any other information on the history of TJFS we would like to hear from you.