Jewish United Fund
Encyclopedia
The Jewish United Fund / Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago (JUF) is the central philanthropic
address of Chicago
's Jewish community and one of the largest not-for-profit
social welfare institutions in Illinois
.
JUF provides critical resources that bring food, refuge, health care, education and emergency assistance to 300,000 Chicagoans of all faiths and 2 million Jews in Israel and around the world, funding a network of nearly 70 agencies and programs.
Community Relations—Through its support of the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) , JUF coordinates the collective policies and programs among 46 constituent Jewish organizations active in public affairs/community relations work. JCRC educates and mobilizes the Jewish community for action through JUF and those constituent groups on issues ranging from Israel to Darfur, and from combating anti-Semitism to the broad array of intergroup relations (interfaith, interethnic, etc.). JCRC activities and engagement takes place with the media, campuses, government, foreign diplomats, and religious and civic leaders.
One of Judaism's central tenets is the importance of passing traditions and teachings from generation to generation. JUF has a deep commitment to engaging our community's youth and inspiring their Jewish journeys, supporting a host of informal education
and outreach experiences for young people that strengthen their Jewish identity and connections to community. In addition, JUF's TOV Volunteer Network provides hands-on volunteer opportunities for people of all ages to actively participate in tikkun olam
, the repair of the world.
1910s
1920s
1930s
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
Philanthropy
Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...
address of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
's Jewish community and one of the largest not-for-profit
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
social welfare institutions in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
.
JUF provides critical resources that bring food, refuge, health care, education and emergency assistance to 300,000 Chicagoans of all faiths and 2 million Jews in Israel and around the world, funding a network of nearly 70 agencies and programs.
Allocations
National and Overseas—The Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago (JUF) conducts fundraising activities by means of annual calendar year campaigns and makes allocations/grants to the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) and the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago (JF). Through its allocation to JFNA, JUF supports services to nearly 2 million individuals in Israel and 71 other countries. These range from basic social service programs addressing needs of all age groups to formal and informal Jewish education/identity development. The major beneficiary organizations which engage in overseas work through support from JFNA are the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee , The Jewish Agency for Israel and the International ORT.Community Relations—Through its support of the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) , JUF coordinates the collective policies and programs among 46 constituent Jewish organizations active in public affairs/community relations work. JCRC educates and mobilizes the Jewish community for action through JUF and those constituent groups on issues ranging from Israel to Darfur, and from combating anti-Semitism to the broad array of intergroup relations (interfaith, interethnic, etc.). JCRC activities and engagement takes place with the media, campuses, government, foreign diplomats, and religious and civic leaders.
One of Judaism's central tenets is the importance of passing traditions and teachings from generation to generation. JUF has a deep commitment to engaging our community's youth and inspiring their Jewish journeys, supporting a host of informal education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
and outreach experiences for young people that strengthen their Jewish identity and connections to community. In addition, JUF's TOV Volunteer Network provides hands-on volunteer opportunities for people of all ages to actively participate in tikkun olam
Tikkun olam
Tikkun olam is a Hebrew phrase that means "repairing the world." In Judaism, the concept of tikkun olam originated in the early rabbinic period...
, the repair of the world.
Timeline
1900s- Associated Jewish Charities of Chicago is founded on April 12, 1900 (Passover Eve).
- Chicago Hebrew Institute (CHI), forerunner to Jewish Community CenterJewish Community CenterA Jewish Community Center or Jewish Community Centre is a general recreational, social and fraternal organization serving the Jewish community in a number of cities...
(JCC) Chicago, founded. - Associated Jewish Charities’ Jewish Home Finding Society pioneers foster care concept.
- Michael Reese HospitalMichael Reese HospitalMichael Reese Hospital and Medical Center was an American hospital founded in 1881. In its heyday, it was a major research and teaching hospital and one of the oldest and largest hospitals in Chicago, Illinois. It was located on the near south side of Chicago, next to Lake Shore Drive Michael...
opens, begins 100 years of service. - Jewish Aid Society launches first worker-training program.
