“When I was a boy, and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people helping.” -Fred Rogers. 

When the streets and offices started to clear in mid-March and the devastating news of COVID-19 rampantly tore through our state, I, like many, felt an overwhelming sense of anxiety and fear. As the death count rose, I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders and I turned to the only sense of control I knew – keeping my family safe and finding ways to help those more vulnerable. I immediately turned to Jewish community – specifically JUF and Anshe Emet Synagogue – to offer my help.

Sometimes we take large, well established Jewish organizations for granted. Millennials often prefer to give directly to individual causes and, being a millennial myself, I understand why. But throughout this time of great uncertainty, I have felt grateful for the breadth and depth of this community. I knew JUF and Anshe Emet could grasp the scale of the need far better than I and they had the relationships already in place to provide immediate and meaningful assistance.

Working with Anshe Emet’s “Caring Committee,” I have had the opportunity to serve as a volunteer coordinator to make weekly calls to older congregants checking on their physical, mental, and spiritual health. My husband’s and my calls resulted in the synagogue getting a thermometer to a congregant battling COVID-19 at home, connecting parents whose children had the virus to provide support, delivering Pesach meals to a congregant living alone and connecting people to virtual seders and synagogue classes. And those were just our calls; the impact of the combined 700 calls from volunteers has been enormous. Most of all, this opportunity has created new friendships and I feel more a part of the synagogue community than ever before. 

When I contacted JUF to help, they suggested I sign up for the JUF COVID-19 Volunteer Database. These weekly e-mails provide opportunities to contribute remotely or in-person. I have made art projects and written letters to residents at the Self Help Home with our toddler and have become pen pals with a 95-year old Holocaust survivor. I have sent groceries to a refugee family, donated to The Ark, donated pizza to healthcare workers through Young Women’s City Council, and donated food and household items through the JUF Women’s Division. While the need will continue to grow and we will never feel we are doing enough, I find comfort and take pride in being a part of this community now more than ever.

The magnitude and cohesion of the Jewish community of Chicago is a force envied by many Jewish and non-Jewish groups throughout the country in regular times. But the way the Jewish community of Chicago has assessed needs, maximized our resources, created opportunities to volunteer and communicated its action during this time is nothing short of extraordinary. 

-Submitted by Emily Berman Pevnick

These past two months have been filled with opportunities to give back. It’s sometimes hard to find the energy or the mind space as we are just trying to manage our own lives, our children’s learning, our family’s anxieties and uncertainties. But, the outpouring of support for our community has been so inspirational. With my children, we made a yard sign to post on a main road to show our support for essential workers, we’ve donated money to send meals to hospital and other essential workers and made cards to go with the meals, we decorated a paper square for a kindness quilt for The Kindness Connection. Personally, I’ve been making phone calls to congregants at my synagogue and to recipients of the Home Delivered Meals program through CJE Senior Life. That has been incredibly rewarding. People are so appreciative to hear a friendly voice and to know that people outside of their circles care about them and are taking the time to make sure they are ok. I look forward to making my calls each week and know that it is a bright spot not only for the person on the other end of the line, but for me, as well. No deed during this time is too small. Every little bit helps, and each mitzvah helps to create a balance in our world that we so desperately need.

-Submitted by Rachel Stein

In order to do our part in helping our community my roommates and I 3D printed dozens of plastic face shield components to donate to Hospitals and folks out in the front lines. This was all inspired by, and in collaboration with, a larger group of folks in the Chicagoland area. You can read more about the group and our efforts here.

-Submitted by Maiky Iberkleid