My mantra this past winter has been “with change comes opportunity.” To be honest, it didn’t become my mantra until after I panicked and then was in denial at the news that our amazing Executive Director Melissa Prober had decided the time was right for her to make a change for herself and her family. As she told you in last month’s newsletter, she’ll be stepping down as our Executive Director later this year. At this moment, I truly want to shower Melissa with praise, accolades, and gratitude for her unwavering commitment to NCJW’s mission and for her inexhaustible dedication to our section, but as many of you know that would probably make Melissa a bit uneasy, so for now I’ll simply say, “Thank You, Melissa!”, and for good measure, I’ll send her a Starbuck’s gift card because I know that will make her happy. 

When I did finally come to embrace the mantra “with change comes opportunity,” it was because of the support of our section’s leadership – none of them ever shy away from a challenge! We are excited to announce that we seized this opportunity and hired Jessica Colman Cheng to be our Membership and Communications Coordinator. I am confident that Jessica will forge her own unique path at NCJW and provide the support to our Board and volunteers that is essential to our section’s success. Welcome aboard, Jessica!

Along with changes in staff, we are in the midst of forming our 2022-23 Board of Directors. The Nominating Committee, chaired by Amy Rubin, has begun its critical work. I strongly encourage you to contact Amy at NCJWnominating@ncjwcns.org to discuss how you can become part of our leadership team. I’m proud to say our section is growing both in numbers and in impact, and now is the perfect time to bring your talents and perspective to NCJW. I hope you too will embrace the mantra “with change comes opportunity” and seize this opportunity to be part of this amazing organization!

Click here to nominate yourself or someone you know. For more information, email ncjwnominating@ncjwcns.org.

To register for this Town Hall, click here.

Join us again this year for another feminist reclamation of the Purim story during which we'll nosh some Hamatenshan (bake your own at home or buy some in advance), celebrate our heroines, and share our reading and interpretation of the Megillah. To register, click here.

Spotlight: No One Expects to Become Disabled

Join us to hear Ginger Lane share how she went from ballet star and teacher to founder of CounterBalance to disability rights advocate. The longer version of her story is, unsurprisingly, complicated and even more compelling, and begins with 3-year-old Ginger being hidden, along with her six siblings, in a field in Germany for several years during the Holocaust.

This session will focus on recognizing disabilities, respecting, and communicating with people with disabilities, and what we can do to build more open, inclusive environments. Click here to register.

NCJW Gives Back will Spring into Action in support of the women of Deborah’s Place. 

Our collection dates will be from March 20 – 23. Please check the NCJW CNS website for more information in the coming days.

Thanks to all who donated food items to the Northfield Food Pantry for our February NCJW Gives Back project. Your generous donations helped to stock the shelves for families in need during the winter months.

We also thank our awesome CourtWatchers, who covered 100% of the court sessions in January and February, ensuring that civil and criminal domestic violence courts are treating survivors fairly.

Thanks to our soup kitchen volunteers, who served at the First Methodist Church in Evanston in February. During the pandemic, the soup kitchens are serving food ordered from restaurants, with the cost covered by volunteer organizations. To donate for meals, please visit Donate - Chicago North Shore (ncjwcns.org) and indicate you’d like your donation for the Soup Kitchen Initiative. To volunteer for our future soup kitchen dates, contact Ellen Hall here: Ellenyhall@aol.com

For more information on NCJW Community Services, please contact Donna Fishman, donnafishman16@gmail.com or 847-275-5758.

Overdose deaths are skyrocketing as a result of the devastating effects of synthetic opioids like fentanyl which are being unleashed by bad actors into the black-market drug supply. Now more than ever, psychoactive drug use can be deadly. Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid that is similar to morphine but is 50 to 100 times more potent. Like morphine, it is a prescription medicine that is typically used to treat patients with severe pain. But it is also made and used illegally. Synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, are now the most common drugs involved in drug overdose deaths in the United States. JCFS Chicago asks that you read and share these alerts with your families and friends. Alert for community members, alert for parents, and alert for teens and young adults. For more information, contact Beth Fishman at BethFishman@jcfs.org.

