Just a year ago, Ayal and Leah Amzel were celebrating the 20th anniversary of Yali’s Café. They opened the restaurant across the street from UC Berkeley’s North Campus in 1999, two weeks after they got married. Now, because of the Coronavirus pandemic, they’re hanging...
Randall and Lois Stein escaped the Camp Fire of 2018 with the shirts on their backs, and they consider themselves lucky. Three of their neighbors didn’t make it out. The couple was at a doctor’s appointment in a nearby town when the fire started, and Paradise burned...
Our hearts go out to all who are affected by the devastating wildfires throughout Northern California. Hebrew Free Loan is offering the following resources to help our local Jewish community members get through these difficult times and rebuild their lives. EMERGENCY...
When Justine Chadly couldn’t find a creative arts program for her two-year-old, she decided to start one herself. Justine grew up in San Francisco, but settled in Benicia as a single mom after her son was born. She began offering Music Together classes for other local...
Laeesha Cornejo comes from a long line of doctors, including her grandmother and three aunts. She’s always wanted to work in public health, helping to meet the needs of underserved populations. With support from Hebrew Free Loan, Laeesha is now a medical student...
When Rachel and Steve Thomas got married last month in a Sacramento park, their immediate family were the only guests, due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The ceremony unfolded beneath a chuppah held up by wooden poles that are part of the Camp Tawonga community, where...
Dr. Leslie Weil, MD, is an old-fashioned eye doctor, in the best sense of the word. She’s the type of doctor who calls her patients after a procedure to check in with them personally to make sure they’re okay. And she always goes the extra mile to provide people with...
Melissa and her husband separated when she was pregnant with their second child, and since then she’s been raising her daughters (now four and five years old) on her own. She moved in with her grandmother to build a sense of extended family for the girls, and they now...
Nothing about Norris’ education was easy. By the time he graduated from Skyline High School in Oakland, Norris and his twin sister had attended eleven schools in twelve years. But they figured out early on that doing well in school was the only way they’d...
When Amani got her B.A. in urban studies and planning from Cal State Northridge, she was the first in her family to graduate from college. She came home to Northern California and started working as a youth development coach with Juma Ventures. There she helped other...
