JIAS Toronto: Connecting People and Community
JIAS was established in 1922 to help Jews build a new life in Canada. Today, JIAS Toronto is a government and community funded immigrant service organization providing comprehensive services to 8,000 immigrants a year. Founded by the Jewish community, we remain rooted in Jewish values and guided by the principle of “welcoming the strangers in our midst”. With locations in both Toronto and York Region, we reach out to welcome and provide a full range of information, settlement and integration services to all newcomer communities in the languages they speak and in close proximity to where they live.
We are both a gateway and a bridge to community life. We are experienced and expert in all matters of immigration, settlement and integration. It takes a whole community to build one. We welcome your participation in our work.
Guiding Principles:
- Remain a mission driven organization that is immigrant centered and tightly networked with Citizenship and Immigration Canada, the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration, UJA Federation, immigrant service sector agencies and associations, volunteer groups, donors and partner agencies within and external to the Jewish community.
- Understand the “immigrant” and put the immigrant first
- Deliver services and offer programs that are relevant, authentic and of value to immigrants
- Work to a standard of customer service that we would accept for ourselves
- Develop a comprehensive, flexible and sustainable model of service for arriving newcomer families that can also be mobilized to welcome and assist families needing refuge in the future
- Work within framework of Strategic plan and ensure agency activities are strategically aligned with mission and goals
- Connect Jews from around the world with each other and with the local Jewish community
- Set the GTA apart as a welcoming and inclusive community by building the capacity of Jewish organizations to ensure generous immigration practices
- Represent and be the voice of newcomers until they find their way
- Agency wide self-assessment and evaluation for continuous improvement
- Performance Assessment & Evaluation
Self-assessment is integral to our overarching goal of providing excellent and life-changing services to the immigrant, towards their successful integration. We continually monitor our programs and services, including their usage, effectiveness, impact and value. We use both quantitative and qualitative analysis to adjust as needed and keep our strategic direction on track. In addition to our internal evaluations, we have regular and comprehensive reporting requirements with all our funders.