Feature, Local News

NCJW in the South Suburbs

Creating a legacy, making a difference. That’s the most succinct way to describe the work the past 100 years by members of the National Council of Jewish Women South Cook Section.

Times have changed since the section was founded in Chicago Heights in 1921. Members of the Ladies Aid Society of the Beth Israel Synagogue decided they wanted to work at new endeavors and organized themselves as a South Cook section of NCJW. Later there would be a Lincolnway section founded in the 1949. It was active until about 1980 when it merged with South Cook section.

Members of the National Council of Jewish Women South Cook Executive Committee are from left,
Lynne Oberman, seated, and Jody Markus, Penny Shnay, Sharon Johnson, Gloria Lippert, Susan Bayer,
Ellen Kaplan and Patricia Arnold. Not pictured are Debra Borodkin and Peggy Butler. (Provided photo)

NCJW is recognized as a grassroots organization of volunteers and advocates focusing on progressive ideals. Members take action to improve the quality of life for women, children and families, and to protect individual rights and freedoms.

“They do the work. They’re not just talk, they’re advocates. They changed the face of the South Suburbs,” said Pat Arnold, a member since 1995. She points to NCJW’s 100 years of activism noting, “What they’ve accomplished is almost unbelievable. They are tireless and determined.”

The longest-running service program for NCJW South Cook is the Traveling Players.
Members write a script and song lyrics and dress as cartoon characters
and superheroes to entertain young school children each fall. (Provided photo)

The group’s name says Jewish women, but this is an organization open to all.

“They’re very inclusive. You don’t have to be a woman. You don’t have to be Jewish, I’m not Jewish,” said Sharon Johnson, current president of the South Cook section. “The name itself might lead people to think they can’t be a part of NCJW, when it’s really all about values.

“Our big push is quality of life for women, children and families and the safeguarding of individual rights and freedoms. So, if those things that are important to you, you are more than welcome. We are happy to have any support from anyone who believes in those things.”

The COVID pandemic forced the organization to push back a year the celebration of the 100th anniversary to September 2022, and its meetings moved to Zoom, but Johnson said the group is back together again and getting back on a regular schedule.

Accomplishments – large and small – came about through the work of hundreds of volunteers. Here are a few NCJW efforts you may recognize:

  • Helped organize South Suburban Family Shelter, since renamed Anew, to bring attention to the problems surrounding domestic abuse.
  • Originally working with the Park Forest Youth Commission, NCJW helped the program evolve into Aunt Martha’s Youth Service Agency, now Aunt Martha’s Health and Wellness.
  • Members collect baby clothes and other items and present them as layette sets to Aunt Martha’s for new mothers through the Albine Gerson Layette Program.
  • Members have volunteered at a summer camp for kids with cancer.
  • Volunteers have been in schools through picture lady and story hour programs and raised money for teacher initiatives and playground equipment.
  • Holiday gifts are provided for students at Glenwood Academy. It’s the latest gift-giving project. The first was with Aunt Martha’s, thanks to the dedication of Peggy Eisenstein, and later with Respond Now.
  • Safety Town offered lessons to about 2,000 kindergarteners over more than a decade. The road safety instructions used Big Wheels for vehicles driven through a recreated street at the Irwin Center in Homewood. Kids also got safety lessons from police and firefighters.
  • The Elyse Bell Traveling Players, the South Cook section’s oldest continuous service project, has members portray favorite cartoon characters and superheroes for a play and song lyrics they write each year and perform for young school children.

Johnson said NCJW South Cook has always had an education and lobbying component. Its latest effort is a voter information drive. NCJW has paired with helping organizations to share information on voting rights and how to register to vote.

Willow School teacher Jodi Klyn, left, and Josh Klein of GoodSpeed
Cycles thank Sharon Johnson, center, of NCJW-South Cook
for the donation supporting the All Kids Bike program.
(Eric Crump/H-F Chronicle)

“Our work was always extremely strong on community service, but the last eight years or so we’ve tried to really build up our advocacy, which is just as important as community service,” she said. “We’ve had different programs in the past. On the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we’d have a speaker come, and we would have a program about reproductive justice and what Roe v. Wade means. Obviously now (since the Supreme Court overturned the Roe decision) it’s important more than ever.

“We want to make sure that those individual rights and freedoms are protected and that we don’t become complacent and let things happen just because no one’s being vigilant and watching.”

The organization lobbies on state and national issues, such as reproductive choice and health, but doesn’t overlook topics, such as immigration and gun violence, that raise concerns for members, Johnson said.

Lobbying for important causes is an essential part of NCJW’s mission.
At a recent information session on the issue of gun violence, members
wore orange, the color worn to promote gun safety and honor those
who died in gun violence. (Provided photo)

The South Cook section’s major fundraiser is its annual garden walk each July. Guests make a donation and get a pass that allows them to view lovely gardens at homes in the Homewood-Flossmoor neighborhoods. The section also raises money through membership dues and an annual members guide and ad book.

Member Gloria Lippert, who chaired the garden walk, said this year approximately 300 people came out for a stroll through the gardens. She said all of the money NCJW raises goes back to the community, either through special projects or grants.

“We give the seed money or the germ of the idea and we get the program going and we feel good if that program can take on a life of its own and become its own organization,” Johnson said, pointing to the work by NCJW member the late Diane Kessler who gathered women around her kitchen table to help organize South Suburban Family Shelter.

“We would call (Diane Kessler) our founding mother, but she would say ‘No, it wasn’t just me,’” said Jennifer Gabrenya, executive director of Anew.

“When we say instrumental, we really would not be in existence if it wasn’t for the work that NCJW did to get the organization started,” she said, recalling how NCJW members helped file for the first government grant and were instrumental in getting the non-profit status for the organization.

Til today, NCJW South Cook is a partner with Anew providing grants and supporting special projects.
The South Cook section’s latest project is helping with All Kids Bike, a program giving kindergarteners at Willow School in Homewood the chance to learn how to ride a bike. GoodSpeed Cycles in Homewood spearheaded the fundraiser to purchase the Strider bikes. NCJW’s donation covered the cost of 48 kid-sized helmets.

Johnson said NCJW South Cook Section is ready for its next 25, 50 or 100 years of service. To learn more, or to become a member, visit ncjwsouthcook.org.

Marianne Switt, left, chair of the Albine Gerson Layette Program, with Ellen Freedman, Debra Borodkin, Ellen Kaplan and
Deborah Levinson. This year NCJW South Cook section donated 62 layette gifts for young mothers who completed a prenatal care
program through Aunt Martha’s. (Provided photo)

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