The Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago’s 114th Annual Meeting, held Sept. 11 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, featured a keynote address by Archbishop Francis Cardinal George, OMI, and recognized Max “Skip” R. Schrayer, of Highland Park, for his lifetime of service to the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago and the global Jewish community.

The morning business meeting opened with the unanimous election of the 2014-15 JUF/Federation board, while outgoing directors were honored for their service. (Read about the afternoon luncheon program.)

Following the election, several prestigious awards were presented to promising community leaders.

Davis, Gidwitz and Glasser Young Leadership Awards

(Left to right) Jewish Federation President Steven B. Nasatir, Davis, Gidwitz, and Glasser Young Leadership Award recipients David Goldenberg and Jimmy Sarnoff, and Federation Chairman David T. Brown.

David T. Brown, JUF/Federation chairman, presented the 50th annual Davis, Gidwitz and Glasser Young Leadership Award to David Goldenberg and Jimmy Sarnoff. The award honors young volunteers who have demonstrated exemplary dedication and made significant contributions to Chicago’s Jewish community.

David Goldenberg: Shaping Jewish journeys

Goldenberg, 35, of Highland Park, is currently serving his third year on the board of JUF’s Young Leadership Division, as well as on JUF’s Communications & Marketing Committee and the Contributor Account Relations Committee. He served as YLD Campaign Chair in 2013 and is a former participant in YLD’s Gesher leadership program. Goldenberg is also a member of the Jewish Federations of North America’s National Young Leadership Cabinet.

Outside of JUF, Goldenberg has worked with many other Jewish organizations, including as a former Hebrew school teacher, BBYO advisor, AIPAC supporter, and trustee of Michigan State University’s Hillel. In 2012, Goldenberg was named to YLD and Oy!Chicago’s annual “36 Under 36” list in honor of his many commitments to the Jewish community.

In his remarks, Goldenberg spoke about the vital role that the Jewish United Fund has played in shaping his Jewish journey.

“Where else can you impact virtually every corner and facet of Jewish life? Where else can you collectively build and strengthen our community? Where else can you have so many diverse experiences like me, yet a common thread and contributor throughout? … JUF’s commitment to building a Jewish community is second to none,” Goldenberg said.

Professionally, Goldenberg is the Executive Vice President of Resolute Consulting.

Jimmy Sarnoff: Keeping the Jewish community strong

Sarnoff, 36, of Lincoln Park, joined the YLD board in 2009, where he served as YLD Campaign Chair in 2012 and later as YLD Division President. Sarnoff also chaired YLD’s largest Big Event Fundraiser to date featuring comedian Jimmy Fallon, and founded the now-annual YLD Golf Tournament.

In addition, Sarnoff is a former participant in YLD’s Gesher leadership program, and was chosen to participate in JUF’s inaugural Jewish Leaders Institute cohort. He has traveled with several JUF missions abroad, including co-chairing the 2014 Nachshon mission to St. Petersburg and Israel, and currently serves on JUF’s Contributor Account Relations Committee. He is also a member of the Jewish Federations of North America’s National Young Leadership Cabinet. In 2012, he was named to YLD and Oy!Chicago’s annual “36 Under 36” list in recognition of his achievements.

Sarnoff’s acceptance speech was a call to action stressing the importance of a strong Jewish community in today’s changing world.

“Our work is more important now than it has ever been. The Jewish people are not only fighting wars in Israel, but wars in our own country. I am talking about a different kind of war that past generations didn’t have to deal with – I’m talking about a social networking war,” he said in his remarks. “It is up to all of us to fight back and educate the world that never again will we let our people fall. Nobody is going to help the Jews but the Jews ourselves.”

Professionally, Sarnoff is an attorney with Sarnoff & Baccash.

Samuel A. Goldsmith Awards

(Left to right) Jewish Federation President Steven B. Nasatir, Samuel A. Goldsmith Award winners Ariel Zipkin Weiss and Jessica Schaffer, and Federation Chairman David T. Brown.

Jessica Schaffer and Ariel Zipkin Weiss received the 26th annual Samuel A. Goldsmith Award, given to exceptional young professionals who have shown outstanding performance at a Jewish agency in the Chicago area.

Jessica Schaffer: Embracing diverse narratives

Schaffer, 29, of Edgewater, is the Safer Communities Project Coordinator at Jewish Child and Family Services, where she works to prevent and combat abuse in the Chicagoland Jewish community. In that role, Schaffer has developed training curricula for the Safer Communities program, which have been critical to helping schools and synagogues implement new safety protocols. Under her leadership, the Safer Communities Initiative has become one of the most comprehensive programs of its kind in the country.

Accepting her award, Schaffer spoke about the importance of embracing the diversity of the Jewish community, and keeping cultural differences in mind when doing outreach work.

“To be and to have a strong, safe Jewish community, we need to celebrate diversity, promote diversity, and provide for diversity,” Schaffer said in her remarks. “We need to embrace the many narratives that make us whole – for if we don’t we risk misunderstanding, and the opportunity to build strong, healthy relationships.”

Ariel Zipkin Weiss: Passion for tikkun olam

Weiss, 30, of Lincoln Park, was recently promoted to Director of Donor Engagement at JUF, where she formerly served as Director of YLD. During her tenure, she has launched dozens of new programs and initiatives. A recent YLD event that Weiss organized, the Blue and White Bar Night, attracted over 800 people last spring – an 80 percent increase over the previous year. She has also served as the lead professional for the past three Big Event Fundraisers, which were enormously successful and broke both fundraising and attendance records.

In her remarks, Weiss credited her work at JUF for providing her with a sense of identity, community, and a place to put her passion for tikkun olam to work.

“What the Federation does in Chicago affects the entire world,” she said. “I have seen how tenant support prevents homelessness; how Holocaust survivors have a safety net to live out their lives with dignity; how a hungry mother receives food assistance for her family. In Ukraine, I visited a summer camp where Jewish life thrived. This is Jewish revitalization at its best, and it is taking place all over the world – in struggling Jewish communities, in places where Hitler committed to Jewish destruction, in places where pogroms were prominent. The impact of what we do spans the globe, and I am privileged to play a small role in it.”

JUF Young Families: Planting the seed

The business meeting culminated in a showcase of the work of JUF Young Families, JUF’s department focused on engaging families with children under the age of eight.

“Parents are looking for connections at this stage in their family life and they would like to get that within the Jewish community,” said Deborah Cooper, assistant vice president, Young Family Engagement.

Several JUF agencies and programs presented updates on their work to engage these families, including jBaby Chicago, JUF Right Start, PJ Library, Sinai Preschool and the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, one of the generous funders of JUF’ work in this area.

Deborah Schrayer, JUF Board member and chair of JUF’s Community Outreach and Engagement Committee, explained that “today’s families with young children look differently than they have in the past…and the world they operate within looks different, too. To find and connect with these families, we need to understand their thoughts and behaviors. We must be willing to change up our traditional approaches and programs if we, the Jewish community, want to appeal to them.”

JUF’s Young Family programs have had a tremendous impact on the community. Since 2009, over 40,000 parents, grandparents and children have connected to JUF through PJ Library, jBaby Chicago & JUF Right Start. Further, 85 percent of JUF Right Start recipients, whose children attend Jewish preschool feel closer to the Jewish community and 3 in 4 families, say that being a part of PJ Library has enhanced their family’s Jewish life.