Jewish Family Service of the Lehigh Valley held their annual fundraiser virtually on Nov. 7. The Great JFS Happy Hour was designed as a much-needed break from the stress of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing the importance of caring for mental health and that laughter really is the best medicine. Event co-chairs Marcia Berkow and Susan Sosnow greeted the audience of over 80 households, thanking them for their sponsorship of the work of JFS and warming them up with a few jokes of their own.

A video was shown of a behind the scenes mockumentary of “The Making of The Great JFS Happy Hour” featuring the co-chairs along with JFS President Rabbi Allen Juda, JFS Executive Director Debbie Zoller, and committee members Audrey Nolte, Naomi Schachter and Lorrie Scherline. The tongue-in-check presentation showed that the folks behind the event know how to laugh at themselves.

The main event of the afternoon was the professional comedians from Kosher Komedy, a group specializing in “clean” Jewish humor. Schachter introduced emcee Kenny Gluck, who got the crowd laughing before the first act, Joel Chasnoff, who entertained the crowd from the airport on his way back to Israel. A surprise performance of an original parody song from Zoller was the interlude before the final comedian, Jon Fisch, closed out the comedic portion of the event.

Juda and Zoller thanked everyone for their support before unveiling the special edition 50th anniversary logo that JFS will use through 2022 to celebrate 50 years of service to the community. 

Attendees will also receive an exclusive, one-of-a-kind coffee table book entitled “The Great JFS Happy Hour: Supporting Families, Brightening Lives,” made up of the anecdotes, artwork, jokes and photos of people from the community.

Proceeds from the fundraiser will go to support the work of JFS, whose mission is to help individuals and families to live healthier and more stable lives by providing social services, professional counselling, education and community programs, guided by Jewish values.