February 20, 2025 • 37 mins
In this episode of Visual Eyes Podcast, host Chris Baker sits down with Morgan Weinblatt, Director of Development at Goodman Jewish Family Services (Goodman JFS), to discuss the power of philanthropy, collaboration, and nonprofit impact in Broward County.
Morgan shares her journey into fundraising and nonprofit leadership, detailing how Goodman JFS supports diverse communities through programs such as:
✔ Holocaust Survivor Assistance – Serving over 800 survivors annually with financial aid, home care, and emotional support.
✔ Joshua’s Path Disability Services – Empowering neurodivergent adults with essential life skills and community integration.
✔ The Cupboard & Rack Pack – Providing food security and clothing assistance to those in need.
💡 Learn how nonprofits and businesses can collaborate to maximize social impact, and why volunteers and donors play a critical role in sustaining these services. Plus, hear the incredible story of a former client who became a donor, proving that philanthropy creates lasting change!
📌 Learn More & Get Involved:
🌍 Goodman JFS: https://www.jfsbroward.org
📷 Instagram: @JFSofBroward
📘 LinkedIn: Goodman JFS of Broward
🎥 YouTube: Goodman JFS YouTube
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Chris Baker (00:03):
Welcome to Visual Eyes, the podcast where
collaboration fuels change.
I'm your host, chris Baker, andeach week we'll explore
incredible connections betweennonprofits, businesses and the
community.
This is a space where wehighlight inspiring partnerships
, uncover strategies forcreating meaningful impact and
share stories that show howworking together can make all
(00:24):
the difference.
Whether you're a nonprofitleader, a business owner or
someone just passionate aboutbuilding connections, this
podcast is for you.
Welcome back to Visual Eyes.
Today I have a very specialguest from Goodman Jewish Family
Services of Broward County.
Short for Goodman, JFS, Morgan.
(00:47):
How are you today?
Morgan Weinblatt (00:48):
I'm well.
Thanks for having me Excellent.
This is exciting, thank you.
Chris Baker (00:53):
So the first thing we're going to start off with is
, specifically can you shareyour journey and what inspired
you to become more involved withGoodman JFS and helping Broward
County?
Morgan Weinblatt (01:05):
Sure.
So philanthropy was always veryimportant in my family.
Growing up, my parents alwaysparticipated in community events
in New York, where I'm from,when I was working for my alma
mater, hofstra University.
After college, I worked for anorganization that helped Jewish
students on college campuses andI just loved it.
(01:28):
I loved working with collegestudents.
I loved the nonprofit world,working in it as a professional,
getting mentored by myexecutive director.
It was just a reallycollaborative and fun
environment and I saw the directimpact that I was making on
college students.
I had the opportunity to movedown to South Florida and worked
(01:48):
at the University of MiamiHillel in Miami, and so that's
how I came to South Florida.
When I moved to Broward County,I had the opportunity to work
for Goodman Jewish FamilyServices.
So I've always been in thefundraising, development, events
, marketing sort of realm andputting on events to basically
(02:10):
raise funds for the organization.
Goodman Jewish Family Servicesis such an important
organization in our communityhelping really vulnerable people
, multiple populations really,from children all the way to
people that are over 100 yearsold Holocaust survivors.
So I see the direct impact thatwe make every day and
(02:33):
fundraising and development issuch a critical piece to that
because that's how we're able tohelp people is get the
resources we need to be able toprovide them to people that are
in need.
That's how I got involved andBroward has really welcomed me
with open arms.
Chris Baker (02:48):
There's a lot of New Yorkers down here, so I feel
right at home, but it's reallyan amazing community.
Morgan Weinblatt (02:53):
It's very diverse.
There are a lot of veryphilanthropic giving people in
this community that want to dobetter and want to do good, and
so we're fortunate to be able tomeet those people if they want
to make an impact and work withus everybody, and that was
(03:26):
something that really kind ofwas inspiring, because what you
guys have started is just soincredibly important and
valuable for this community toreally thrive.
Chris Baker (03:31):
So thank you very much for joining this cause and
being here today again.
So I want to talk a little bitabout a couple of your programs
that you did want.
One of the ones that youmentioned was the Holocaust
Survivor Assistance Program, andthen we also would love to talk
about Joseph's Path DisabilityServices, and so let's start
there, and then we can talk alittle bit more about other
(03:53):
collaborations.
Morgan Weinblatt (03:54):
Great.
So the Holocaust SurvivorAssistance Program is personally
very meaningful to me.
My grandparents escaped theHolocaust.
They fled France right beforethe war and came to New York and
that's really how my father'sside of the family grew up.
That was a big part of ourfamily's upbringing and our
(04:15):
family's story.
So when I learned that Jewishfamily service organizations
across the country and in Canadaso internationally are helping
survivors, it really hit homefor me and I felt like I landed
in the right place.
So we have about 1,500 survivorsliving in Broward County we're
one of the largest populationsin the United States outside of
(04:38):
New York and in LA and so weserve about 500 to 800 survivors
annually really with a varietyof needs Home care, if they need
to go to a dental appointment,if they need help with rent, if
they need food.
We are really, for a lot ofthem, their family.
Many of them did not have anychildren, never got married,
(05:02):
lost touch or their familyunfortunately perished in the
Holocaust, and so family for usI mean it's in our name Goodman
Jewish Family Services, so weare their family and we take
care of them, and we haveamazing social workers, amazing
professional staff that go intotheir homes and they see a
(05:23):
friendly face, they help withthe social isolation that
they've been experiencing stillas a result of the pandemic.
So we do a lot of luncheons forthem, we do a lot of activities
, we really just to try to makethem live their lives with
dignity, independence and livethe rest of their lives, you
(05:43):
know, with with hope and andjust be happy.
So that's really a goal for uswith that program.
And then our Joshua's PathDisability Services Program such
an amazing program.
We help neurodivergent adultsreally have a safe space and
learn social skills and go outin the community and visit
(06:04):
different companies anddifferent nonprofits and just
get those experiences and seehow people are living their
lives and giving back tocommunity.
And so we have about 25participants in our class and
they have a graduation everyyear at the end of their session
.
So it's quite an amazingprogram.
We have a few staff membersthat again help run the program.
(06:27):
It's a lot of respite for thefamily members as well.
It's not a full day program butit is time for family members
to kind of have that respite, dowhat they need to do during the
day.
Their adult child right comesto us, learn social skills is
around other individuals.
(06:49):
They all form bonds andfriendships, so there are so
many layers to this programthat's so important for these
individuals and their families.
So we really love this programand we have pretty incredible
partners that are funding thisprogram as well.
Chris Baker (07:05):
Can you tell any of a success story that happened
through Joseph's Path that?
Kind of can help and inspireother people in the community to
really look at this program.
Morgan Weinblatt (07:15):
Yeah, I mean there's a few that come to mind.
Some of these individuals mostof them, I would say may not
necessarily become gainfullyemployed five days a week, nine
to five, but if they're able toget out of the house and
volunteer one of them actuallyvolunteers at our cupboard.
(07:36):
So talk about wraparoundservices, which for us means if
you come to Goodman JewishFamily Services, we can help you
in many different ways.
We are assessing your needs,whether that's with food and
nutrition, support, mentalhealth.
You need help with your rent.
We'll help with rentalassistance, we'll provide
(07:58):
clothing to you.
There are many different waysthat we help people holistically
, and so we had a client in ourJoshua's Path program who now
helps out at our cupboard, atour food pantry.
So he's there multiple days aweek.
He's interacting with the staff, he's interacting with our
clients, he has meaning, he haspurpose, and so that's really
(08:20):
what the goal is.
Chris Baker (08:21):
So I know a little bit more than maybe a lot of
other people about Goodman, jfsand the couple of different
things that you brought up wasthe cupboard and Rat Pack, so
can you talk a little bit moreabout that before we go back to
collaboration just because webring that up?
Let's have that conversationnow, sure.
Morgan Weinblatt (08:40):
So Goodman Jewish Family Services I like to
describe it as kind of anumbrella, where we have about 12
different programs underneathour brand.
