Everyone of us has faced challenges in our lives. Dealing with stressors in our fast-paced world is a challenge in and of itself, and for some people it seems as if “when it rains, it pours.” They feel as if they are getting pounded with problems, one after another. Even happy events – weddings, births, celebrations – can pose challenges and stress!
Your perception is the key to turning life’s challenges into blessings, says Advanced Life Skills. This self-help guide suggests when faced with problems, ask yourself five questions:
1. What can I learn from this?
This challenge may offer value and opportunity; all you need do is look for it.
2. How can this strengthen me?
Problem-solving can be intimidating; when you realize you can handle this challenge, you’ll feel stronger and more confident.
3. How can I use this to my advantage?
Your solution may teach you a new way to achieve a goal.
4. How can I use this to help others?
Who’s watching? Your children, family, and/or friends may be motivated and inspired by your positive actions in the face of challenges.
5. What would make this a worthwhile experience?
The knowledge that you have choices can be an empowering, life-affirming blessing. Knowing that you’re able to respond to a situation rather than react is value-added.
For some people of our faith, every day is challenging, but there is something we can do: We can make it possible for them to worship with dignity and thanksgiving. Your monetary donation, no matter how small, can make this year’s Chanukah 8 blessing-filled days for those who cannot afford the foods and items needed for traditional worship. With your help, Maot Chitim volunteers can prove we care. Most importantly, Maot Chitim lets Chicago-area needful neighbors that they are not alone.
Together, we can face challenges as deep as the ocean
and as high as the sky. -Sonia Gandhi
Call 847-674-3224 or contact Maot Chitim to learn more about ways to donate time and money.
…in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.
-Benjamin Franklin
It’s 4Q 2017, and as our fiscal year-end approaches, our thoughts turn to filing taxes. Again. Taxes are an unavoidable part of our lives, no matter whether you’re a DIY (do-it-yourself) tax-filer or employ a professional to “do the math.”
All of us recognize the mitzvah with which we are commanded and the blessings we realize as a result of our charity. But there are also tax benefits of giving, and the reality is, most of us could use a good tax deduction! Here’s how it works:
Whether you donate because you identify with and feel a part of Chicago’s Jewish community or because you are commanded to do so, your financial support allows our less fortunate neighbors to observe Jewish holidays and worship at home with dignity and thanksgiving. Maot Chitim is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, so your donation is tax-deductible. You can donate by cash, check, or credit card. Many companies have a matching gifts program, which means your donation is doubled!
Good listening skills add value to every aspect of your life: your profession, friends, family, and everyone with whom you communicate will appreciate your efforts to make conversation more meaningful. This is especially true for our food-delivery volunteers.
At Maot Chitim, food delivery to help those who in need celebrate the holidays, is one aspect of volunteering. But the connection you make with those people is sometimes more important than the food delivery itself. What they say to you could speak more loudly – and more eloquently – than the words “thank you” can convey. You simply have to be able to hear them.
“Jews came to Chicago from virtually every country in Europe and the Middle East, but especially from Germany and Eastern Europe,” says the Encyclopedia of Chicago. Jews immigrated to the United States to escape poverty, discrimination, and hate crimes. To say some Jews didn’t have “fond memories” of their homelands is an understatement.
Chicago was incorporated in 1833; by 1933, Chicago Jews were only outnumbered by New York City and Warsaw, Poland Jewish populations. Early Jewish settlers included Henry Horner, an ancestor to the first Jewish mayor of Chicago.
Selling – peddling – as a profession enabled the Jewish settlers to quickly acquire language skills and led to many successful business ventures. Russian and Polish Jews from small, rural villages began immigrating to Chicago in large numbers circa 1870. By 1930, they numbered over 80% of Chicago’s Jewish community. They settled mainly in the westside and labored as artisans, factory workers, garment industry workers, peddlers, and merchants.
Chicago-Area Firsts
The first synagogue was Kehilath Anshe Mayriv (KAM), established in 1847 by German Jews. By 1852, disgruntled Polish Jews broke off and founded Kehilath B’nai Sholom, Chicago’s second congregation. In 1861, the Sinai Reform synagogue was established near the corner of LaSalle and Monroe streets. Other Chicago-area “firsts” include:
Your History, Your Legacy
The Jewish history is rich with inheritance metaphors; terms meaning “inheritance” are mentioned over 200 times in the Old Testament. “The Scriptures transform the concept of inheritance to include the acquisition of spiritual blessings and promises from God,” says Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary.
