Kate
Haimsohn Kassar
Nickname: The Hometown Girl
Age: 28
where she’s at now:
Director of community services for Jewish Family Service (JFS)
of San Diego, overseeing and helping formulate such programs as Project
SARAH, which addresses domestic violence in the Jewish community; Big
Pals, a mentoring program for kids from single-parent homes; Adoption
Alliance, an international adoption service and Project CHAI, a group
for adults with developmental and physical disabilities.
why she’s on this list:
At JFS, Kassar enjoys helping people and conveying a positive
Jewish message. “I never thought I would be going to work for a
Jewish organization, and now I can’t picture myself anywhere else,”
she says. “I love what I do, and I love that I do it in the context
of a Jewish organization.
how judaism led to social work:
Though she didn’t realize it at the time, Kassar’s
religious upbringing helped define her life’s work. “So many
of the values that are inherent in Judaism in terms of Tzedakah and Tikkun
Olam play a role in who we are and what makes us tick,” she notes.
“The values that I was raised with, whether at home or at Hebrew
school, all shaped who I am.”
where will she be in 18 years?
“I’ve done something terribly wrong if I’m
not in San Diego,” says the third-generation San Diegan. “I
hope that, after I’ve had a family and raised my children, I can
still be active in some of the ways that I am now, and still have my foot
in the door helping people and creating services that are needed in the
community.”
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