Historic groundbreaking during the nonprofit’s 75th anniversary year celebrates the purchase of a new building in Addison; kicks off renovations; and announces public phase of $40M capital campaign
Over 300 community leaders, partners, and supporters gathered on Thursday, Sept. 26 for the groundbreaking ceremony of The Karla and Larry Steinberg Building, Jewish Family Service (JFS) of Greater Dallas’ new 100,000-square-foot home at 16301 Quorum Dr. in Addison. This historic groundbreaking during the organization’s 75th anniversary year celebrates the purchase of the new building and kicks off renovations (with an anticipated move-in in late 2025) while announcing the public phase of a comprehensive $40 million capital campaign, “Meeting the Moment.” To date, through the leadership of the Steinberg family and the generosity of nearly 100 other supporters, JFS has raised $30 million towards this campaign.
“Today we are celebrating 75 years of impact,” said Cathy Barker, CEO, JFS. “This expansion marks a significant milestone in our mission to better serve the evolving needs of the community by consolidating all services in one location, efficiently providing low-income families greater access to comprehensive support. We want to express our deepest gratitude to Karla and Larry Steinberg, the lead donors and the building’s namesake, and we are excited to announce we have already received ten gifts of $1 million+ from families leading this campaign – a campaign that will fuel innovation, drive expansion, and secure sustainability for our essential services for the next 75 years.”
Almost four times larger than JFS’ Dallas home since 2001, the new Karla and Larry Steinberg Building will include: 18,000 square feet devoted to behavioral health including spaces for counseling, case management, and support groups, play therapy rooms and a sensory gym for children with special needs, services for older adults and holocaust survivor care; an expanded food pantry (doubling its current size); dedicated space for packing kosher home-delivered meals; a second and larger (10,600 square feet) primary medical clinic (in addition to its Northpoint Health Center, established earlier this year) to include a dental clinic; JFS’ accredited PLAN Clubhouse for adults with severe and persistent mental illness; and computer training rooms and offices for career and financial coaching. Additionally, reception and entrances will be highly secure.
Addison Mayor Bruce Arfsten provided remarks during the ceremony, welcoming JFS to Addison. “For nearly 25 years, JFS has been our neighbor just across the tollway, and it is so exciting to see JFS come to Addison, a great place to work and serve the community. JFS is already serving 1,000 Addison residents with their unique wraparound care model, and we are excited to see its impact grow.”
JFS Board Chair Julie Gothard thanked those present for joining the celebration of this important milestone with special recognition of board members who devoted many hours making this project come to fruition. She also recognized the City of Addison and special project partners Sunwest Realty, Susser Bank, GFF, Echelon Structure Tone, and Mission Advancement. Gothard concluded by thanking the campaign leadership team: Eric Goldberg, Jim and Ynette Hogue, Stan Rabin, Steve Waldman, Don Zale, and Campaign Leadership Chair Joel Litman. Prior to leading the campaign, Litman, who first began volunteering at JFS in 1988, has also served as board member, board chair, and foundation board chair.
The JFS Meeting the Moment $40M capital campaign divides the need for funding into three areas: whole person care, including primary care for the construction, equipment and staffing of the medical clinic as well as integrated services; expansion, including purchase of the new building and renovations; and ensuring the future with investments in the JFS endowment.
Cathy Barker introduced the Steinberg family, the building’s namesake, to provide some remarks. Oliver Steinberg began by sharing his heartfelt thanks and love to his parents.
“I just want you to know how proud I am of you both,” said Oliver Steinberg. “You have both instilled the values of giving and kindness in my upbringing and passed them on to me, carrying me for the rest of my life.”
Karla Steinberg shared, “Larry and I had been looking for a giving opportunity when we learned that JFS was bursting at the seams, and we found this to be a perfect fit. We love JFS’ philosophy of opening their doors to anyone struggling. They have a wonderful hands-on approach with many wonderful volunteer opportunities and ways for the community to become involved.”
Groundbreaking ceremony participants included the Steinberg family, Cathy Barker, JFS CEO; Julie Gothard, JFS board chair, Addison Mayor Bruce Arfsten, additional JFS leadership, past JFS presidents, community CEOs, capital campaign leadership team, building leadership, and community CEOs.
Also attending the groundbreaking ceremony were community and faith leaders, including Darren Gardner and Nancy Craig from Addison City Council, Jill Cumnock, Igor Alterman, Tracy Eubanks, and Sam Susser.
Since 1950, JFS has been a cornerstone of the Dallas community, providing critical services to those in need. Last year, JFS’ wraparound services impacted 26,000 unduplicated individuals. By 2028, with the new building established, JFS expects to serve approximately 50,000 individuals across all agency services, increase client visits from 29,000 to 120,000, and increase pounds of food distributed from 450,000 to 1.4 million. For more information visit www.jfsdallas.org.
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Jewish Family Service of Greater Dallas (JFS) is a nonprofit organization providing comprehensive health services that address physical, emotional, nutritional, and financial well-being. Its mission is to provide effective and accessible whole-person care that promotes lifelong self-sufficiency and well-being for the Greater Dallas community. JFS Dallas offers programs to the community such as primary medical care, individual age-appropriate counseling and group support, career and financial coaching, a food pantry, support for older adults, and a Clubhouse for adults with mental illness. Since 1950, JFS has served anyone, regardless of age, race, religion, or ability to pay. The agency, celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2024, impacted over 26,000 lives last year. Jfsdallas.org