I’ve been honored to serve as president of JUF’s Young Leadership Division board this year. During my tenure as president, we at YLD have focused on two areas: First, engaging more young Jewish people and, second, keeping Jewish issues front and center in the minds of our target audience.

Chicago YLD is the envy of every Jewish federation across the country for its dedicated board members, innovative programming, and broad appeal. I know this because I heard it expressed firsthand, many times, at the Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly this past November. The YLD Board, a 40-member juggernaut, has worked hard over the past few years to extend its reach to underserved populations, including the LGBTQ community, Blue Line Jews, and the 30+ crowd. This year we continued those initiatives.

But we didn’t stop there. As big as our YLD community is, we know that there are more people to engage. We are constantly trying to engage those who want to be an active part of YLD, but for some reason, are not. We reach out to those who have been Jewishly involved all their lives- day school, overnight camp, youth groups- and to those who are just dipping a toe into the water for the first time now.

We reach out to those who are just out of college, new to the city, beginning their professional lives-and to those who are cruising through their 30s, established in their careers, and maybe even have families of their own. All of these people and more are YLD constituents; we want to bring them into the fold and keep them there.

This year we broadened our appeal by piloting several new programs, including an outdoor group workout class, a guided tour of the Art Institute, and a Jewish book club. We continue to enhance membership in the Ben-Gurion Society by offering a special set of benefits and additional programming, culminating in a trip to Cuba earlier this year.

More generally, we recommitted to enhancing the experience for attendees at our events, in big and small ways: fully embodying our role as hosts to make everyone feel welcome and included; offering substantive information about the work of JUF and how monies are allocated; and following up with new opportunities to get involved. Our hard work has not gone unnoticed.

Still, we wrestle with the significant challenge of competing for limited resources- time, attention, and, yes, money- of the young Jewish community. Young people are very engaged now in standing up for issues and causes they believe in. Personally, I am thrilled to see it. But, knowing that, it means that we have to redouble our efforts to make clear the crucial work of JUF: building community and providing human services to those in need.

Though there are so many things to stand up for these days, the critical needs of our community, many of which are only met by JUF, have not abated. Indeed, there is now a particular urgency, as many aspects of the social safety net are in jeopardy. We must ensure that the important work of the JUF comes through in everything we do. Every happy hour, networking event, and sports league is about more than socializing. It’s about strengthening the Jewish community and showing our commitment to its success.

Orly Henry is the president of JUF’s Young Leadership Division