The JEWISH VOCATIONAL SERVICE (JVS) was initially established to help Jewish job-seekers of all ages join the workforce. It was created in 1939 when the Jewish Welfare Fed. combined the vocational services previously offered by a number of other Jewish organizations to centralize and cope more efficiently with unemployment and discrimination. From its office at 241 Euclid Ave., under the directorship of Abe L. Sudran, the agency placed 1,220 workers its first year. In subsequent years, JVS widened its services to include vocational guidance, rehabilitation, training and placement for individuals—including youth, women, the physically, emotionally and developmentally disabled, immigrants, older workers, and veterans—and for corporations. JVS also offered resettlement assistance to refugees, administered scholarship programs and maintained an extensive list of job openings. A member of both UNITED WAY SERVICES and the JEWISH COMMUNITY FEDERATION, in 1995 JVS was located at 21403 Chagrin Blvd, BEACHWOOD, with a resettlement office at 2490 Lee Rd., CLEVELAND HTS. In July 1994 JVS merged with the JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE ASSN., becoming a department of the association while continuing to expand its own client services, especially in the areas of financial aid, employment resources, and immigrant resettlement. In 1995 Gaile Waldinger served as executive director.
Jewish Vocational Services Records, WRHS.