We often have instructions for what we leave behind. When you leave a legacy of love with a financial donation to Maot Chitim, those who benefit from your inheritance can pay those blessings forward, and your history begins. Learn more about leaving a legacy! When you contact us, we’ll explain some of the ways a legacy gift can be established (assets, cash, charitable trust/annuity, IRA funds, life insurance, will bequest).
All gourmets are foodies, but not all foodies are gourmets. A Jewish foodie might be someone who prefers cane sugar-sweetened Coca-Cola year-round, not just at Passover. You can taste the difference.
Foodies who live in the Chicago area are fortunate – we have plenty of excellent restaurant choices for kosher food! The only problem is defining “the best” eateries because your taste buds and others’ taste buds may have different preferences. So, if you haven’t already, check out some of these terrific Chicago restaurants serving kosher foods:
If you’re a foodie and have some unique kosher recipes or restaurant recommendations, let us know!
And remember, there’s a difference between the pleasure of foods and the necessity for foods that enable us to worship as our ancestors decreed. This historical connection of specific foods for certain religious observances is important to all of us. If you can help with our purchases, packing, and delivery of kosher foods, contact Maot Chithim of Greater Chicago and ask us what we need the most at this time.
It’s back-to-school time for many families. And for many Chicago-area students, 2017-18 is the year to focus on the future; career choices are abundant, but sometimes jobs are hard to find. If you want to hone your skills and get experience that makes a difference to potential employers, volunteering is invaluable:
The hub of volunteer activity for Maot Chithim takes place at our warehouse, located about 20 minutes from our Northbrook office at 7100 N. McCormick, Lincolnwood, Illinois. Last year, we aided over 30,000 recipients – people who would have been unable to worship in the Jewish tradition.
One week before a holiday delivery, volunteers gather at our warehouse to assemble boxes of non-perishable food. Warehouse volunteers must be at least 12 years old and must wear closed-toe shoes (no sandals or flip-flops) for safety. Not only can you volunteer yourself, but you can also coordinate your own group of volunteers! Warehouse packaging can be a way to actively interact with your book club friends while providing a very needed service.
Deliveries have been made so much easier and faster, thanks to cellphone navigation apps! There are no age restrictions for delivery participants; drivers should have a valid driving license and auto insurance. Drivers are needed – especially drivers with SUVs, vans, and trucks – to deliver to multiple addresses in Chicago and nearby suburbs.
As a student or job-seeker, your volunteering activities are an important part of your resume! If you would like to organize a group of people to volunteer for warehouse packaging or package deliveries, please contact our group coordinator at volunteer@maotchitim.org. Even if you cannot volunteer in person, you can help Maot Chitim in many ways! Call 847-674-3224 or contact us today for more information.
“Maot Chitim” refers to the gathering of wheat, which was given to the poor for making matzo for Passover. Over 100 years ago, Maot Chitim of Greater Chicago began when Rabbis set up card tables in front of their synagogues to collect donations for the poor to assist with holiday meals. Because of the growing need, which included an increase in immigrants from the former Soviet Union, Maot Chitim evolved into a year-round, volunteer-driven organization that searches for kosher products at the best possible prices for Jewish holiday deliveries.
Chicago is home to the fifth largest Jewish population in the United States, and the need for our services is very real.
Thanks to you, Rosh Hashanah 2017 will feed more people than last year! As a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, your monetary donation to Maot Chitim of Greater Chicago is tax-deductible.
There are many organizations that help feed, clothe, and house Chicago’s needy. But most of them cannot offer the specialized foods and items needed for our way of worship. Your donation to Maot Chitim goes beyond the basics; it restores dignity to our neighbors when they need it most.
In the U.S., one-third of Holocaust survivors live at or below the poverty level. While we celebrate the centrality of Jewish life during Simchat Torah, let us not forget those who need to be reassured they are not alone.
