For our 14th annual mensch list, we asked readers to nominate people they know who are doing extraordinary work without receiving deserving credit for...

The Conejo Valley community was still reeling from the Borderline Bar and Grill shooting in Thousand Oaks in November 2018 when the Woolsey Fire...

After high school, many students take a “gap year” before heading to college.  Jewish students often spend that year in Israel. But to make...

Ray Mallel is passionate about connecting Sephardic Jews with Sephardic culture. The 82-year-old is the co-founder of the Sephardic Educational Center (SEC), leads operations...

Luisa Latham, a Los Angeles native who has been teaching since the 1970s, was born to educate. “I have a tremendous enthusiasm for learning,”...

When Gabriel Schenkman was 9 days old, he was diagnosed with hypoplastic kidney disease, meaning his kidneys were smaller than normal. In June 2016,...

At a young-at-heart but wise 80, Dennis Poncher said he doesn’t plan to stop his work anytime soon. He provides shelter for at-risk teens...

As a child growing up in New York, Naomi Goldman often heard her father’s wartime stories. A Holocaust survivor, Robert Goldman spoke to Naomi...

Michele Rodri is a powerhouse. The 83-year-old French Holocaust and cancer survivor spends her time engaging in philanthropy, connecting teens with survivors, sharing her...

Advertising executive Meryl Kern had just celebrated her one-year wedding anniversary when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. “Breast cancer does not...

On the last Thursday of every month, homeless children in Los Angeles have the opportunity to attend something many kids take for granted: a...

While Jake Schochet volunteers with a variety of organizations, he said ETTA was his “gateway drug” that led to his involvement with other groups.  Four...

Donating phones and laptops aren’t the first things people think of when wanting to give to the homeless. But Heather Wilk realized technology was...

Given their parents’ connections to the Jewish community, it makes sense that Laurie and Steve Keleman of Woodland Hills would be active, as well.

Victoria Nodiff-Netanel recently led two of her miniature horses into a courtyard at the Los Angeles Ronald McDonald House, where families of seriously ill children stay free or at low cost while the children receive treatment at local hospitals.

Bruce Rosen has worked in investment for more than three decades. On a recent Friday afternoon, he was dressed the part: dark tie, square glasses, Fitbit and suit slacks.

When Justin Zaghi learned as a senior in college that a type of birth defect was much more prevalent in Nicaragua than in the United States, he wanted to know why.

Sara Zaghi, a 19-year-old sophomore at UCLA, is committed to bettering the lives of homeless youth by providing them with something she believes everyone should have: a pair of jeans.

To reach the Jewish-American Hall of Fame, exit the 101 Freeway in Woodland Hills and find the home of Mel and Esther Wacks on a sloping street where the only noise is the rumble of the nearby highway. Ring the buzzer and ask for Mel.

Lindsay Schacht was interested right away when her high school teachers announced that a group helping senior citizens was seeking volunteers.

Even for the brightest high school students in East L.A.’s low-income areas, Barbara Dobkin says, the idea of attending an Ivy League college may be akin to traveling to Mars.

Although he graduated from YULA Boys High School five years ago, Ethan Youssefzadeh is a familiar face to current students on campus — and to teens at several other schools and synagogues on the Westside.

For our 12th annual mensch list, we once again invited your nominations of extraordinary volunteers in our community, and the outpouring of suggestions of amazing people was overwhelming.

Betty Cohen, a 95-year-old Holocaust survivor, is unsure if all the time she spends telling her story has amounted to anything.

Tomorrow, November 24th, 2016, is Thanksgiving in the U.S. Lots of people will be gathering with loved ones, enjoying a favorite meal and special...

  The Talmud, in Kiddushim 40b, recounts: Once, Rabbi Tarfon and the Elders were reclining in the attic in the house of Nitzah, in Lod....

  Do you find that you avoid people who have had a death in the family? Do you feel awkward when you are around them?...

When I was growing up in Gunnison, Colorado in the 1950’s, we were secular Jews who traveled by car driving some four hours to...

“Hi, my name is Dan. I’m a Spiritual Care Volunteer here at the hospital. I’m stopping by to see how you are; to chat,...

<img alt="" src="{assets_94213:{filedir_5}_IMG_4996.JPG} " style="width: 585px; height: 438px;" />   As usual, I am trying to put together <a href="http://jewish-heritage-travel.blogspot.it/2016/02/jewish-culture-etc-festivals-in-europe.html ">a list of as many as possible of...