Judith Adele Agentis Foundation

JAACF.org

Greater Lehigh Valley REALTORS Names Judith Adele Agentis Foundation Charity of Choice for 2020

LEFT TO RIGHT: JUSTIN POREMBO, Director of GLVR, ROBERT AGENTIS, Chairman and Founder of JAACF, AND JOHN GROSS, President of GLVR.

BETHLEHEM, PA – Greater Lehigh Valley REALTORS (GLVR) has gifted $4,500.00 to the Judith Adele Agentis Charitable Foundation (JAACF), a Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, nonprofit founded to comfort hospice patients and their families. 

JAACF recently established the Judith Adele Agentis Palliative Care Nursing Education Fund at St. Luke’s University Health Network. 

“It with great honor, especially at a time like this, for GLVR to help further palliative and hospice care here in the Lehigh Valley,” announced GLVR President John Gross. 

Each year, the president of GLVR selects an organization or charity of choice. Gross choose JAACF for 2020 because “Judie was like a mother to me. She died at St. Luke’s Hospice from pancreatic cancer. After Judie’s passing, her husband of 47 years realized he had lost 35 pounds, as the only food available to him was from a vending machine. Bob Agentis began delivering nutritious weekly meals from Lehigh Valley restaurants to the hospice house, and soon, he founded JAACF.”

“JAACF is committed to supporting educational opportunities to expand the impact of pain management through palliative care. It is our mission to help assure the highest standards in compassionate Palliative Care,” adds Robert Agentis, Founder and Chairman of JAACF.  

“Throughout the pandemic, our palliative care teams worked around the clock, tending to their patients and keeping them in good spirits,” shares Dr. Erin Bendas, DO, MA, Section Chief, St. Luke’s Palliative Care. “We are so fortunate that this fund was established to support the growth and development of these talented and devoted nurses, who are so passionate about the care they provide. It is this kind of generosity that powers our work.” 

The education fund provides scholarships for nurses to participate in professional certification programs, attend conferences and seminars, and earn continuing education credits in the field of palliative care. Kimberly O’Connor MS, RN, Susan Rodriguez BSN, and Chris McCausland BSN have begun their Hospice and Palliative Care Nursing Certification with support from the Foundation’s newly-established fund.

The scholarship funds help pursue Palliative Care Certification in Hospice and Palliative Care Nursing through the Hospice and Palliative Care nursing association (HPNA). JAACF’s goal is to build an endowment fund that will support annual education opportunities within the palliative care program. The long-term goal is to establish a fund for a Palliative Care Advanced Practice Fellowship Program at St. Luke’s—which would be the first of its kind in this region. 

JAACF’s mission is helping others cope by delivering hot meals, hope, and fellowship for patients and their families at St. Luke’s Brian D. Perin Hospice House. JAACF delivered more than 20,000 meals to families and loved ones at the hospice house. “We look forward to future opportunities to expand its educational assistance,” added Agentis. 

Contributions can be made payable to the JAACF Palliative Care Nursing Education Fund and sent to St. Luke’s Development Office, 801 Ostrum Street, Bethlehem, PA 18015. Or by calling the office at 610-954-3067.  

The Greater Lehigh Valley REALTORS® (GLVR) is a trade association representing over 2,500 real estate professionals throughout Lehigh, Northampton, and Carbon counties.

For more information about the Judith Adele Agentis Charitable Foundation, visit www.JAACF.org or email ba.jaacf@gmail.com. 

 

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DUE TO COVID-19, JAACF’S ANNUAL FUNDRAISER HAS BEEN CANCELLED

A note to say thank you to all who purchased tickets to Reaching High Notes 2020. Also, a big thank you to our sponsors, including Better Homes & Gardens Cassidon Real Estate, the Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors, and St. Luke’s Health Network and Hospice.

Due to the virus outbreak, JAACF is following mandates to reduce community contact of the disease.

Please remain safe, keep social distancing in practice, wash your hands with soap and water for 20 plus seconds frequently, and be mindful of not touching your face.

The evolving coronavirus outbreak is serious. Be vigilant, be careful. We will keep our friends and supporters informed of upcoming news.

Philly Funk Authority to Headline Judith Adele Agentis Charitable Foundation Benefit Dinner

Gala, Fine Art Auction Slated for Saturday, March 21, will Raise Monies for Hospice Meals, Palliative Care Scholarships  

Reaching High Notes, the Judith Adele Agentis Charitable Foundation (JAACF) annual dinner gala will headline Philly Funk Authority, Saturday, March 21, 6 to 11 p.m., at Steel Club Hellertown

The night of entertainment includes a cocktail/cabaret hour by Ginger and The Schnappes, in addition to a live and silent auction of fine art, fashion, lessons, and gift certificates. 