Your children and grandchildren look to you to set an example of giving, and that includes time. About three weeks before, we need volunteers to package foods for those who otherwise would not be able to observe our holidays in a dignified, traditional manner.
Maot Chitim of Greater Chicago needs you! Whether you donate money now or leave a legacy for future generations, your help goes beyond today.
Helping a person will not necessarily change the world,
but it will change the world for one person.
Contact us or call 847-674-3224 to help!
Our Fall High Holidays are fast approaching! It’s a busy time of year for Jewish families, communities, and organizations like Maot Chitim of Greater Chicago. This year, Elul begins Monday, August 21. This is the perfect time for you, your children, and your grandchildren to begin holiday preparations. It’s also the perfect time to remember our older neighbors and those who are less fortunate.
Poverty and hunger don’t take a break during the holidays; if anything, the reality of impoverishment strikes those of our faith even harder. Special foods and our way of worship are deeply entwined whether we are celebrating or mourning. For Rosh Hashanah, round, braided challah bread symbolizes time’s annual cycle. During the month of Tishrei, bread and apples with honey represent our hopes for sweet things to come in the new year!
Your financial support and donations now, before the High Holidays of 2017 can help as many as 15,000 Jewish people worship and observe Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur meaningfully and joyfully. Their gratitude will be your blessing for the new year.
Your financial support goes beyond the holidays and into the hearts of those who live in poverty, and with hunger every day. Please call 847-674-3224 or contact us if you know of a family in need this time of year. Your referrals are another way to ensure others can worship traditionally.
Between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we observe the Days of Awe (Yamim Noraim). This is a time in which we seek a closeness with God; a time for review of last year, atonement and repentance, reconciliation, and forgiveness. As you review what you could have done better or differently, know that when you help Maot Chitim help others, you’ll be blessed into the new year and beyond!
“I’d like to – but I don’t have time!” Charitable organizations hear that phrase repeatedly, and it once meant, “You’re not one of my priorities.” In today’s technologically advanced, fast-paced world of today, it’s true: we really don’t have much time! Data indicates that we spend 30% of our lives getting dressed and preparing to leave the house (three percent of us take over an hour)! Or, you might have the time, but perhaps you have a physical disability that limits movement and travel. Maybe not leaving the house to help your charity is the solution.
Ways to Help from Home
You can “change the world in your pajamas,” says Help from Home.org! The website has ways to help your chosen charities, and you can even select the amount of time you have available – from under 1 minute to multiples of 30 minutes. Here are ways to help from home:
Monetary donations continue to be the best help without volunteering. Contact us to learn more about ways to help Maot Chitim of Greater Chicago!
Volunteer Chima Madu said, “The fact that I am not paid does not mean that I am worthless. It means that I am priceless.” The joy – and blessing – of being a volunteer is that it’s a 2-way street. Serving others can change your life for the good.
Volunteers are needed to offset a charity’s overworked personnel and often, a lack of resources that means administrative staff does more hands-on work. In our case, that would be packing and delivering food boxes for our volunteer events, and we do so gladly and eagerly! But we need help for our volunteer events, and we need our volunteers to prepare themselves, physically and emotionally.
Volunteers are the lifeblood of Maot Chitim, but we don’t want our volunteers to bleed for us by any means! In order to serve as a packing/delivery volunteer, your vehicle and your body should be in good shape and adequately insured. Do not risk injury or illness as a result of any physical activity, no matter how worthy. Remember: You are priceless!
If you will be volunteering for 1 hour or 6 hours, the night before the event put out your water bottle(s), energy bars, raincoat, sack lunch and anything else you anticipate that will make your day go easily and comfortably.
You want to be an asset; not someone other volunteers have to “deal with.” Before the volunteer event, discuss procedures that experienced volunteers follow in order to best help the activity flow.
Charity is an option for many; for us, it is tzedakah. Even the best coordinated and organized volunteer event can hit some snags. Keep your sense of humor and remember our focus is to serve with a joyful heart! Your bumps in the road will hardly matter.
The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something . . .
If you go out and make some good things happen,
you will fill the world with hope. You will fill yourself with hope.