So Rack Pack Clothing Closet isone of our programs and the
Dorit and Benje Jenea Cupboardis another one of our programs.
The cupboard is a food pantry.
(09:01):
It's a choice food pantry, sowe're not giving anyone just a
standard box of non-perishablegoods.
They can come in.
It's by appointment, it'sconfidential.
It looks like a grocery storewhere they can shop, they can
choose their items.
We help them select differentitems based on nutrition needs
(09:23):
and whatever needs they have.
We have a social worker thatalso works with them in terms of
other needs, whether that berental assistance, whether that
be clothing from the Rack PackClothing.
Chris Baker (09:36):
Closet.
Morgan Weinblatt (09:37):
So again, we are wrapping ourselves around
someone and looking at all oftheir individualized needs so
that when they leave us, theyhave everything they need,
they're self-sufficient and theycan move on from us.
That's really our goal is toenable people to live
self-sufficiently andindependently.
So the cupboard is amazing.
That's where we are unique.
(09:59):
It's a choice food pantry wherepeople can come in and it's
confidential.
They're the only client in ourfood pantry where people can
come in and it's confidential.
They're the only client in ourfood pantry at a time.
The Rack Pack Clothing Closetis also one of my favorite
programs because it's just sucha phenomenal program and the way
that it's set up.
You guys went there and itlooks like a boutique.
(10:20):
I mean it's so well done,thoughtful, in terms of how they
separate out clothing fordifferent genders and sizes and
family sizes, and it really iscompletely free to clients.
They can come to us whetherthey had a house fire,
unfortunately, and losteverything and need clothing.
(10:41):
You know we see a lot ofdifferent families, individuals,
different stages of life wherethey're going through crisis or
a challenge and they just needto rely on us for that.
You know one thing that theyneed, so the clothing closet.
We have baby items, we havesuits for men if they're going
(11:01):
on interviews.
You know professional clothingfor women if they're going on
interviews to hopefully get jobs, shoes I mean everything in
between.
We really try to make it like aboutique and like a great
experience for our clients.
It's also confidential and it'sa choice closet.
So our staff there they also tryto help style the clothing for
(11:25):
clients so that when they do getthe clothing from us, they can
wear an item in multipledifferent ways and feel good
about themselves, because that'sreally important for us.
The dignity piece is veryimportant and the respect piece.
Chris Baker (11:39):
So when I was at the Rack Pack, one of the best
things that happened was we gotthe whole tour of the respect
piece.
So when I was at the Rack Pack,one of the best things that
happened was we got the wholetour of the entire space.
But I remember hearing a story,specifically from Daryl that
was some of the racks wereactually built as a
collaboration effort and I thinkthat was amazing, that that was
one way that another companycould give back and collaborate
(12:00):
with Goodman JFS in a differentway, because it's not always
about money.
Sometimes there's otheropportunities that we have.
So that's kind of coming backto the collaboration aspect.
Besides that, what other kindof collaborations have you guys
experienced with either othernonprofits or for-profits that
you could maybe share somestories on?
Morgan Weinblatt (12:20):
That's a great one.
I love that story that Daryltells.
Shout out to Daryl, she'samazing.
One collaboration that I canthink of that has worked really
well for us is we collaboratewith Consolidated Credit so we
provide financial literacyclasses and opportunities for
(12:40):
people that come to us for ourfinancial assistance program or
workforce development program sothat they're learning things
that may be common knowledge forus.
Budgeting, I mean simple, thatthey don't really teach you in
school.
You're kind of learning as yougo and if you didn't have that
guidance or mentorship orlearning, learning as you go and
(13:02):
if you didn't have thatguidance or mentorship or
learning, we're providing thatto clients again to help them
and give them the tools thatthey need to be self-sufficient
and eventually move on from us.
Now there will always be people, like Holocaust survivors, for
example, who are aging, who maynot have family, who have a lot
of needs as they age in place,who will be with us for a long
(13:26):
time, right, but for themajority of people that come to
us because they're in a crisisor experiencing life's many
challenges, we want to help themand be a stop along their
journey.
So the financial literacycourses with Consolidated Credit
have been phenomenal.
Their professionals come in andwork with our clients and again
(13:47):
, that's such a basic budgetingand understanding just
financials at a basic level isso crucial for people to be able
to live.
Chris Baker (13:56):
It was so interesting.
I was just at an event onFriday for women in distress and
they were just having the sameconversation because it digs so
deeply into how people can gettrapped in these unsafe
situations because they don'thave the information.
So I'm glad that there also ismore opportunities for people to
learn financial literacy.
(14:17):
That's very important.
Morgan Weinblatt (14:18):
Very important , and I mean just connecting
with other nonprofits in BrowardCounty who are doing similar
work.
You know we certainly have ourlane.
We're a social serviceorganization.
We help people with, I wouldsay, three primary areas Basic
needs services, so food,clothing, shelter, behavioral
(14:39):
health and trauma support.
So our social workers aretrained from a person-centered,
trauma-informed approach.
So really trauma is what we do.
Well, that's our bread andbutter.
And then Holocaust survivor andolder adult support.
Those are our three lanes.
Now there are thousands ofnonprofits, I think, in Broward
(15:00):
County.
And so we know we can't do itall, and so partnering with
those for-profit companies likea Consolidated Credit or other
nonprofits, like A Feeding SouthFlorida, who provide food to
our cupboard.
They're so critical in makingthis work happen and delivering
(15:20):
goods and services to people inneed.
I think of another one, thecity of Miramar.
We've been partnering with them.
Despite having Jewish in ourname, we do serve the broader
community and that's somethingthat people don't fully
understand.
We were created as a nonprofitto first serve the needs of the
Jewish community, but as theBroward community evolved, we
(15:41):
have too and we are servingother populations.
So the city of Miramar looked tous because we receive an influx
of food to our food pantry.
Our food pantry is kosher andwe primarily provide kosher food
to people keeping kosher orJewish individuals, but all of
(16:02):
the food that we get that is notkosher.
We partner with otherorganizations who need that food
.
So there's a lot of sort ofbartering going on and sharing
resources in Broward County witha lot of the food pantries and
so the city of Miramar.
We're able to provide that foodto their residents, and so
(16:22):
that's been an amazingpartnership that has grown over
the last year.
We do a few distributions withthem annually and they've really
embraced us and welcomed usinto their community.
So it's a lot of connecting andunderstanding where there's
gaps in resources and then wherewe could fill those gaps.
Chris Baker (16:41):
Sure, one of the other things that I know that
when we were filming at thecupboard for you on our first
video that we worked with you,is you guys actually have a
delivery service for some of thepeople that cannot get to the
cupboard.
Yes, can you talk a little bitabout that, because I know that
I got to meet Max and that wasjust amazing.
Morgan Weinblatt (16:57):
Yes, that's a really key aspect of our work.
First of all is our volunteerprogram.
Major shout out to ourvolunteers, from board members
who are volunteers all the wayto our kids that are in middle
school and high school, that aregoing with their parents and
delivering food to homeboundseniors or Holocaust survivors
(17:20):
and bringing them food.
So this really evolved duringthe pandemic, obviously, when
people were sheltering in place,not leaving their homes, really
with our elder population, theystarted to deteriorate very
quickly and many of them reallycan no longer leave their homes
and they are unfortunatelyhomebound or do not have access
(17:41):
to transportation to come to ourcupboard.
So we galvanize the volunteersand we have hundreds of
volunteers who have specificroutes on a regular basis, who
have specific clients that theydeliver to and they will deliver
their food to them and that'sbeen a major shift, I would say,
in the nonprofit landscape.
(18:03):
With anyone who's doing foodservice, you have to be doing
delivery at this point because,there are so many people who do
not have access totransportation or who cannot
leave their homes, and so that'sa major component of our
service delivery is the fooddelivery on a regular basis.
Chris Baker (18:20):
I'm going to touch a little bit and I'm going to
kind of talk to the audiencehere right now, but I do have to
ask where can they see thevideo that we created, feed the
Need and actually see Max talkabout the avocado story?
