Jewish Family Service of San Diego Celebrates Grand Opening of New Campus and Honors Joan and Irwin Jacobs at Dedication

January 31, 2016

Jewish Family Service of San Diego (JFS) officially opened its new campus on January 31 with a special dedication to Joan and Irwin Jacobs for their 20 years of championing the agency, and celebration for all of the capital campaign donors who made the “Joan & Irwin Jacobs Campus” possible.

The ceremony marked the completion of a four-year-long project to bring together many of JFS’s employees, programs, and services into two neighboring buildings on Balboa Avenue.

“The Joan & Irwin Jacobs campus is intentionally designed as a reflection of our principles of being client-centered, promoting collaboration, and improving our ability to deliver life-changing services,” said JFS CEO Michael Hopkins. “The campus is designed to truly put clients first. We have positioned many of the services a client needs together in a positive, healing environment.”

In addition to private and collaborative office spaces, the new campus features a state-of-the-art, 1,800-square-foot industrial kitchen to produce roughly 80,000 hot kosher meals annually for low-income and elderly San Diegans; a client-choice food pantry, The Corner Market, that allows clients to “shop” for the food and hygiene items that best meet their family’s needs; and an outdoor play space and edible garden.

Mission Hills-based architects Safdie Rabines were tapped to redesign the two buildings that form the campus into light, airy spaces that improve the client experience, and include multiple open work spaces for staff to collaborate and develop strategies to meet client needs.

Contact:

Sandy Young / Ashley Weaver
J. Walcher Communications, (619) 295-7140