-Barack Obama
A recent survey revealed that 83% of caregivers reported that doing so was a “positive experience.” Especially when caring for ill and aging parents, caregivers said they felt a sense of meaning and purpose in being able to give back to someone who has cared for them. Some family members want their legacy to be a tradition of care; one that their children will use as a model for life. Caregiving is a stressful blessing; focusing on spiritual guidance and the rewards of caregiving is a coping mechanism.
David Arnow, Ph.D. says the commitment to visit the sick – bikkur cholim – is necessary for everyone, not just the clergy. “Indeed, the Talmud notes that visiting the sick is one of the few commandments that is rewarded both in this world and the world to come,” he writes.
Dignity is as essential to life as water, food, and oxygen.
-Laura Hillenbrand
“One of the central tenets of Judaism’s approach to the ill or dying is to preserve their dignity,” continues Arnow. That is the mission of Maot Chitim. Helping Jewish residents of Greater Chicago with food-related needs is the first and most important way to contribute to those less fortunate than us, but we also want to provide what is needed to observe traditional holidays. That is what gives dignity to those who feel they are living without pride.
Illness respects no one and visits everyone at some time. Our charity helps Jewish neighbors regain a sense of belonging at a time when they feel isolated from the Jewish community and our ways of worship. You can help Maot Chitim aid those who are suffering from ill health and poverty to restore a sense of dignity to their lives. The most important way to give is through monetary donations, but volunteering your time is equally important! Please call or contact us for more information about how you can serve.
Your rewards are the blessings that you take with you, in this life and beyond.
Charity sees the need,
Not the cause.
We are taught it is our mission to help others. So we do. You’d think being a charitable person would, in itself, be a good thing but there are actually right and wrong ways to be charitable.
Personal finance writer Liz Weston says the best rule to follow when contributing to organizations that serve the needy is, “Take your time.” Shotgun-giving doesn’t help you make knowledgeable choices, and often the amount donated causes more problems than good. Here are three of the “charitable mistakes” many of us make:
By the time a $25 donation is processed, much less than $25 eventually trickles down to the needy. And any donation – no matter how small – indicates to a charity that if you are courted, you might give more. So the organization may spend twice as much as you donated trying to persuade you to increase future donations.
Rather than make one-time donations based on an emotional appeal, it’s best to focus on one or two organizations that represent your passion for good. Let’s say your focus is child abuse. Now, let’s narrow it down even further: does an organization like CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) or Lunches of Love (LOL) speak to your passion for helping needy children?
The year-end and new year holidays inspire us to be better people; we want to share some of our blessings with those less fortunate. Again, last-minute giving to random charities is not nearly as effective as regular donations to one organization. Your charity can build a budget around your regular donation when you make monthly donations. It helps with cash-flow, year round and better serves the needy than one larger donation at tax time.
No matter how heartfelt the request for charity, it’s simply best to avoid telemarketing and storefront solicitations. Maot Chithim of Greater Chicago is not a billion-dollar charitable industry with well-paid CEOs, so we get a big bang out of small donations! Call 847-674-3224 or contact us to learn more.
Spring cleaning! It’s not a tradition from a bygone era; according to the American Cleaning Institute®, 72% of U.S. households continue to engage in spring cleaning of some kind. In addition to specialty cleaning, like ceiling fans and window-washing, it’s the time to rid yourself of items you no longer use and do not anticipate ever using. Let’s face it: Even if you have a maid and a household cleaning staff, no one can do your spring cleaning for you. No one else knows the value of what’s in your closets, basement, and attic.
You may have items that would mean much more to others.
As you go about reorganizing your living spaces, here are some items that are tax-deductible when donated to a Greater Chicago charity:
Other items you can donate to others and receive a tax credit for your generosity include:
We don’t accept donations of clothing or other household items, but we are in touch with local organizations that do, so contact us for additional information. One of the ways you can donate to Maot Chitim is when you shop Amazon Smile; a portion – .05% – of your purchase price can be designated to Maot Chitim! This is a win/win!
It’s tempting – and let’s admit it – too often, it’s necessary – to eat meals on the run. One woman said she only saw her husband when they passed each other in cars as they chauffeured their children to and from practices and lessons. “He would wave his taco, and I would wave my burger, and that was supper!” she recalled.
