Jewish Life-Cycle Assistance

Happy occasions are often anything but happy when families find themselves without money for even the most basic necessities. So the Chicago Chesed Fund helps take the stress and sadness away by providing emergency assistance for a variety of life-cycle occasions.

Simcha event assistance

To help make a momentous occasion a reality, the Chicago Chesed Fund can help cover the expenses when a family in need is about to celebrate a wedding, bar mitzvah, bas mitvah, bris or kiddush.

Holiday assistance

For hundreds of families in the Chicago area, there would be little to celebrate on the Jewish holidays without the Chicago Chesed Fund. We supply food, clothing and other crucial supplies to make it possible for families to gather and celebrate Pesach, Shavuos, Rosh Hashanah and Sukkos. In addition to this, we provide wine, matzahs and everything else for the Pesach seder. For Chanukah, we provide toys, games and candy to children who otherwise wouldn’t receive any. And this only scratches the surface of all we provide.

What’s more, 100% of every dollar donated for emergency holiday assistance goes directly to Jewish families and individuals here in their time of need.

Simcha Link & Simcha Foundation dating services

The Chicago Chesed Fund’s Simcha Link matches potential brides and grooms from around the country with potential mates here in Chicago. The Simcha Foundation provides video dating in six different cities around the country. Using the latest technology, the Simcha Foundation allows potential matches to meet each other before traveling to a distant city to meet face to face. To find out more, please call 847.679.0496.

Help for teens at risk

Copy: Using specified donor dollars, the Chicago Chesed Fund helps teens at risk get the vital services they need to return to a functioning, normal life—including specialized programs, summer camps and rehab for substance abuse.

Help for single mothers

Recognizing the difficulty single mothers in need have with running a household and trying to make ends meet all alone, the Chicago Chesed Fund is there to help with the mortgage, utilities and groceries during times of crisis. And the Chicago Chesed Fund can also help single mothers get back on their feet with employment opportunities and continuing education.