Better Our World From Home

Tikkun Olam, repairing the world, is an essential Jewish value. We can all play our part in making this world a more equitable place. Browse our Tikkun Olam opportunities below, and click next to each listing to learn more and sign up to volunteer. We love to document the incredible acts of compassion our community is engaging in: please send photos of you and your family doing good for others to Rabbi Jacob Leizman here.

VOLUNTEER

ADULT MITZVAH CORPS

Volunteer with a charitable organization one weekday a month, and plan an activity that is needed for that organization. Adult Mitzvah Corps has been helping others for 18 years!

Learn more and sign up to volunteer.

BETH EMET SOUP KITCHEN

Volunteer to cook and serve at the Beth Emet Soup Kitchen in Evanston with other members of our NSCI community. The week before, volunteers will be told what to shop for. The soup kitchen is a warm, community-embracing place, and you’ll likely get to meet new folks in the kitchen, too! Advance signup is necessary. To sign up or ask questions, contact Brooke Hazan, our NSCI Beth Emet Soup Kitchen liaison.

FAMILY PROMISE

For 8 years, NSCI has partnered with Family Promise Chicago North Shore, an Evanston-based coalition of interfaith houses of worship that care for and house families who are experiencing homelessness. Learn more and sign up to volunteer.

FEED THE HOMELESS

For nearly three decades NSCI’s Feed the Homeless program has helped to feed thousands of people around Chicago. Learn more and sign up to volunteer.

Hands of chesed

Hands of Chesed is a group of NSCI volunteers who spread kindness (chesed). We help members of our NSCI community during difficult times, those of illness, divorce, mourning or other challenges. We’ll check in with you and ask if we can drop off dinner or groceries, or come say hello and visit. Or we might surprise you with cookies or another treat! We are always on the lookout for new members of our team to spread kindness. If you’re interested, or want to learn more, contact Leslie Rosen, here.

MITZVAH GARDEN

Each spring through fall, NSCI volunteers and staff lovingly grow hundreds of pounds of fresh produce that is all donated to the Moraine Township Food Pantry and The Ark Northwest, ensuring that our neighbors in need have access to fresh produce to eat. Learn more and sign up to volunteer.

OPERATION BACKPACK

Collect school supplies for families struggling financially. Learn more and sign up to volunteer.

THANKSGIVING BASKETS

For over a decade NSCI families have come together the weekend before Thanksgiving to provide Thanksgiving meals. Learn more and sign up to volunteer.

Zviahel

For 29 years, NSCI has helped support a small dwindling and elderly Jewish community in Ukraine. Learn more and sign up to volunteer.

17: REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT PROJECT

For five consecutive years NSCI has partnered with RefugeeOne to help resettle a refugee family here in Chicago, with the goal that the family becomes self-reliant six to eight months after their arrival. Learn more and sign up to volunteer.

WE'RE ALWAYS COLLECTING STUFF!

While we host special in-kind collections during specific months throughout the year, we are always collecting toiletries for The Night Ministry, kosher non-perishable food for The Ark, and children’s books, toys and clothing for Cradles to Crayons. When we have collections, you can find the collection bins in the North parking lot.

DONATE

• Donate to NSCI’s Feed the Homeless Fund to provide meals to Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago Lites Tutoring, the Night Ministry, Connections for the Homeless in Evanston, and snack packs to Fill a Heart 4 Kids.

• Help Family Promise Chicago North Shore provide hotel rooms and food for families experiencing temporary homelessness. Click HERE to donate. 

• Fund Cradles to Crayons’ efforts to provide much needed diapers, school supplies, hygiene items, and other essentials to Chicago’s children. Click HERE to donate. 

• Donate blood and platelets with the American Red Cross (HERE) or NorthShore University HealthSystem (HERE) to help ensure blood is available for those who might need it.