I'm not going to give you morethan that, because I want you to
go find it and watch it.
Morgan Weinblatt (18:36):
Isn't he the cutest?
He's amazing.
He was so cute.
Chris Baker (18:38):
Him and his mom were just amazing in the video
and just so kind Shout out tothe Bratters they're amazing.
Morgan Weinblatt (18:45):
So that video is on our YouTube channel.
So if you go to YouTube and youlook up Goodman JFS, that'll be
on there and you can learn moreabout our avocado man who's one
of our clients.
We have so many clients thatjust have these amazing stories
that again, when they see thefamiliar face of the volunteer,
it brings them so much joy.
Our volunteers have becometheir family.
(19:07):
Our staff have become theirfamily.
This is really who they lookforward to seeing on a regular
basis.
It may be one of the onlypeople they're seeing on a
regular basis.
So, it's so important for us tokeep those connections and,
again, we've had volunteers thathave been with us for 5, 10, 15
, 20 years.
Some board members have sharedwith me that before we had a
(19:30):
cupboard, they were deliveringbags of groceries to our clients
out of our old office that usedto be in Plantation and they
remember 20 years ago, you know,packing up the grocery bag.
So we've always done thatservice in terms of food support
.
But now it's on a much granderscale and we have the cupboard
(19:51):
and we have hundreds ofvolunteers and it's very
operationalized.
And shout out to the cupboardteam because they're amazing.
Chris Baker (20:00):
Ross and his team.
They were amazing to work with,so kind, so helpful, so I
really enjoyed that whole entireexperience.
So that was really fun.
Morgan Weinblatt (20:08):
You can come back anytime.
Definitely need to.
Chris Baker (20:10):
Definitely need to Make more footage and more
content library for you guys.
Morgan Weinblatt (20:15):
Exactly, exactly.
Chris Baker (20:17):
Okay, so we did get to touch a lot on the
collaborations.
Now I want to shift it a littlebit.
As you're providing theseservices specifically, what are
some of the challenges orlessons that you've learned to
hopefully help other nonprofitsget over these hurdles and
obstacles that they might befacing to get the support they
(20:37):
need from other nonprofits orfrom for-profits?
Morgan Weinblatt (20:41):
So there's so much to unpack there.
I've been thinking about thisquestion a lot and I think
there's a lot of different wayswe can answer it.
I think for nonprofits, thereis a lot of burnout when you
work for a nonprofit, that's ourreality, and so there's not a
lot of continuity in terms ofstaff staying with nonprofits.
(21:02):
So one of the things that we'reseeing is we are trying to
rebuild relationships with majorfunders in the community or
other nonprofits or for-profitcompanies, because we didn't
have a lot of continuity for alittle bit.
Ourselves, we're kind of in aregrowth mode.
We had some transition.
We've had our amazing CEO,randy Coleman, now for three
(21:24):
years.
I've been here almost over ayear at this point, so the ship
is stable.
But for many nonprofits we seethat transition and it impacts
collaboration and partnerships.
Chris Baker (21:36):
It does.
Morgan Weinblatt (21:37):
So that's the first thing in terms of
challenges, nonprofits try toretain your staff.
You know, be good to your staff, be gentle with your staff.
It's hard work.
No one goes into a nonprofit tomake money.
I mean, we really love the workwe do and we want to make an
impact and hopefully see theworld in a better place than you
(21:57):
know it once was.
So that's the first thing.
And then I think the secondthing for nonprofits in terms of
collaboration is just continuedawareness about who does what.
What is your lane in yournonprofit and your service
provision, and have peopleunderstand that.
And then, when they are unableto provide a service or do
(22:18):
something for their clients ortheir community, look to another
partner and put the ego to theside about that and say you know
what?
We can't handle this, this isnot something we do, this is not
core to us.
We don't have the competency orthe capacity, so we need to
look to another nonprofit that'sdoing this great work.
I think about other nonprofitsand one example that comes to
(22:41):
mind they were hosting a summitthat related to the middle class
and economic growth andeconomic development, and
because we have Jewish in ourname, some people may think we
only serve the Jewish community,but we do serve the broader
community, and this eventhappened to be on one of our
high holy days, rosh Hashanah.
Chris Baker (23:04):
Okay.
Morgan Weinblatt (23:04):
So that is a day that is like a Christmas.
That is one of our highest holydays of the year, where you
have a lot of Jewish individualsthat are not working or leaving
work early.
It's really our day to rest andobserve.
So we felt like we didn't havea seat at the table because we
couldn't attend the event and so, again, it's just awareness
(23:27):
about cultures and backgroundsand who's doing what, who's good
at service provision, and justtrying to be more inclusive,
which is so hard to do becauseyou have so many different
populations and diversebackgrounds and there's always a
(23:47):
holiday or there's alwayssomething.
So planning is not perfect, butjust to kind of keep that top
of mind in this space and beaware of it.
Chris Baker (23:57):
So I think that's very good advice, because
sometimes that we do, we're justlike, okay, I'm gonna pick this
date because it's the best forus, taking a little look and
like, okay, is this a holiday?
Is this affecting anyone else?
Right, and then, even if youhave to keep the same date, at
least you're reaching out, maybebeforehand and letting them
know hey, I'm sorry, this is theonly date that works for us.
(24:19):
we would love to have have yourepresented there, but we
understand it's also not aspecific date that you could be,
but having that conversationkeeps the collaboration alive.
Morgan Weinblatt (24:30):
Exactly.
Chris Baker (24:31):
And then one of the other things that you kind of
brought up is for smallernonprofits staying in their
mission and not mission driftingcreep yes um, it's.
it's one of the conversationsthat was just at an amazing um
panel and they were talkingabout mission drift, like you
(24:51):
know, and to kind of explain itI'm probably going to explain it
wrong but basically, if youhave a specific mission, your
niche, where you're really goingto focus your time, and then
something else comes along thatcould be there but it's just a
little outside of your mission,don't take it on.
Try to help.
Like you said, go find thepeople that can really handle it
(25:12):
and then find a way tocollaborate, because I think
that that's the most importantpiece is bringing the bigger
picture into place and, like yousaid, don't have the ego about
it, because that, honestly,could be the next step to really
getting you to grow evenfurther.
Because now, if you are a smallnon-profit, you're a one person
, two person show, and nowyou're working with goodman jfs,
(25:34):
you've got a whole entire teambacking you up because they're
like, oh, we don't handle yourniche, but we can handle this
area.
It's a perfect partnership.
Morgan Weinblatt (25:45):
It takes such thoughtful leaders to be able to
say that and say you know what.
We're going to look to anotherorganization that's doing that
well and collaborate with themand partner with them.
Correct, and we work every dayvery hard to do that as well.
You know, we know what our laneis and we know what we do well
(26:08):
and where we want to spend ourtime, based on the needs.
And so, yeah, nonprofitsdefinitely need to, I think,
work harder at that.
Work that muscle a little bitin terms of staying mission
focused and not having themission creep.
Chris Baker (26:21):
Yeah, no, I completely agree and I think
that, honestly, it's so valuableof information so I can't wait
to get this episode out to share.
Because, honestly, I think ifwe can bring the leaders
together in such a way that theycan actually do more good on a
bigger scale, we're all going tolove Cloud9.
(26:42):
Because their statement whennonprofits thrive, communities
rise.
So I'm saying a huge shout outto Cloud9.
I love that it's an amazingtagline.
Morgan Weinblatt (26:54):
I love that.
Chris Baker (26:55):
And it's so true because, as the nonprofits do
more and do better, the wholecommunity rises.
So huge shout out to Cloud9.
Loved working with you guys inthe past as well, and so I think
this is an excellentopportunity to bring leaders
together, find the collaborationefforts that work, and then we
can always just grow Like.
(27:16):
That is why we're here.
Morgan Weinblatt (27:18):
A hundred percent.
Chris Baker (27:19):
So that's fantastic , all right.
So, looking ahead, what aresome of the strategies that you
guys have in store in GoodmanJFS that you're going to help
bring to strengthen BrowardCounty?