When you’re finally all together at home, the kids want to play video games, talk to their friends on cellphones, and you’re so tired you just want to zone out in front of the television.
The “family dinner” is an infrequent, special event to most of us. But there are two important reasons you can and should strive to have family dinners every week.
When you are an active, dynamic household, family dinners are just one of the ways you can stay connected with each other. Volunteering together, as a family, gives your children lifelong skills and humanitarian values that will serve them and their children for eons. Volunteering helps your family unit learn about their individual personalities, too!
Maot Chitim of Greater Chicago is an organization that has served family dinners and kosher meals to needy people in the Chicagoland area for over 100 years. We understand that “time is money,” and appreciate the fact that it’s often easier to donate financially. But the lesson still applies when you include your family in a donation: Our legacy is one of charity; it is your mitzvah (commandment) to help others with a willing heart.
Call 847-674-3224 or contact us to learn more about ways your family can help our family!
Helping others is a part of our culture. It’s also one of the ways we reinforce the importance of our traditions. Holiday volunteering is especially useful to youngsters; it helps them understand the blessings they have and the blessings they can be.
The first positive benefit that family volunteering offers is that it enables a dialogue among family members: How can we serve? What can we do? What are our unique talents? As you plan your volunteering-as-a-family activity, discuss these points:
The generationOn website says volunteering as a family helps your youngsters focus on things larger than themselves. Research confirms there are positive benefits for volunteers too, when they work with their family to help others.
Call 847-674-3224 or contact Maot Chitim to learn more about how your family can help. We know that your time is truly more valuable than money! If volunteering is not possible, your financial support can be a family project, too. And don’t forget to support our sponsors! We depend on their support and services, as we continue to help those who need us most in the Greater Chicago area.
Passover 2017 was celebrated by approximately 15,000 people who would not have had the means nor the ability to observe this traditional holiday without YOU and your volunteer efforts/monetary donations! Maot Chitim volunteers remember this year’s Passover as time of unity and camaraderie; we joined together to serve others. Maot Chitim of Greater Chicago encourages volunteering for the holidays as a way of sharing the blessings we have experienced, particularly the blessing of being able to worship, our way, with dignity during our holy days.
If you have served as a warehouse package packer, a delivery driver, or helped in any way, we value you! We also work closely with social service agencies (The Ark, Chai Lifeline, Shalva, Ezra, Lutheran Social Services, Council for Jewish Elderly, and Catholic Charities). They can provide us with referrals for individuals/families who would benefit from a holiday food package or a community meal.
Giving is most blessed and most acceptable when the donor
remains completely anonymous.-Rabbi Moses ben Maimon
While we’re giving thanks, please be sure to patronize our generous Maot Chitim sponsors:
For additional information about ways you can volunteer, call 847-674-3224 or contact us today!
Not all Chicagoland people are natives, and they may not realize what we were born knowing: how to stay warm this winter. Share these tips for surviving Chicago’s Winter 2017 with your neighbors/newcomers, and remember to follow them yourself!
Rabbi Elazar Muskin says we should “love kindness*.” You should not only willingly mitzvah; you should do so with warmth and happiness. Charity begins at home. For some of us, the world is “home,” but for many, home is an address or a country.
“Judaism . . . must also teach how to tithe with a smile,” says Rabbi Muskin. When you help others, you feel good about yourself! The volunteers and donors who support Maot Chitim of Greater Chicago are not only a blessing; they are blessed!
Even as we rejoice in the gifts God gave us, we need to help those who are cold and hungry. Chicago is home to many members of our Jewish “family” who are elderly, infirm, and needy. For them, home may be a very cold place that could use warmth inside and out.
*Micha 6:8
The National Commission on Hunger was created in 2014 as a legislative mandate to address hunger in the U.S. The actual definition of hunger is when “a member of a household reduces or disrupts what he or she eats because the household does not have the money or resources for food.” Here are some statistics that you may not have known about hunger in the U.S.:
There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them
except in the form of bread.
-Mahatma Gandhi
We cannot end hunger as individuals, but when we work together, there is so much we can do! Maot Chitim of Greater Chicago truly needs your help. There are four ways to give:
Call 847-674-3224 or contact us to help end hunger in greater Chicago.
