The Jewish United Fund of Chicago (JUF) is the central

philanthropic Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

address of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

's Jewish community and one of the largest

not-for-profit A not-for-profit or non-for-profit organization (NFPO) is a Legal Entity, legal entity that does not distribute surplus funds to its members and is formed to fulfill specific objectives. While not-for-profit organizations and Nonprofit organ ...

social welfare Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance p ...

institutions in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. JUF provides critical resources that bring food, refuge, health care, education and emergency assistance to 500,000 Chicagoans of all faiths and millions of

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and around the world, funding a network of 100+ agencies, schools and initiatives.

Allocations

National and Overseas—The Jewish United Fund of 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 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 that engage in overseas work through support from JFNA are the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, The Jewish Agency for Israel and

World ORT ORT (), also known as the Organisation for Rehabilitation through Training, is a global education network driven by Jewish values. It promotes education and training in communities worldwide. Its activities throughout its history have spanned mor ...

. (Russian: Общество Ремесленного Труда, ''Obchestvo Remeslenogo (pronounced: Remeslenava) Truda'', "Association for the Promotion of Skilled Trades"). Community Relations—Through its support of the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC), JUF coordinates the collective policies and programs among 46 constituent Chicago-area 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 the community's youth and inspiring their Jewish journeys, supporting a host of informal

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

and

outreach Outreach is the activity of providing services to any population that might not otherwise have access to those services. A key component of outreach is that the group providing it is not stationary, but mobile; in other words, it involves meetin ...

experiences for young people that strengthen their Jewish identity and connections to community. In addition, JUF's TOV Volunteer Network provides hands-on

volunteer Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency ...

opportunities for people of all ages to actively participate in tikkun olam, the repair of the world.

References

External links

Official website
{{Religion in Chicago Jews and Judaism in Chicago Jewish charities based in the United States Jewish community organizations Jewish refugee aid organizations Charities based in Illinois Zionist organizations in the United States Non-profit organizations based in Chicago Religious organizations based in Chicago