Morgan Weinblatt (27:32):
So one of the areas that we're really looking
at is our aging population.
Here, I mean we have a verylarge senior population in South
Florida, primarily BrowardCounty.
So how we can strengthen reallyservices for seniors and grow
that area and support them againas they age in place, as they
need more resources.
(27:53):
The affordability crisis isonly getting worse, especially
here in South Florida, as peoplecontinue to move here in kind
of just droves.
Chris Baker (28:05):
So fast.
Morgan Weinblatt (28:07):
It's really increasing the rise of costs and
everything.
I mean.
Affordable housing is a reallybig issue in this county, and so
we're really looking atservices to support those
individuals.
So that's a really big area forus, as well as food and
nutrition support.
You know, if you don't havethree meals a day and you're not
(28:29):
fed, how are you able to go towork?
How are you able to do anythingelse?
That's a really importantaspect for us and really just
case management in terms of justagain helping people from a
holistic approach individualsthat are in crisis, that need
mental health support, to try toget them to live more
(28:51):
self-sufficiently and reallyintegrate with society.
So those are a lot of the keyareas that we're looking at in
terms of our work in theforeseeable future and also
trying to.
We have four locations rightnow, so we are kind of
distributed around BrowardCounty.
We have four locations right now, so we are kind of distributed
around Broward County.
(29:12):
You know, the geography of thiscounty is challenging and how
can people get to differentsites.
And one of the things that weimagine may be helpful for
people is having a one-stop shop, a physical one-stop shop, you
know, co-locating our Rack, Pack, Clothing Closet and our
cupboard and having a workforcedevelopment staff member there
(29:33):
to really help people again getwhat they need, give them the
tools to succeed and move onfrom us.
So those are the things thatwe're looking at.
And, again, more collaborationwith the for-profit community,
especially individuals,companies.
Right now, with what's going onin the world, there's a lot of
(29:54):
uncertainty with funding fornonprofits.
That's a really big issue thatwe're facing.
That keeps me up every singleday and all of us nonprofit
leaders.
But it's the individuals thatcan really make a difference and
we depend on them.
I mean our donors, oursupporters.
(30:15):
they're our lifeline and we justneed more of them to know who
we are, understand what we doand really to see the tangible
impact that we're making so theyfeel good about it.
Chris Baker (30:28):
With that statement , we're talking about the
uncertainty of everything rightnow.
It's so hard.
I just put out an article onLinkedIn why storytelling at
this moment is so critical soimportant.
Because now you have to startreaching the average individual,
the workers.
You know.
Maybe get that extra fivedollars a month from each person
(30:50):
could make a huge differencehuge difference and the way to
you know, get that informationto them is the right story.
Yep, um, so yeah, I really likeI put that out there, as you
know, just to help for all thenon-profits.
Like, let's talk storytelling,whether it's us, whether it's
another company, whether you cando it yourself, whatever the
case, be, find an opportunity toreally tell your story and do
(31:13):
it well.
Morgan Weinblatt (31:14):
I mean, we talk a lot about the people we
serve.
They could be your neighbors,they could be your friends that
you have no idea that they'regoing through a hard time.
We have a donor right now.
Here's an amazing story.
She was a client of ours.
She came to the cupboard andshe was a client of Rackpack and
(31:35):
we helped her.
For probably about two monthsshe lost her job.
She was going through adifficult time with her family,
a lot of financial uncertainty,and after we helped her she got
a job and we kind of didn't hearfrom her for a little bit.
She called me and said you know, I'm running this successful
(31:57):
e-commerce makeup company that Ireally want to give back to you
guys because you helped me somuch.
And I was shocked.
I mean I was shocked to get thatcall, that she was so grateful
for our help and she now wantsto give back to us, like she was
a client and then became adonor.
And she's giving back to us ona regular basis through her
(32:19):
e-commerce platform and it's theeasiest way to give.
And every few days I receive anemail like you received X
amount of dollars in youraccount and I think of her so
often and I reach out to her andwe have this great relationship
.
But it's one of those storieswhere she from the beginning was
like I really want to help andI don't know if I can do X
(32:41):
amount per year.
She was overwhelmed by anamount that she could do and I
said any little bit counts.
You could give a dollar a day,which is $365, which feeds a
family of four for two months.
Putting it in perspectivethat's amazing If you think
about it that small little bityou are helping, the dollar goes
(33:03):
so far with that, and so nowshe has us connected to her
e-commerce website and we getmoney, you know, every month or
so, and it's really nice.
She's given us thousands ofdollars just from that, from her
business, so it's a prettyamazing story.
Chris Baker (33:20):
Wow, that is really Shout out to her I know.
Thank you so much for helpingGoodman.
Morgan Weinblatt (33:24):
I want to get her story on camera, but we'll
see.
We'll work on that.
Chris Baker (33:27):
We'll work on that story on camera, but we'll work
on that All right.
So before we wrap up, we haveone.
More specific is the eventthat's coming up.
Breaking the Silence.
Morgan Weinblatt (33:36):
Yes, Breaking the Silence, Building Resilience
.
So this is on March 20th andthis is one of our signature
events that raises money forthree of our programs our Rack
Pack Clothing Closet that wetalked about, our Jeff Masaryk
Behavioral Health Center and ourDomestic Abuse Program.
So really the theme is helpingindividuals and families through
(33:57):
trauma and crisis.
That's kind of been our theme,what we've been talking about
and a primary focus of what wedo.
It will be at the Marriott atDania Point and we are honoring
Dr Stanley and Pearl Goodman,our namesakes.
They're an incredible,incredible couple who have been
in this community for decades.
They are trailblazers in termsof philanthropy, community
(34:20):
involvement.
They've been so generous to NSU, to us, to multiple
organizations in the community,and they are moving.
They're moving to Washington DCto be closer to family.
So this is really theopportunity for the community to
come together, rally aroundthem, congratulate them, honor
them.
So that'll be on Thursday,March 20th at Dania Point, at
(34:44):
the Marriott, and we hope to seepeople there because it'll
certainly be a sold out eventfor sure.
Chris Baker (34:49):
Yeah, I could see that definitely happening easily
.
Okay, so before we get to thelast question, how do people get
involved or contact Goodman JFS?
Morgan Weinblatt (35:00):
Very easy.
Go to our website jfsbrowerorg.
You can reach out to me as well, mweinblatt.
At jfsbrowerorg.
You can find our numbers on ourwebsite, but really our website
is our best way, or Instagramat JFS of Broward or Goodman JFS
of Broward on Facebook.
(35:21):
We're on Facebook, instagram,linkedin so you can connect with
us there.
Or reach out to us through ourwebsite would be the best way.
Chris Baker (35:28):
So website?
Yes, definitely, yeah.
I heard that a couple times, soI think that probably makes it
the easiest.
As we wrap up, what is thelegacy that you hope to leave
through your work and reallygive back to the future
generations?
Morgan Weinblatt (35:44):
This one hits home for me a lot because I have
an 18-month-old son, sobecoming a parent has been
life-changing for me and I justthink about leaving the world in
a better place for him, havingpeople be kinder, more
compassionate.
Again, helping your neighbor,helping your friend, is
(36:07):
important to me and I hopepeople remember me as being
someone that helped them feelgood about giving back, because
that's really my job as afundraiser.
I am the vehicle to peoplegiving and feeling good about
helping people, helping othersin their community.
So I hope that's what theyremember me as as that important
(36:30):
vehicle that helps them feelgood about philanthropy and
making a difference and again,just being a good neighbor and
friend.
Chris Baker (36:39):
Awesome.
Morgan, thank you so much forjoining us today.
Morgan Weinblatt (36:43):
Thank you.
Chris Baker (36:44):
And I hope everybody enjoys this episode
and I hope to have you back andwe can talk about Part two.
Morgan Weinblatt (36:49):
Hope everybody enjoys this episode and I hope
to have you back and we can talkabout part two.
Chris Baker (36:51):
part two we'll talk about future involvement, that
we have worked together onfuture projects and hopefully
just you know get moreinformation about future events
too.
Morgan Weinblatt (37:00):
Amazing.
