In its 25th year in existence, the Jewish Relief Agency is making a big announcement. Earlier this month, the organization named Steven Schauder as its new executive director. His tenure began on May 12.
“I’m very excited to be at Jewish Relief Agency,” Schauder said. “It’s been an incredible week capped with our May food distribution. The heart and soul of JRA is the volunteers and community members joining together to help feed people in need. It’s incredibly heartwarming to see the support that the community has for JRA.”
Schauder has worked in nonprofit leadership for more than three decades, including stints as executive director of Jewish Family Service of Harrisburg and the Commission for Jewish Education. That work makes him perfectly aligned with the mission of JRA, which founder Daniel Erlbaum said is entering a new stage of its existence. No longer the new kid on the block, JRA is transitioning into a status as a hallmark of the Philadelphia community, for Jews and non-Jews alike.
“[Schauder] knows people who are involved, and he is not here to force change and make a mark in ways that aren’t required. But at the same time, it’s true of all organizations that you get to a stage of life where you’re no longer an upstart. You’re a mature organization, and that requires different disciplines and so forth,” Erlbaum said. “So we felt that he could kind of really help professionalize the organization, while at the same time maintaining this grassroots appeal that’s so important for JRA.”
The organization started more than two decades ago with a simple idea: feeding hungry Jews. The first list of those that needed assistance was 16 people long, and they were helped by Erlbaum and a small team that fulfilled the grocery lists by hand at Costco.
The organization soon had a list of more than 1,000 families, and it was providing help to all Philadelphians, not just Jews. Now, JRA has around 800 volunteers a month and its own facility. It serves more than 6,400 low-income people in 3,400 households across the region every month.
“On one Sunday every month, people convene in our warehouse in Northeast Philadelphia, and we have five or six assembly lines where people are kind of situated at each product in the line, and they load the boxes and then people carry them down,” Erlbaum said. “It is a well-oiled machine. There’s music playing in the warehouse, and it’s fun and active and an amazing experience.”
Now, JRA has a number of programs that attack different areas of economic and food insecurity. The organization provides fresh produce in the summer months to families with children. It also gives diapers, menstrual products, adult incontinence supplies, children’s clothes and school supplies to those who need it. It even provides case management services to those who need help registering for SNAP benefits, commonly known as food stamps.
Erlbaum said the organization serves everyone, but that maintaining Jewish values and practices is essential. For one, the food it donates is always kosher. That’s another reason that Schauder fits in so well — he will be able to balance these needs.
“He’s equally enthusiastic about convening and unifying the Jewish community and inspiring volunteerism and activism, which is the other half of our mission,” Erlbaum said.
Schauder said that he sees JRA’s work as a continuation of the Jewish values he has learned his whole life.
“I think the idea of helping our neighbors is a core Jewish value, and the values of chesed and tzedakah really extend to everyone,” he said. “While our focus is making sure that Jewish people have ample food to eat, we really want to make sure that no one in the community is suffering from food insecurity, and we want to do everything in our power to help as many people as we can.”
Bill Novick, chairman of the board of directors at JRA, said that Schauder’s experience and values are aligned with those of the JRA, making him a great fit. He also thanked Tara Cherwony, who has served as interim managing director of the organization for the past seven months.
“Her leadership and dedication have been instrumental in maintaining JRA’s operations and community impact during this transitional period, and we are thrilled that Tara will continue as part of our leadership,” Novick said.
One of the things that separates JRA from other peer organizations is the personal nature of its work. It’s not just about helping the hungry. It’s about showing up in person to do so.
“Part of the magic … is the ability to come face to face with the people in need,” Erlbaum said. “Our volunteers knock on the door. We go directly into the homes of the people that we feed. I would say that the actual human connection is as important, or nearly as important, to the recipients as the food itself.”
Schauder brings a proud tradition of perseverance to the organization. His mother survived the Holocaust and his father lived during wartime occupation in Shanghai. Going forward, Schauder hopes that he and the organization can help others in a time of need thrive, too.
He said that his primary goals are to provide more services for Jewish clients, identify more Philadelphians who are in need and increase the JRA’s volunteer base.
“We really need the community to step up and engage with JRA and remember that, while some people can go on vacation in the summer, there’s a lot of people in town who can’t and who still need food delivered,” he said.