Tickets are $95 per person and include passed hors-d’oeuvres, a three-course dinner of filet mignon, signature crab cakes, roasted vegetables, and dessert. A vegan option is available.  

For tickets, Reaching High Notes with Philly Funk to Benefit JAACF org, or https://www.eventbrite.com/e/reaching-high-notes-with-philly-funk-authority-tickets-54428016663

“We depend on the generosity of local businesses and supporters,” says Robert Agentis, JAACF founder and chairman. 

JAACF board members and volunteers have delivered more than 20,000 meals to family members spending precious last moments with a loved one at St. Luke’s Hospice House.

The Judith Adele Agentis Charitable Foundation was the recipient of the P.A. Hospice Network Heart of Hospice Award and was awarded the Shining Star Award from St. Luke’s Hospital Network. In addition to nourishing meals, JAACF is raising funds for scholarships in palliative care. The non-profit also provides early cancer detection education for pancreatic, liver, and colon cancers.

Foundation marks 5 years of hospice meal donations

Taken from the Bethlehem Press

Final moments with a passing loved one are precious, and for family members of those in hospice, often the last thing on their minds is finding themselves a nourishing meal. Enter the Judith Adele Agentis Charitable Foundation (JAACF), a Lehigh Valley-based nonprofit established to fill family members’ need for nourishment as they tend to loved ones. Since 2013, the 501(c)(3) has delivered more than 13,000 meals for family members of patients while they are at St. Luke’s Hospice House of Bethlehem. The nonprofit was founded by Robert Agentis in honor of his late wife, Judith, who passed of pancreatic cancer at Hospice House. The two were married for 47 years.

Agentis, chairman of JAACF and a Lehigh Valley business owner, recalls losing 35 pounds during the last days of Judie’s life. For nearly a month, he consumed a haphazard array of foods, often just snacks from a vending machine. Hoping to save others from a similar fate, he hatched the concept for JAACF and began approaching local restaurants about the idea. Today, the organization is helping others cope.

“Your meal nourished our family through a difficult time, and we will always be grateful for your efforts,” said recent JAACF meal recipient Renee Hillman, whose mother passed at hospice in 2017.

Judith Adele Agentis Charitable Foundation was the recipient of the PA Hospice Network Heart of Hospice Award in 2014 and was awarded the Shining Star Award from St. Luke’s Hospital Network that same year. In addition to meals, JAACF provides funding for early cancer detection education for pancreatic, liver and colon cancers.

“We depend on the generosity of local businesses, restaurants, and donors,” says Agentis, who has delivered 90 percent of the meals JAACF provides weekly and spends time with the family members when possible. There are currently more than 40 participating restaurant donors to JAACF. Going forward, the nonprofit is looking to garner new and additional Lehigh Valley restaurants as annual or semi-annual donors. Interested restaurants can reach Bob Agentis at ba.jaacf@gmail.com to find out more about being part of the meal program.

“Reaching High Notes,” JAACF’s annual dinner gala, will be held Saturday, March 24, from 6 to 10 p.m., at Blue Event Center. Tickets are $95 per person and include passed hors d’oeuvres and a three-course sit-down dinner, which will feature an entree of filet mignon and crab, roasted vegetables, a vegan option, and a layered opera cake. Musical entertainment will highlight music throughout the decades. Luxury auction items and a special speaker will round out the evening’s offerings.

Bethlehem man honors wife’s memory by arranging gourmet meal donations to hospice center

When you’re counting your last minutes with your loved one, food is of no importance.

Judith Adele Agentis Charitable Foundation Founder Bob Agentis left, and Scott Craver, Head Coach, of Shula’s Steak House, pack up meals for the St. Luke’s Hospice Center in Lower Saucon Township. Currently, nearly 30 restaurants are chipping in to make the meal donation a regular feature.

When his wife, Judith, spent her final week at St. Luke’s Hospice, Bob Agentis says he subsisted on pretzels from the vending machine.

Since she passed in January, Agentis has spent Thursday afternoons calling upon a growing list of Lehigh Valley restaurants to help him feed the patients, staff, and families at the Lower Saucon Township hospice facility.

His nonprofit foundation, the Judith Adele Agentis Charitable Foundation, works with restaurants such as Shula’s Steak House to drop off a spread of appetizers, entrees, salads, and desserts for about 32 people.

“There was no sense of time. You didn’t think of eating,” Agentis says of his experience. “I observed that other families weren’t eating, either.”

Judith got sick on Thanksgiving last year. She thought she had the flu, Agentis says. Doctors ordered a CAT scan in early December and found she had stage 4 pancreatic liver cancer, terminal within 60 days. She passed away Jan. 10.

Judith Adele Agentis Charitable Foundation in the Express-Times, by reporter Kelly Huth.