Thank you so much for having me.
This was so fun.
Chris Baker (37:03):
Thank you so much.
Thank you for joining me onthis episode of Visual Eyes.
We hope that the inspirationand practical insights can help
you foster stronger connectionsand meaningful change.
Don't forget to subscribe,share the episode and leave us a
review.
To learn more about Visuals byMomo and how we support
collaboration and storytelling,visit visualsbymomo.
(37:24):
com.
A huge thank you to everyoneout there listening.
A huge thank you to everyoneout there listening.
Until next time, remember,collaboration fuels change and
your connections can inspire theworld.
Welcome to Visual Eyes, the podcast where
collaboration fuels change.
I'm your host, chris Baker, andeach week we'll explore
incredible connections betweennonprofits, businesses and the
community.
This is a space where wehighlight inspiring partnerships
, uncover strategies forcreating meaningful impact and
share stories that show howworking together can make all
(00:24):
the difference.
Whether you're a nonprofitleader, a business owner or
someone just passionate aboutbuilding connections, this
podcast is for you.
Welcome back to Visual Eyes.
Today I have a very specialguest from Goodman Jewish Family
Services of Broward County.
Short for Goodman, JFS, Morgan.
(00:47):
How are you today?
Morgan Weinblatt (00:48):
I'm well.
Thanks for having me Excellent.
This is exciting, thank you.
Chris Baker (00:53):
So the first thing we're going to start off with is
, specifically can you shareyour journey and what inspired
you to become more involved withGoodman JFS and helping Broward
County?
Morgan Weinblatt (01:05):
Sure.
So philanthropy was always veryimportant in my family.
Growing up, my parents alwaysparticipated in community events
in New York, where I'm from,when I was working for my alma
mater, hofstra University.
After college, I worked for anorganization that helped Jewish
students on college campuses andI just loved it.
(01:28):
I loved working with collegestudents.
I loved the nonprofit world,working in it as a professional,
getting mentored by myexecutive director.
It was just a reallycollaborative and fun
environment and I saw the directimpact that I was making on
college students.
I had the opportunity to movedown to South Florida and worked
(01:48):
at the University of MiamiHillel in Miami, and so that's
how I came to South Florida.
When I moved to Broward County,I had the opportunity to work
for Goodman Jewish FamilyServices.
So I've always been in thefundraising, development, events
, marketing sort of realm andputting on events to basically
(02:10):
raise funds for the organization.
Goodman Jewish Family Servicesis such an important
organization in our communityhelping really vulnerable people
, multiple populations really,from children all the way to
people that are over 100 yearsold Holocaust survivors.
So I see the direct impact thatwe make every day and
(02:33):
fundraising and development issuch a critical piece to that
because that's how we're able tohelp people is get the
resources we need to be able toprovide them to people that are
in need.
That's how I got involved andBroward has really welcomed me
with open arms.
Chris Baker (02:48):
There's a lot of New Yorkers down here, so I feel
right at home, but it's reallyan amazing community.
Morgan Weinblatt (02:53):
It's very diverse.
There are a lot of veryphilanthropic giving people in
this community that want to dobetter and want to do good, and
so we're fortunate to be able tomeet those people if they want
to make an impact and work withus everybody, and that was
(03:26):
something that really kind ofwas inspiring, because what you
guys have started is just soincredibly important and
valuable for this community toreally thrive.
Chris Baker (03:31):
So thank you very much for joining this cause and
being here today again.
So I want to talk a little bitabout a couple of your programs
that you did want.
One of the ones that youmentioned was the Holocaust
Survivor Assistance Program, andthen we also would love to talk
about Joseph's Path DisabilityServices, and so let's start
there, and then we can talk alittle bit more about other
(03:53):
collaborations.
Morgan Weinblatt (03:54):
Great.
So the Holocaust SurvivorAssistance Program is personally
very meaningful to me.
My grandparents escaped theHolocaust.
They fled France right beforethe war and came to New York and
that's really how my father'sside of the family grew up.
That was a big part of ourfamily's upbringing and our
(04:15):
family's story.
So when I learned that Jewishfamily service organizations
across the country and in Canadaso internationally are helping
survivors, it really hit homefor me and I felt like I landed
in the right place.
So we have about 1,500 survivorsliving in Broward County we're
one of the largest populationsin the United States outside of
(04:38):
New York and in LA and so weserve about 500 to 800 survivors
annually really with a varietyof needs Home care, if they need
to go to a dental appointment,if they need help with rent, if
they need food.
We are really, for a lot ofthem, their family.
Many of them did not have anychildren, never got married,
(05:02):
lost touch or their familyunfortunately perished in the
Holocaust, and so family for usI mean it's in our name Goodman
Jewish Family Services, so weare their family and we take
care of them, and we haveamazing social workers, amazing
professional staff that go intotheir homes and they see a
(05:23):
friendly face, they help withthe social isolation that
they've been experiencing stillas a result of the pandemic.
So we do a lot of luncheons forthem, we do a lot of activities
, we really just to try to makethem live their lives with
dignity, independence and livethe rest of their lives, you
(05:43):
know, with with hope and andjust be happy.
So that's really a goal for uswith that program.
And then our Joshua's PathDisability Services Program such
an amazing program.
We help neurodivergent adultsreally have a safe space and
learn social skills and go outin the community and visit
(06:04):
different companies anddifferent nonprofits and just
get those experiences and seehow people are living their
lives and giving back tocommunity.
And so we have about 25participants in our class and
they have a graduation everyyear at the end of their session
.
So it's quite an amazingprogram.
We have a few staff membersthat again help run the program.
(06:27):
It's a lot of respite for thefamily members as well.
It's not a full day program butit is time for family members
to kind of have that respite, dowhat they need to do during the
day.
Their adult child right comesto us, learn social skills is
around other individuals.
(06:49):
They all form bonds andfriendships, so there are so
many layers to this programthat's so important for these
individuals and their families.
So we really love this programand we have pretty incredible
partners that are funding thisprogram as well.
Chris Baker (07:05):
Can you tell any of a success story that happened
through Joseph's Path that?
Kind of can help and inspireother people in the community to
really look at this program.
Morgan Weinblatt (07:15):
Yeah, I mean there's a few that come to mind.
Some of these individuals mostof them, I would say may not
necessarily become gainfullyemployed five days a week, nine
to five, but if they're able toget out of the house and
volunteer one of them actuallyvolunteers at our cupboard.
(07:36):
So talk about wraparoundservices, which for us means if
you come to Goodman JewishFamily Services, we can help you
in many different ways.
We are assessing your needs,whether that's with food and
nutrition, support, mentalhealth.
You need help with your rent.
We'll help with rentalassistance, we'll provide
(07:58):
clothing to you.
There are many different waysthat we help people holistically
, and so we had a client in ourJoshua's Path program who now
helps out at our cupboard, atour food pantry.
So he's there multiple days aweek.
He's interacting with the staff, he's interacting with our
clients, he has meaning, he haspurpose, and so that's really
(08:20):
what the goal is.
Chris Baker (08:21):
So I know a little bit more than maybe a lot of
other people about Goodman, jfsand the couple of different
things that you brought up wasthe cupboard and Rat Pack, so
can you talk a little bit moreabout that before we go back to
collaboration just because webring that up?
Let's have that conversationnow, sure.
Morgan Weinblatt (08:40):
So Goodman Jewish Family Services I like to
describe it as kind of anumbrella, where we have about 12
different programs underneathour brand.
So Rack Pack Clothing Closet isone of our programs and the
Dorit and Benje Jenea Cupboardis another one of our programs.
The cupboard is a food pantry.
(09:01):
It's a choice food pantry, sowe're not giving anyone just a
standard box of non-perishablegoods.
They can come in.
It's by appointment, it'sconfidential.
It looks like a grocery storewhere they can shop, they can
choose their items.
We help them select differentitems based on nutrition needs
(09:23):
and whatever needs they have.
We have a social worker thatalso works with them in terms of
other needs, whether that berental assistance, whether that
be clothing from the Rack PackClothing.