On the holiday of Purim, it is customary to dress in costume to celebrate the victory of the Jews in ancient Persia. Wearing costumes represents how the miracle of Purim was disguised in other events, and helps preserve the dignity of the poor who ask for charity on this holiday.
The Story of Purim
In 4th century BCE, all Jews were part of the Persian Empire which was ruled by King Achashveros. When the king had his wife executed, he remarried a Jewish girl named Ester who kept her identity hidden when she became queen.
The king did not know that his new wife was Jewish, and appointed a man named Haman as prime minister. Haman was known for hating all the Jews, and created a plot to destroy them on a date he chose. Queen Ester discovered the evil plan, and fasted and prayed to G-d. Her prayers were answered, and she revealed her identity to her husband and convinced him to undo the decree and save the Jewish people.
Although it might not seem like a miracle at first glance, the story of Purim shows how G-d’s hand guided events to save the Jewish people. Ester disguised her identity, and the events of Purim disguised His actions to save the Jews. Purim is a miracle in disguise, and so we wear costumes on this day to honor the hidden miracle.
Giving Charity
The second reason to mask your identity on Purim is to help those who ask for charity. It is the heart of our faith to give to those in need, especially on days when we honor His miracles. It is customary to give gifts of food on Purim, to makes sure that all Jewish people can celebrate the holidays with plenty.
Many of the people who need food on this holiday are poor or elderly, and cannot get groceries for themselves. Over one million homes in Illinois are on food stamps, and those people spend their holidays going hungry. Bringing food to those in need brings the Jewish people together on the holy days, and honors G-d’s love and generosity to the Jewish people. Wearing costumes helps to preserve the dignity of those who ask for charity, which is freely given to anyone in need.
Purim is a day to share wealth with those who are less fortunate, by making and giving food to all those in need. The miracle of Purim symbolizes G-d’s guidance in all parts of life, and shows His love and protection. Wearing costumes on this day reflects how His hand may sometimes be hidden, but it is always there to guide us.
Richard Bach said, “The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other’s life.” One of the ways you can respect your elders, your family, and yourself is by discovering the paths your family followed throughout the ages.
You have an information source of knowledge that is greater than the Internet! The oldest members of your family hold the key to your history, traditions, and heritage. “There’s an undeniable strength in family stories,” says Dana Larsen of Senior Living magazine. Your family history creates stronger bonds between your past and your future.
Statistically, information about families is lost within three generations if it isn’t written down. Here are some of the topics you should discuss with your elders, and don’t forget to document what you learn in addition to sharing it verbally with your family:
Your heritage is like a puzzle. The pieces form a complete picture of you, your family, and the journeys that brought history to the present.
When you share your family’s ancestry with younger family members, you leave them an inheritance that they can pass down to future generations. Your history will also continue to live long after you have died when you leave a legacy of hope for future generations by making a bequest or a planned donation to Maot Chitim. Your gift will ensure our 100 years of service to the Jewish community will endure for another century and beyond!
Your bequest will give others the gift of tradition and dignity with kosher foods for the holidays. It will help others to learn that Tzedakah is not just a financial donation – it’s a sharing of self with joy and happiness in the giving!
There are many ways to establish a future charitable gift to Maot Chitim. Call 847-674-3224 or contact us today! Your legacy for the future can someday restore Jewish values, ethics, and dignity to those who need it most.
The best way to pay for a lovely moment is to enjoy it.
-Richard Bach
There’s a logic behind happiness that is a true blessing: People who are happy make other people happy, too. And like anything else, happiness may not come naturally to everyone. You must learn ways to be joyful, and nurture them in order to thrive. Here are some tips for finding your happy place in life:
Volunteering and charitable donations from people like you is how Maot Chitim survives. As Purim approaches, we think about those who are less fortunate. We will help them celebrate this traditional Jewish festival with dignity. It’s also another way to find your happy place: Charitable donations can lead to better physical and mental health! As you count your blessings, remember that donating and volunteering during the holidays are especially needed. Please contact us or visit our website for more information on opportunities to give back.
Keeping physically warm in winter is one thing but staying warm inside is something else entirely. It’s that warm feeling you get when you do something good for someone and it’s one way anyone can stay warm in winter.
