Twelve months ago feels like it could be twelve years ago: We have all been through so much pain, and tragedy, and we have all grown fatigued. As 2021 dawns, we still face tremendous uncertainty about the pandemic and its financial impact on our friends and neighbors.
To give you an insider’s update on our work, we’d like to share our data in order to:
- Quantify our work over the past year
- Quantify our work over the past year
- Show how 2020 brought tremendous new needs in our community
- Articulate our forecasts and needs for 2021
- Thank you on behalf of the more than 5,000 clients we serve
There is ongoing uncertainty about the pandemic. At Chicago Chesed Fund, we cannot wait for uncertainty. Our clients simply do not have that luxury.
We are compelled to act quickly and energetically to meet tomorrow’s needs. Our forecasts and planning for 2021 will lead us to dig deeper and commit further in support of those facing eviction, foreclosure, nutritional insecurity, and more.
Chicago Chesed Fund: for the Community
At Chicago Chesed Fund, we provide a wide range of services for the entire Chicago community. Whether someone is making a simcha (celebration), hosting family and friends, or needs help navigating the mental health world, Chicago Chesed Fund is here to help everyone.
Disability Guidance
Chicago Chesed Fund is pleased to announce our newest program.
We welcome Mrs. Andrea Tannenbaum as our new specialist in providing assistance and guidance for people with disabilities and their family members. Mrs. Tannenbaum’s background as a constituency specialist in former State Representative Kalish’s office gives her tremendous experience navigating State agencies and funding streams for individuals with disabilities. Mrs. Tannenbaum can help with:
- Guidance
- Evaluations/Assessments
- Early Intervention
- Legal Help
- Benefits/Medicaid Waivers
- Educational Options
- Emotional/Social Support
- Availability of Government Funding and Support and Connections to the Appropriate Agency
You can reach Mrs. Tannenbaum at Chicago Chesed Fund at 847-679-7799 x 108 or AndreaT@ChicagoChesedFund.org
The Performing Arts Grant
Chicago Chesed Fund is proud to partner with the Ralla Klepak Foundation for Education in the Performing Arts to bring a performing arts experience to many Chicago Day School students as well as support our community’s educators.
Educators participating in the performing arts element of the program will receive a food voucher from the Chicago Chesed Fund and/or Shearis Yisroel Pesach Fund.
We are grateful to the Ralla Klepak Foundation for its kindness to our community’s educators and its vision in bringing the performing arts to our community’s children.
RALLA KLEPAK (1936-2019) was a fierce advocate, educator, and attorney. During her life she took on cases of the underserved in the Chicago area. One of her legacies is a foundation that advocates for performing arts experiences for students.
Children’s Mental Health Services
In recent months, Chicago Chesed Fund has stepped up its efforts in the area of Children’s Mental Health Services. In addition to our Bright Futures Mental Health Referral Network, we have created an additional focus on two areas: Testing and Diagnosis and direct services in schools.
In partnership with Rush North Shore, Chicago Chesed Fund will help fund a neuropsychological pediatric evaluation for children demonstrating learning, social, or developmental challenges.
In the beginning of 2021, Chicago Chesed Fund began funding social workers in Arie Crown, JDBY-YTT and Veitzener Cheder. These social workers work within the confines of the school to identify students challenged by social-emotional issues related to the pandemic and those which pre-date it.
Often, testing of children is the first step toward accessing appropriate services in the school and in the community. Testing will be heavily discounted. Please call Rabbi Yossi Fuerst for more information, spaces are limited.
The potential for top quality neuropsychological assessments, working with a psychologist who is familiar with the Day School system, at an affordable cost, and within a reasonable amount of time, is a life changer for parents.
Having the CCF therapy program in our yeshiva has helped our talmidim in so many ways. Such an implementation was long overdue, as it is such a necessity in the development of so many children. We are ever so grateful to CCF for stepping up to the plate and ensuring our children receive the help that they need.
Converting Used Cars to Make a a Difference
Many years ago, Chicago Chesed Fund received a call from a donor asking if they could donate their car. The answer was, of course, yes. We sold that first car and used the proceeds to buy food for families.
In 2020, we accepted 46 cars (seven from a single donor!). Of those cars, 42 were in usable condition. We sold 24 of those and the other 18 were given to people to improve their lives and help potential employees get jobs. That’s our difference.
We believe it is our responsibility to ensure that donations go where they are needed most.
To the clients of CCF, a car is more than transportation – it is a vehicle carrying a family toward a brighter future.
In 2020:
46 cars donated
$26,774 proceeds from cars used to help families
18 cars given to community members