Chris Baker (09:36):
Closet.
Morgan Weinblatt (09:37):
So again, we are wrapping ourselves around
someone and looking at all oftheir individualized needs so
that when they leave us, theyhave everything they need,
they're self-sufficient and theycan move on from us.
That's really our goal is toenable people to live
self-sufficiently andindependently.
So the cupboard is amazing.
That's where we are unique.
(09:59):
It's a choice food pantry wherepeople can come in and it's
confidential.
They're the only client in ourfood pantry where people can
come in and it's confidential.
They're the only client in ourfood pantry at a time.
The Rack Pack Clothing Closetis also one of my favorite
programs because it's just sucha phenomenal program and the way
that it's set up.
You guys went there and itlooks like a boutique.
(10:20):
I mean it's so well done,thoughtful, in terms of how they
separate out clothing fordifferent genders and sizes and
family sizes, and it really iscompletely free to clients.
They can come to us whetherthey had a house fire,
unfortunately, and losteverything and need clothing.
(10:41):
You know we see a lot ofdifferent families, individuals,
different stages of life wherethey're going through crisis or
a challenge and they just needto rely on us for that.
You know one thing that theyneed, so the clothing closet.
We have baby items, we havesuits for men if they're going
(11:01):
on interviews.
You know professional clothingfor women if they're going on
interviews to hopefully get jobs, shoes I mean everything in
between.
We really try to make it like aboutique and like a great
experience for our clients.
It's also confidential and it'sa choice closet.
So our staff there they also tryto help style the clothing for
(11:25):
clients so that when they do getthe clothing from us, they can
wear an item in multipledifferent ways and feel good
about themselves, because that'sreally important for us.
The dignity piece is veryimportant and the respect piece.
Chris Baker (11:39):
So when I was at the Rack Pack, one of the best
things that happened was we gotthe whole tour of the respect
piece.
So when I was at the Rack Pack,one of the best things that
happened was we got the wholetour of the entire space.
But I remember hearing a story,specifically from Daryl that
was some of the racks wereactually built as a
collaboration effort and I thinkthat was amazing, that that was
one way that another companycould give back and collaborate
(12:00):
with Goodman JFS in a differentway, because it's not always
about money.
Sometimes there's otheropportunities that we have.
So that's kind of coming backto the collaboration aspect.
Besides that, what other kindof collaborations have you guys
experienced with either othernonprofits or for-profits that
you could maybe share somestories on?
Morgan Weinblatt (12:20):
That's a great one.
I love that story that Daryltells.
Shout out to Daryl, she'samazing.
One collaboration that I canthink of that has worked really
well for us is we collaboratewith Consolidated Credit so we
provide financial literacyclasses and opportunities for
(12:40):
people that come to us for ourfinancial assistance program or
workforce development program sothat they're learning things
that may be common knowledge forus.
Budgeting, I mean simple, thatthey don't really teach you in
school.
You're kind of learning as yougo and if you didn't have that
guidance or mentorship orlearning, learning as you go and
(13:02):
if you didn't have thatguidance or mentorship or
learning, we're providing thatto clients again to help them
and give them the tools thatthey need to be self-sufficient
and eventually move on from us.
Now there will always be people, like Holocaust survivors, for
example, who are aging, who maynot have family, who have a lot
of needs as they age in place,who will be with us for a long
(13:26):
time, right, but for themajority of people that come to
us because they're in a crisisor experiencing life's many
challenges, we want to help themand be a stop along their
journey.
So the financial literacycourses with Consolidated Credit
have been phenomenal.
Their professionals come in andwork with our clients and again
(13:47):
, that's such a basic budgetingand understanding just
financials at a basic level isso crucial for people to be able
to live.
Chris Baker (13:56):
It was so interesting.
I was just at an event onFriday for women in distress and
they were just having the sameconversation because it digs so
deeply into how people can gettrapped in these unsafe
situations because they don'thave the information.
So I'm glad that there also ismore opportunities for people to
learn financial literacy.
(14:17):
That's very important.
Morgan Weinblatt (14:18):
Very important , and I mean just connecting
with other nonprofits in BrowardCounty who are doing similar
work.
You know we certainly have ourlane.
We're a social serviceorganization.
We help people with, I wouldsay, three primary areas Basic
needs services, so food,clothing, shelter, behavioral
(14:39):
health and trauma support.
So our social workers aretrained from a person-centered,
trauma-informed approach.
So really trauma is what we do.
Well, that's our bread andbutter.
And then Holocaust survivor andolder adult support.
Those are our three lanes.
Now there are thousands ofnonprofits, I think, in Broward
(15:00):
County.
And so we know we can't do itall, and so partnering with
those for-profit companies likea Consolidated Credit or other
nonprofits, like A Feeding SouthFlorida, who provide food to
our cupboard.
They're so critical in makingthis work happen and delivering
(15:20):
goods and services to people inneed.
I think of another one, thecity of Miramar.
We've been partnering with them.
Despite having Jewish in ourname, we do serve the broader
community and that's somethingthat people don't fully
understand.
We were created as a nonprofitto first serve the needs of the
Jewish community, but as theBroward community evolved, we
(15:41):
have too and we are servingother populations.
So the city of Miramar looked tous because we receive an influx
of food to our food pantry.
Our food pantry is kosher andwe primarily provide kosher food
to people keeping kosher orJewish individuals, but all of
(16:02):
the food that we get that is notkosher.
We partner with otherorganizations who need that food
.
So there's a lot of sort ofbartering going on and sharing
resources in Broward County witha lot of the food pantries and
so the city of Miramar.
We're able to provide that foodto their residents, and so
(16:22):
that's been an amazingpartnership that has grown over
the last year.
We do a few distributions withthem annually and they've really
embraced us and welcomed usinto their community.
So it's a lot of connecting andunderstanding where there's
gaps in resources and then wherewe could fill those gaps.
Chris Baker (16:41):
Sure, one of the other things that I know that
when we were filming at thecupboard for you on our first
video that we worked with you,is you guys actually have a
delivery service for some of thepeople that cannot get to the
cupboard.
Yes, can you talk a little bitabout that, because I know that
I got to meet Max and that wasjust amazing.
Morgan Weinblatt (16:57):
Yes, that's a really key aspect of our work.
First of all is our volunteerprogram.
Major shout out to ourvolunteers, from board members
who are volunteers all the wayto our kids that are in middle
school and high school, that aregoing with their parents and
delivering food to homeboundseniors or Holocaust survivors
(17:20):
and bringing them food.
So this really evolved duringthe pandemic, obviously, when
people were sheltering in place,not leaving their homes, really
with our elder population, theystarted to deteriorate very
quickly and many of them reallycan no longer leave their homes
and they are unfortunatelyhomebound or do not have access
(17:41):
to transportation to come to ourcupboard.
So we galvanize the volunteersand we have hundreds of
volunteers who have specificroutes on a regular basis, who
have specific clients that theydeliver to and they will deliver
their food to them and that'sbeen a major shift, I would say,
in the nonprofit landscape.
(18:03):
With anyone who's doing foodservice, you have to be doing
delivery at this point because,there are so many people who do
not have access totransportation or who cannot
leave their homes, and so that'sa major component of our
service delivery is the fooddelivery on a regular basis.
Chris Baker (18:20):
I'm going to touch a little bit and I'm going to
kind of talk to the audiencehere right now, but I do have to
ask where can they see thevideo that we created, feed the
Need and actually see Max talkabout the avocado story?
I'm not going to give you morethan that, because I want you to
go find it and watch it.
Morgan Weinblatt (18:36):
Isn't he the cutest?
He's amazing.
He was so cute.
Chris Baker (18:38):
Him and his mom were just amazing in the video
and just so kind Shout out tothe Bratters they're amazing.
Morgan Weinblatt (18:45):
So that video is on our YouTube channel.
So if you go to YouTube and youlook up Goodman JFS, that'll be
on there and you can learn moreabout our avocado man who's one
of our clients.
We have so many clients thatjust have these amazing stories
that again, when they see thefamiliar face of the volunteer,
it brings them so much joy.