1 out of 7 people are food insecure and 1 million homes in Illinois are on food stamps. There are hungry people throughout the entire city of Chicago that are just struggling day to day and their needs increase when it’s cold and winter stretches ahead. At Passover and other holidays it’s particularly difficult for the needy in the Jewish community to uphold traditions with dignity, unless they have some help.
Maot Chitim is a charity that assists needy members of the Greater Chicagoland Jewish community during Passover and High Holiday. Since 1908 the charity has provided food donations to help individuals and families to observe the holiday with dignity and keep the traditions in their daily lives.
There are hundreds of volunteers of all ages who help in the warehouse and deliver boxes feeding close to 12,000 people each holiday. Volunteers say how satisfying it is to do something for the Jewish community and how, when you drop a box off at someone’s home and they welcome you with a big smile it sets the whole tone for Passover. All members of a family often help out and parents say it’s very important for their children to see what it’s like to give back.
Volunteers also help with the making up of boxes and packing them and they start this work about three weeks before a holiday. It is only achievable through dedication and teamwork. As a volunteer you will be made most welcome. Why not join the team and experience for yourself the warmth these volunteers feel inside when they give up their time and receive such gratitude and thanks in return.
There are other ways of helping out too, such as donating to Maot Chitim. You can donate cash or with a credit card or check. It’s really easy and any amount will be much appreciated.
Leaving a legacy is a fantastic gift that would ensure a tradition of service to be passed down from generation to generation. Imagine how good that would make you feel, knowing you had created your Jewish legacy and helped to keep the strong Jewish values alive for future families and individuals.
Maot Chitim always need more people to assist and donate because, as a charity, everything they do is based on donations, so step up and volunteer. Stay warm inside in winter and you may find you get back more than you give.
There are many different types of volunteer activities. Some organizations require telephone or door-to-door solicitation while other charities request onsite assistance. For example, Maot Chitim will need volunteers (12 years and older) at this year’s Passover warehouse to assemble food boxes. (Children under 12 can help with the deliveries!) Just as there are types of charitable efforts, there are also types of volunteers. Which one of these volunteer personalities is yours?
You’re a good listener; taking care of people and pets just comes naturally to you! Because you are able to show empathy, you are an all-around super volunteer. Rather than working behind-the-scenes, you’re needed “in the trenches,” providing one-on-one caregiving to those in need.
“Form and function” might be your mantra. You have the imagination and organizational skills that lend themselves to arts and crafts. Whether you are coordinating a food drive or in the kitchen preparing foods by the gallons, overall presentation is always a factor for you!
You are all about helping your community. You prefer to donate your time and money to an organization that involves itself primarily with aiding needy locals.
Learning and teaching are your strong suits! You might enjoy serving as the volunteer trainer, and when it comes to fundraising, your goal is to help others understand why their financial support is needed and how it will benefit the needy.
Volunteers don’t necessarily have the time;
they just have the heart.
-Elizabeth Andrew
For over a century, Maot Chitim of Greater Chicago has helped thousands of the Jewish community people practice our religious holidays with dignity. Traditional foods are sometimes too costly for elderly, jobless, or those suffering with poor health, and through charitable financial donations, assistance can be provided in the ways in which they will be most effective.
Call 847-674-3224 to learn more about how you can become a part of our charitable efforts in 2017. You can also contact us online or send a message with comments or questions.
Time is money.
-Benjamin Franklin
Your time is valuable, and when you can’t make financial charitable donations, the next best thing is donating time. Charitable volunteering is value-added! Charitable organizations like Maot Chitim of Greater Chicago need your skills every day to fulfill their mission.
For our organization, volunteering during the holidays is especially important. During Rosh Hashanah 2016 we fed more than 13,000 people! The 1st Seder of Passover is Monday, April 10, 2017, a time when we need more – more capital, more volunteers. Here are ways charitable donations and volunteering can benefit you:
Maot Chitim is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and your donation is tax deductible. There are several ways to help:
Call 847-674-3224 or contact Maot Chitim for information about how you can contribute to feeding Chicago-area needy. Consider volunteering or making charitable donations, as we’ve got opportunities for you to make a difference throughout the year!