1910s
- Home Finding Society leads to new Illinois law, a mother’s pension act.
- Federation of Orthodox Jewish Charities of Chicago consolidates local Orthodox charities.
- Julius RosenwaldJulius RosenwaldJulius Rosenwald was a U.S. clothier, manufacturer, business executive, and philanthropist. He is best known as a part-owner and leader of Sears, Roebuck and Company, and for the Rosenwald Fund which donated millions to support the education of African American children in the rural South, as well...
builds new home for Jewish Aid Society on West Side. - Mount Sinai HospitalMount Sinai HospitalMount Sinai Hospital may refer to:*Mount Sinai Hospital, New York*Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto*Mount Sinai Medical Center & Miami Heart Institute, Miami, Florida*Mount Sinai Hospital, Cleveland*Mount Sinai Hospital, Milwaukee...
opens.
1920s
- Jewish Aid Society merges with Bureau of Personal Services to become Jewish Social Service Bureau, later provides services during Great DepressionGreat DepressionThe Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. - Chicago Hebrew Institute becomes Jewish People’s Institute, begins construction of Camp ChiCamp ChiCamp Chi is a Jewish summer camp in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. Chi caters mainly for Jewish children, grades 5 to 11. The camp is located on Lake Blass and is next to Perlstein Resort.- History :...
. - Hebrew Theological CollegeHebrew Theological CollegeThe Hebrew Theological College, known as "Skokie Yeshiva," is a Yeshiva in Skokie, Illinois which also functions as a private university on campus. The primary focus of the Yeshiva is to teach Torah and Jewish traditions...
founded; Board of Jewish Education founded, establishes College of Jewish Studies. - Associated Jewish Charities merges with Orthodox Federation, becoming Jewish Charities of Chicago. Julius RosenwaldJulius RosenwaldJulius Rosenwald was a U.S. clothier, manufacturer, business executive, and philanthropist. He is best known as a part-owner and leader of Sears, Roebuck and Company, and for the Rosenwald Fund which donated millions to support the education of African American children in the rural South, as well...
is 1st president.
1930s
- Associated Talmud Torahs, Jewish Vocational Service, and Jewish Children’s Bureau founded.
- Jewish Charities forms Jewish Children’s Welfare Society.
- Jewish community leaders help found Community Fund of Chicago, now United Way.
- Depression-based school closings lead thousands of youths to enroll in Jewish People’s Institute.
- United Jewish Appeal raises funds for European Jews in desperate need.
1940s
- Jewish Community CenterJewish Community CenterA Jewish Community Center or Jewish Community Centre is a general recreational, social and fraternal organization serving the Jewish community in a number of cities...
of Chicago established to expand leisure activities of Jewish People’s Institute. - Jewish Social Service Bureau becomes Jewish Family and Community Service (JFCS).
- Jewish Charities, Jewish Welfare Fund merge fundraising as Combined Jewish Appeal.
- Operation Magic CarpetOperation Magic Carpet (Yemen)Operation Magic Carpet is a widely-known nickname for Operation On Wings of Eagles , an operation between June 1949 and September 1950 that brought 49,000 Yemenite Jews to the new state of Israel. British and American transport planes made some 380 flights from Aden, in a secret operation that was...
brings 50,000 Yemenite JewsYemenite JewsYemenite Jews are those Jews who live, or whose recent ancestors lived, in Yemen . Between June 1949 and September 1950, the overwhelming majority of Yemen's Jewish population was transported to Israel in Operation Magic Carpet...
to Israel on a 400-flight airlift. - Jewish Charities becomes Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago.
1950s
- Jewish Vocational Service pioneers therapeutic workshops for people with disabilities.
- Camp ChiCamp ChiCamp Chi is a Jewish summer camp in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. Chi caters mainly for Jewish children, grades 5 to 11. The camp is located on Lake Blass and is next to Perlstein Resort.- History :...
moves to Lake Delton, WI. - JFCS establishes Virginia Frank Child Development Center.
- Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago moves to 1 S. Franklin.
1960s
- Jewish Welfare Fund supports Jewish programs on college campuses.
- Combined Jewish Appeal becomes Jewish United Fund; Philip Klutznick 1st chair.
- JUF establishes Public Affairs Committee, later Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC).
1970s
- The ARK becomes a special grant agency; Response Center established.
- College of Jewish Studies becomes Spertus College of Judaica.
- Jewish Federation merges with Jewish Welfare Fund.
- Federation establishes the Council for Jewish Elderly, now CJE SeniorLife.
- First Walk With Israel.
- Federation resettles some 300 Vietnamese refugees at US government request.
- JUF responds to proposed Nazi march in Skokie.
1980s
- B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundations and College-Age Youth Services merge into Hillel-CAYS, today known as The Hillels of Illinois.
- Federation’s Public Affairs Committee (later JCRC) co-sponsors rally in Evanston, protesting a proposed Neo-Nazi rally in that suburb; 4,000 attend.
- Federation opens Government Affairs offices in Springfield and Washington D.C.
- Federation opens EZRA Multi-Service Center in Uptown.
- Federation spearheads Operation MosesOperation MosesOperation Moses refers to the covert evacuation of Ethiopian Jews from Sudan during a famine in 1984...
, bringing 10,000 Ethiopian Jews to Israel. - SHALVA and Keshet founded; Keshet starts first Jewish day school for disabled children in U.S.
- JFMC Facilities Corporation established.
- JUF’s Chicago Conference on Soviet Jewry flies 1,000 to D.C. for national, 200,000-strong rally, brings Federal lawsuit against USSR.
1990s
- Operation Exodus rescues and resettles 200,000 Soviet Jews over 10 years.
- JUF opens its Chicago Israel Office of the Federation in Jerusalem.
- Operation Solomon airlifts 15,000 Ethiopian Jews to Israel in 24 hours.
- Federation establishes Community Foundation for Jewish Education and Jewish Women’s Foundation.
- JUF celebrates Israel’s 50th anniversary: 10,000 attend concert, 10,000 attend Walk with Israel.
- Petach Tikvah becomes Chicago’s Israeli Sister City, having been JUF’s Project Renewal sister city.
- JUF joins Partnership 2000 with the Kiryat Gat-Lachish-Shafir area of Israel’s Negev.
- JUF’s JCRC escorts Joseph Cardinal Bernardin to Israel.
- JUF celebrates Jerusalem’s 3,000th anniversary with its largest Mission to date.
- JUF helps draft first state-wide bill making it illegal to raise funds to support terrorist activity.
- TOV: The Tikkun Olam Volunteer Network and The JUF Uptown Café established.
2000s
- Federation celebrates Centennial, launches Centennial Campaign, hosts General Assembly.
- JUF provides humanitarian aid to Kosovar refugees fleeing ethnic cleansing.
- JUF establishes Chicago Center for Jewish Genetic Disorders.
- JUF runs Israel Emergency Campaign to address needs created by these situations.
- JUF responds to terror attacks of September 11 with Terror Relief Fund, to Hurricane KatrinaHurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
with humanitarian aid and volunteers. - 25,000 attend first JUF’s Israel Solidarity Day, incorporating the Walk With Israel, at McCormick Place.
- JCB and JFCS merge into Jewish Child and Family Services.
- Federation establishes Jewish Day School Guaranty Trust.
- Federation moves to new headquarters at 30 S. Wells after 48 years at 1 S. Franklin.
- JUF accompanies Sen. Barack Obama to Israel, then escorts Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley there.
- JUF celebrates Israel’s 60th anniversary with gala at Northwestern UniversityNorthwestern UniversityNorthwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
, attended by 8,000, and concert at Millennium Park, attended by 15,000.