Our volunteers have becometheir family.
(19:07):
Our staff have become theirfamily.
This is really who they lookforward to seeing on a regular
basis.
It may be one of the onlypeople they're seeing on a
regular basis.
So, it's so important for us tokeep those connections and,
again, we've had volunteers thathave been with us for 5, 10, 15
, 20 years.
Some board members have sharedwith me that before we had a
(19:30):
cupboard, they were deliveringbags of groceries to our clients
out of our old office that usedto be in Plantation and they
remember 20 years ago, you know,packing up the grocery bag.
So we've always done thatservice in terms of food support
.
But now it's on a much granderscale and we have the cupboard
(19:51):
and we have hundreds ofvolunteers and it's very
operationalized.
And shout out to the cupboardteam because they're amazing.
Chris Baker (20:00):
Ross and his team.
They were amazing to work with,so kind, so helpful, so I
really enjoyed that whole entireexperience.
So that was really fun.
Morgan Weinblatt (20:08):
You can come back anytime.
Definitely need to.
Chris Baker (20:10):
Definitely need to Make more footage and more
content library for you guys.
Morgan Weinblatt (20:15):
Exactly, exactly.
Chris Baker (20:17):
Okay, so we did get to touch a lot on the
collaborations.
Now I want to shift it a littlebit.
As you're providing theseservices specifically, what are
some of the challenges orlessons that you've learned to
hopefully help other nonprofitsget over these hurdles and
obstacles that they might befacing to get the support they
(20:37):
need from other nonprofits orfrom for-profits?
Morgan Weinblatt (20:41):
So there's so much to unpack there.
I've been thinking about thisquestion a lot and I think
there's a lot of different wayswe can answer it.
I think for nonprofits, thereis a lot of burnout when you
work for a nonprofit, that's ourreality, and so there's not a
lot of continuity in terms ofstaff staying with nonprofits.
(21:02):
So one of the things that we'reseeing is we are trying to
rebuild relationships with majorfunders in the community or
other nonprofits or for-profitcompanies, because we didn't
have a lot of continuity for alittle bit.
Ourselves, we're kind of in aregrowth mode.
We had some transition.
We've had our amazing CEO,randy Coleman, now for three
(21:24):
years.
I've been here almost over ayear at this point, so the ship
is stable.
But for many nonprofits we seethat transition and it impacts
collaboration and partnerships.
Chris Baker (21:36):
It does.
Morgan Weinblatt (21:37):
So that's the first thing in terms of
challenges, nonprofits try toretain your staff.
You know, be good to your staff, be gentle with your staff.
It's hard work.
No one goes into a nonprofit tomake money.
I mean, we really love the workwe do and we want to make an
impact and hopefully see theworld in a better place than you
(21:57):
know it once was.
So that's the first thing.
And then I think the secondthing for nonprofits in terms of
collaboration is just continuedawareness about who does what.
What is your lane in yournonprofit and your service
provision, and have peopleunderstand that.
And then, when they are unableto provide a service or do
(22:18):
something for their clients ortheir community, look to another
partner and put the ego to theside about that and say you know
what?
We can't handle this, this isnot something we do, this is not
core to us.
We don't have the competency orthe capacity, so we need to
look to another nonprofit that'sdoing this great work.
I think about other nonprofitsand one example that comes to
(22:41):
mind they were hosting a summitthat related to the middle class
and economic growth andeconomic development, and
because we have Jewish in ourname, some people may think we
only serve the Jewish community,but we do serve the broader
community, and this eventhappened to be on one of our
high holy days, rosh Hashanah.
Chris Baker (23:04):
Okay.
Morgan Weinblatt (23:04):
So that is a day that is like a Christmas.
That is one of our highest holydays of the year, where you
have a lot of Jewish individualsthat are not working or leaving
work early.
It's really our day to rest andobserve.
So we felt like we didn't havea seat at the table because we
couldn't attend the event and so, again, it's just awareness
(23:27):
about cultures and backgroundsand who's doing what, who's good
at service provision, and justtrying to be more inclusive,
which is so hard to do becauseyou have so many different
populations and diversebackgrounds and there's always a
(23:47):
holiday or there's alwayssomething.
So planning is not perfect, butjust to kind of keep that top
of mind in this space and beaware of it.
Chris Baker (23:57):
So I think that's very good advice, because
sometimes that we do, we're justlike, okay, I'm gonna pick this
date because it's the best forus, taking a little look and
like, okay, is this a holiday?
Is this affecting anyone else?
Right, and then, even if youhave to keep the same date, at
least you're reaching out, maybebeforehand and letting them
know hey, I'm sorry, this is theonly date that works for us.
(24:19):
we would love to have have yourepresented there, but we
understand it's also not aspecific date that you could be,
but having that conversationkeeps the collaboration alive.
Morgan Weinblatt (24:30):
Exactly.
Chris Baker (24:31):
And then one of the other things that you kind of
brought up is for smallernonprofits staying in their
mission and not mission driftingcreep yes um, it's.
it's one of the conversationsthat was just at an amazing um
panel and they were talkingabout mission drift, like you
(24:51):
know, and to kind of explain itI'm probably going to explain it
wrong but basically, if youhave a specific mission, your
niche, where you're really goingto focus your time, and then
something else comes along thatcould be there but it's just a
little outside of your mission,don't take it on.
Try to help.
Like you said, go find thepeople that can really handle it
(25:12):
and then find a way tocollaborate, because I think
that that's the most importantpiece is bringing the bigger
picture into place and, like yousaid, don't have the ego about
it, because that, honestly,could be the next step to really
getting you to grow evenfurther.
Because now, if you are a smallnon-profit, you're a one person
, two person show, and nowyou're working with goodman jfs,
(25:34):
you've got a whole entire teambacking you up because they're
like, oh, we don't handle yourniche, but we can handle this
area.
It's a perfect partnership.
Morgan Weinblatt (25:45):
It takes such thoughtful leaders to be able to
say that and say you know what.
We're going to look to anotherorganization that's doing that
well and collaborate with themand partner with them.
Correct, and we work every dayvery hard to do that as well.
You know, we know what our laneis and we know what we do well
(26:08):
and where we want to spend ourtime, based on the needs.
And so, yeah, nonprofitsdefinitely need to, I think,
work harder at that.
Work that muscle a little bitin terms of staying mission
focused and not having themission creep.
Chris Baker (26:21):
Yeah, no, I completely agree and I think
that, honestly, it's so valuableof information so I can't wait
to get this episode out to share.
Because, honestly, I think ifwe can bring the leaders
together in such a way that theycan actually do more good on a
bigger scale, we're all going tolove Cloud9.
(26:42):
Because their statement whennonprofits thrive, communities
rise.
So I'm saying a huge shout outto Cloud9.
I love that it's an amazingtagline.
Morgan Weinblatt (26:54):
I love that.
Chris Baker (26:55):
And it's so true because, as the nonprofits do
more and do better, the wholecommunity rises.
So huge shout out to Cloud9.
Loved working with you guys inthe past as well, and so I think
this is an excellentopportunity to bring leaders
together, find the collaborationefforts that work, and then we
can always just grow Like.
(27:16):
That is why we're here.
Morgan Weinblatt (27:18):
A hundred percent.
Chris Baker (27:19):
So that's fantastic , all right.
So, looking ahead, what aresome of the strategies that you
guys have in store in GoodmanJFS that you're going to help
bring to strengthen BrowardCounty?
Morgan Weinblatt (27:32):
So one of the areas that we're really looking
at is our aging population.
Here, I mean we have a verylarge senior population in South
Florida, primarily BrowardCounty.
So how we can strengthen reallyservices for seniors and grow
that area and support them againas they age in place, as they
need more resources.
(27:53):
The affordability crisis isonly getting worse, especially
here in South Florida, as peoplecontinue to move here in kind
of just droves.
Chris Baker (28:05):
So fast.
Morgan Weinblatt (28:07):
It's really increasing the rise of costs and
everything.
I mean.
Affordable housing is a reallybig issue in this county, and so
we're really looking atservices to support those
individuals.
