BENEFICIARIES

Over the past 25 years, Kung Pao has raised 10’s of 1000’s of dollars and awareness for different organizations. In keeping with the Jewish tradition of tzedakah (charity, in Hebrew – tied in with a sense of duty and social responsibility), each year Kung Pao donates partial proceeds to organizations and causes we believe in. See below for this year’s and past Kung Pao beneficiaries.

This year’s beneficiaries:

Jewish Family & Community Services East Bay — Refugee & Immigrant Services serves refugees from around the world, particularly focusing on those who have experienced persecution based on their religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender identity. The program has extensive expertise in resettling refugees who are vulnerable and fleeing violent and dire circumstances. The program features comprehensive case management, including assisting with finding initial housing, in-depth and ongoing cultural orientation, enrolling clients in ESL classes and vocational support, and matching clients with volunteers.

Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice is the education and leadership arm of Bend the Arc, a movement of tens of thousands of progressive Jews across America who are working together to transform our country to be inclusive, equitable, and supportive of the dignity of every person across race, class, gender and faith. Bend the Arc trains the next generation of diverse Jewish leadership by helping young Jews become effective change-makers and by investing in the leadership of Jews of Color so our Jewish institutions reflect the full diversity of our community. Their alumni and network of volunteer leaders are organizing their communities on such issues as immigration reform, racial justice, economic equity, and civil rights. They are the only national Jewish organization focused exclusively on social change in the US, with a strong chapter in the Bay Area.

Past beneficiaries:

2017

•Jewish Family & Children’s Services (JFCS) Sonoma County North Bay Fire Relief

•Jewish Community Center (JCC) Puerto Rico Hurricane Maria Relief Fund

2016

•Shalom Bayit

•Seniors at Home

2015

•Institute on Aging’s Friendship Line
•Legal Assistance to the Elderly

2014

•Jewish Family & Children’s Services (JFCS) Food Programs
•San Francisco Suicide Prevention (SFSP)

2013

•San Francisco and Marin Food Banks’ “Healthy Children Pantries” 
•The Jewish Home San Francisco’s Esther Weintraub Comedy Clinic
(Click here to download an article about the Comedy Clinic from The Jewish Home’s
magazine.) JewishHome-Mag-ComedyClinic-article

2012

• The Brown Twins/JFCS’ Emergency Assistance Fund

• Bay Area Women & Children’s Services Drop-in Services and Food Pantry

2011

• The Jewish Family and Children’s Services’ L’Chaim Adult Day Health Care Center

• Muttville Senior Dog Rescue

2010

• JFCS’ Food Pantry

• The Jewish Home San Francisco’s “Esther Weintraub Comedy Clinic

2009

• The National MS Society, Northern CA chapter

• JFCS’s East Bay Refugee & Immigrant Programs

2008

• Jewish Family & Children’s Services “Food Pantry”

• The 100 Friends Project

2007

• The Jewish Free Clinic

• Jewish Family and Children’s Services “Chicken Soupers”

2006

• The Jewish Home’s “Esther Weintraub Comedy Clinic”

• The Reutlinger Community for Jewish Living’s “Komedy Club and Library”

2005

• The Jewish Home’s “Esther Weintraub Comedy Clinic”

• Clowns Without Borders

2004

• The Bay Area Jewish Coalition for Literacy

• Laughing Stock

2003

• Familial Dysautonomia Hope Foundation

• The LGBT Family Assistance Project at Jewish Family and Children’s Services

2002

• Jewish Home Comedy Clinic

• Gay-Straight Alliance Network

2001

• International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission

• Bay Area Jewish Healing Center

2000

• SFJCC’s Montefiore Senior Center

• Lesbian & Gay Senior Services Collaborative

1999

• Breast Cancer Action

• The Holocaust Center of Northern California’s Tolerance Education Program

1998

• Women Organized to Respond to Life-Threatening Diseases (WORLD) – A social and information network for women with HIV/AIDS

• Bay Area Council for Jewish Rescue and Renewal – Promoting freedom for Jews in the former Soviet Union & reuniting families in the Bay Area

1997

• Charlotte Maxwell Complementary Clinic –A clinic for low income women with cancer

• Shalom Bayit– Jewish Women’s Task Force on Domestic Violence

1996

• International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission

• Jewish Family & Children’s Services AIDS Project

1995

• SF Jewish Film Festival – Program of Jewish humor short films

• Family Link– a hospitality house for visiting families of people with AIDS

1995 – Los Angeles show

• L. A. Jewish AIDS Services

• Aunt Bee’s Laundry Service – offering free laundry and house-cleaning services to people with HIV/AIDS.

1994

• Women’s Cancer Resource Center

• GESHER: Bridge to Understanding– a joint project of Congregation Sha’ar Zahav & Community United Against Violence

1993

• The late Tamar Kaufman – A Northern California Jewish Bulletin writer battling cancer