Jewish Child & Family Services provides a range of comprehensive programs designed to enable individuals and families to grow and develop positively throughout their lives. With expertise in therapeutic, education and preventive services for people with disabilities, mental health and other special needs, our compassionate staff has helped countless children, families and older adults gain the skills needed to navigate through difficult life events.

Our diverse base of donors allows us to continue to meet the incredible needs of children and families throughout metropolitan Chicago. The tremendous impact we have made in people’s lives is possible because of community partners who share our vision. Our relationships with foundations, corporations, government organizations and individual donors motivate us to further our commitment to serve the diverse Chicago community.

We invite you to join us in making growth, change and success possible in the lives of children and families. Whether through a capital gift, endowment, grant, charitable gift annuity or direct support of a program, each person has the ability to contribute to the possibility of a child or a family today. Now is your chance to leave your mark and redefine what is possible for Chicago area children and families. Please click here for the latest edition of our newsletter.

Giving Opportunities

Support the JCFS Endowment Foundation

The JCFS Endowment Foundation represents our agency's ability to serve our community into the future. Your planned gift demonstrates that you understand the value of securing greatly needed services for generations to come. If you would like more information about charitable gift annuities, bequests or other planned giving opportunities, please call Stacey Shor at 312 673 3212.

Get Your Children Involved with the Friend-to-Friend Program

Children design and implement their own special fundraising events to benefit children in JCFS Foster Care. Perfect for Bar and Bat Mitzvah age youth looking for service opportunities.

Give a Child a Holiday Gift

It’s never too early to start thinking about the holidays. Help make them special for a child in need by participating in our holiday gift-giving program. Donors will receive the name, age, gender and wishes of a needy JCFS client. If you’d like to be even more involved, you can volunteer to help JCFS sort toys.

Join an Auxililiary
North Shore Auxiliary raises funds for a variety of programs including our Therapeutic High School, Early Childhood Center for Innovative Learning and counseling programs. This group of women meets monthly to plan events including the successful Key Card Shopping Spree. Auxiliary members also participate in regular hands on volunteer opportunities such as hosting high school reward lunches and graduation reception.

In-Kind Donation Opportunities
For many of the needy families that JCFS serves, tangible basic needs are out of the financial reach. Through donations of gently used furniture and new toys and clothing, JCFS’ In-Kind Program fills otherwise unmet needs. Many of our clients utilize all available resources on food and shelter leaving newly resettled immigrants in an empty apartment devoid of furniture, children without the proper items to grow and learn and sick individuals without a comfortable bed in which to heal.

You can help these individuals create a warm and welcoming home through your donation of gently used furniture. Because donations go directly to families and are not resold, we have some limitations on items we can accept. We respect the dignity of our clients and ask that all donations be items that families will be proud to display. 

Please review the list of items we are unable to accept:

• used clothing or toys
• furniture in poor conidtion (no holes, scratches, missing pices, pet fur or odors)
• king-size beds
• glass-top tables
• wall-mounted shelving/built-in furniture (cabinets/modular sets) 
• computers 
• baby items older than five years including car seats, high chairs, cribs 

Furniture we are in great need of:

• bunk beds/twin beds
• small dressers
• dinette sets

While we are always happy to accept new toys and clothing, we are in particular need of: 

• Legos
• small, prize-type toys (Silly Putty, Matchbox cars) 
• clothing for teens
• shoes in all sizes 

Gift certificates, particularly to: 

• Best Buy
• Target
• Grocery Stores
• CTA passes

As our needs change often, please check back with us on a regular basis. Regretfully, the Jewish Child & Family Services cannot accept donations of used toys, clothing or books. All furniture must be in good working condition with all parts included.

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