So that's a really big area forus, as well as food and
nutrition support.
You know, if you don't havethree meals a day and you're not
(28:29):
fed, how are you able to go towork?
How are you able to do anythingelse?
That's a really importantaspect for us and really just
case management in terms of justagain helping people from a
holistic approach individualsthat are in crisis, that need
mental health support, to try toget them to live more
(28:51):
self-sufficiently and reallyintegrate with society.
So those are a lot of the keyareas that we're looking at in
terms of our work in theforeseeable future and also
trying to.
We have four locations rightnow, so we are kind of
distributed around BrowardCounty.
We have four locations right now, so we are kind of distributed
around Broward County.
(29:12):
You know, the geography of thiscounty is challenging and how
can people get to differentsites.
And one of the things that weimagine may be helpful for
people is having a one-stop shop, a physical one-stop shop, you
know, co-locating our Rack, Pack, Clothing Closet and our
cupboard and having a workforcedevelopment staff member there
(29:33):
to really help people again getwhat they need, give them the
tools to succeed and move onfrom us.
So those are the things thatwe're looking at.
And, again, more collaborationwith the for-profit community,
especially individuals,companies.
Right now, with what's going onin the world, there's a lot of
(29:54):
uncertainty with funding fornonprofits.
That's a really big issue thatwe're facing.
That keeps me up every singleday and all of us nonprofit
leaders.
But it's the individuals thatcan really make a difference and
we depend on them.
I mean our donors, oursupporters.
(30:15):
they're our lifeline and we justneed more of them to know who
we are, understand what we doand really to see the tangible
impact that we're making so theyfeel good about it.
Chris Baker (30:28):
With that statement , we're talking about the
uncertainty of everything rightnow.
It's so hard.
I just put out an article onLinkedIn why storytelling at
this moment is so critical soimportant.
Because now you have to startreaching the average individual,
the workers.
You know.
Maybe get that extra fivedollars a month from each person
(30:50):
could make a huge differencehuge difference and the way to
you know, get that informationto them is the right story.
Yep, um, so yeah, I really likeI put that out there, as you
know, just to help for all thenon-profits.
Like, let's talk storytelling,whether it's us, whether it's
another company, whether you cando it yourself, whatever the
case, be, find an opportunity toreally tell your story and do
(31:13):
it well.
Morgan Weinblatt (31:14):
I mean, we talk a lot about the people we
serve.
They could be your neighbors,they could be your friends that
you have no idea that they'regoing through a hard time.
We have a donor right now.
Here's an amazing story.
She was a client of ours.
She came to the cupboard andshe was a client of Rackpack and
(31:35):
we helped her.
For probably about two monthsshe lost her job.
She was going through adifficult time with her family,
a lot of financial uncertainty,and after we helped her she got
a job and we kind of didn't hearfrom her for a little bit.
She called me and said you know, I'm running this successful
(31:57):
e-commerce makeup company that Ireally want to give back to you
guys because you helped me somuch.
And I was shocked.
I mean I was shocked to get thatcall, that she was so grateful
for our help and she now wantsto give back to us, like she was
a client and then became adonor.
And she's giving back to us ona regular basis through her
(32:19):
e-commerce platform and it's theeasiest way to give.
And every few days I receive anemail like you received X
amount of dollars in youraccount and I think of her so
often and I reach out to her andwe have this great relationship
.
But it's one of those storieswhere she from the beginning was
like I really want to help andI don't know if I can do X
(32:41):
amount per year.
She was overwhelmed by anamount that she could do and I
said any little bit counts.
You could give a dollar a day,which is $365, which feeds a
family of four for two months.
Putting it in perspectivethat's amazing If you think
about it that small little bityou are helping, the dollar goes
(33:03):
so far with that, and so nowshe has us connected to her
e-commerce website and we getmoney, you know, every month or
so, and it's really nice.
She's given us thousands ofdollars just from that, from her
business, so it's a prettyamazing story.
Chris Baker (33:20):
Wow, that is really Shout out to her I know.
Thank you so much for helpingGoodman.
Morgan Weinblatt (33:24):
I want to get her story on camera, but we'll
see.
We'll work on that.
Chris Baker (33:27):
We'll work on that story on camera, but we'll work
on that All right.
So before we wrap up, we haveone.
More specific is the eventthat's coming up.
Breaking the Silence.
Morgan Weinblatt (33:36):
Yes, Breaking the Silence, Building Resilience
.
So this is on March 20th andthis is one of our signature
events that raises money forthree of our programs our Rack
Pack Clothing Closet that wetalked about, our Jeff Masaryk
Behavioral Health Center and ourDomestic Abuse Program.
So really the theme is helpingindividuals and families through
(33:57):
trauma and crisis.
That's kind of been our theme,what we've been talking about
and a primary focus of what wedo.
It will be at the Marriott atDania Point and we are honoring
Dr Stanley and Pearl Goodman,our namesakes.
They're an incredible,incredible couple who have been
in this community for decades.
They are trailblazers in termsof philanthropy, community
(34:20):
involvement.
They've been so generous to NSU, to us, to multiple
organizations in the community,and they are moving.
They're moving to Washington DCto be closer to family.
So this is really theopportunity for the community to
come together, rally aroundthem, congratulate them, honor
them.
So that'll be on Thursday,March 20th at Dania Point, at
(34:44):
the Marriott, and we hope to seepeople there because it'll
certainly be a sold out eventfor sure.
Chris Baker (34:49):
Yeah, I could see that definitely happening easily
.
Okay, so before we get to thelast question, how do people get
involved or contact Goodman JFS?
Morgan Weinblatt (35:00):
Very easy.
Go to our website jfsbrowerorg.
You can reach out to me as well, mweinblatt.
At jfsbrowerorg.
You can find our numbers on ourwebsite, but really our website
is our best way, or Instagramat JFS of Broward or Goodman JFS
of Broward on Facebook.
(35:21):
We're on Facebook, instagram,linkedin so you can connect with
us there.
Or reach out to us through ourwebsite would be the best way.
Chris Baker (35:28):
So website?
Yes, definitely, yeah.
I heard that a couple times, soI think that probably makes it
the easiest.
As we wrap up, what is thelegacy that you hope to leave
through your work and reallygive back to the future
generations?
Morgan Weinblatt (35:44):
This one hits home for me a lot because I have
an 18-month-old son, sobecoming a parent has been
life-changing for me and I justthink about leaving the world in
a better place for him, havingpeople be kinder, more
compassionate.
Again, helping your neighbor,helping your friend, is
(36:07):
important to me and I hopepeople remember me as being
someone that helped them feelgood about giving back, because
that's really my job as afundraiser.
I am the vehicle to peoplegiving and feeling good about
helping people, helping othersin their community.
So I hope that's what theyremember me as as that important
(36:30):
vehicle that helps them feelgood about philanthropy and
making a difference and again,just being a good neighbor and
friend.
Chris Baker (36:39):
Awesome.
Morgan, thank you so much forjoining us today.
Morgan Weinblatt (36:43):
Thank you.
Chris Baker (36:44):
And I hope everybody enjoys this episode
and I hope to have you back andwe can talk about Part two.
Morgan Weinblatt (36:49):
Hope everybody enjoys this episode and I hope
to have you back and we can talkabout part two.
Chris Baker (36:51):
part two we'll talk about future involvement, that
we have worked together onfuture projects and hopefully
just you know get moreinformation about future events
too.
Morgan Weinblatt (37:00):
Amazing.
Thank you so much for having me.
This was so fun.
Chris Baker (37:03):
Thank you so much.
Thank you for joining me onthis episode of Visual Eyes.
We hope that the inspirationand practical insights can help
you foster stronger connectionsand meaningful change.
Don't forget to subscribe,share the episode and leave us a
review.
To learn more about Visuals byMomo and how we support
collaboration and storytelling,visit visualsbymomo.
(37:24):
com.
A huge thank you to everyoneout there listening.
A huge thank you to everyoneout there listening.
Until next time, remember,collaboration fuels change and
your connections can inspire theworld.
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