For the first time in the United States, a gun manufacturer has faced some accountability following a mass shooting. This landmark victory comes after a lengthy court battle in which relatives of nine victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting used Connecticut's Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUPTA) to argue that Remington had violated the law by irresponsibly marketing its Bushmaster AR-15-style rifle, which was used to kill 20 Sandy Hook first-graders and 6 educators. Remington's aggressive marketing strategies included the use of product placement in violent video games to directly and purposefully appeal to troubled young men who are most likely to commit illegal acts of violence such as the Sandy Hook shooter.

The gun industry and the gun lobby have aggressively marketed the AR-15 rifle for years, working hard to convince Americans that AR-15s are simply "modern sporting rifles." However, these firearms are in fact nothing more than weapons of war that are used to murder our children and loved ones in every public place in America.

Hopefully, the Sandy Hook families' success in this lawsuit, a settlement which included making public the marketing records recovered from Remington, will shed light on all the gun industry's dangerous marketing tactics, which place profit over public safety, and the threat of litigation will force gunmakers, along with their insurers and investors, to adopt more responsible marketing practices, which may prevent future mass shootings and all forms of gun violence.

Beverly Copeland

Director of Advocacy

Jane Ramsey, longtime community organizer and lifelong activist in combating poverty, racism, and anti-Semitism.

Jane Addams Award

Betty Magness, Civil Rights leader in Chicago for over forty years, directing transformative justice through multiple organizations.

Donna Fishman, Past President of NCJW CNS and instrumental leader in strategic planning, coalition building, and engaging new leaders.

Each of these three women exemplifies the visionary spirit of NCJW’s founder Hannah G. Solomon. In 1893, when, instead of being offered any meaningful role on the program at a prestigious meeting for a proposed Jewish Congress at the Chicago Columbian Exposition, Hannah was asked to bring her friends together to serve coffee to the male organizers attending that meeting, she responded by organizing and leading the first Jewish Women’s Congress as part of the World's Parliament of Religions at the Exposition. This unprecedented forum, which focused on improving the lives of women and children, proved wildly successful and marked the beginning of National Council of Jewish Women. For over 129 years, NCJW has worked in partnership with the community to assist those in need by improving living conditions, promoting education and vocational training, and increasing access to medical care. It has been a major voice in Civil Rights, Women’s Rights, Reproductive Health and Abortion Rights. Through education, advocacy, and community service, our section has had a remarkable history of impacting policy and providing assistance. Learn more here.

Save the date for the Women of Vision Gala on Tuesday, June 7, 2022, at 6:00 pm, and join us at the East Bank Club for an evening of celebration as we honor a new generation of visionary leaders who have inspired us to stretch our capacity and to do even greater things.

Abortion is a racial justice issue. It is an economic justice issue. It is a public health issue. We must continue to advocate for access to abortion so that everyone, not just those in positions of privilege, can make their own health care decisions with dignity. NCJW has been advocating for reproductive rights, health and justice for over 125 years. And for any donation of $36 or more, we will will send you a Hanger Project charm to symbolize the desperate acts women will take when they don’t have access to safe abortion care. No woman should EVER have to resort to a coat hanger in place of safe, quality healthcare. Click here to donate.

Annual Member? Most NCJW annual memberships expired on June 30? Click here to join, renew or gift a membership online. If you prefer to mail a check, please send your membership donation to the NCJW Chicago North Shore (NCJWCNS) to: NCJW Chicago North Shore, 5 Revere Drive, Suite 200, Northbrook, IL 60062. Your annual membership donation is only $50 but it helps us make such a difference! And for those 36 and under, we offer a special double chai membership rate of just $36!

Life Member? You're not just a life member because you made that life member donation back in the day - you are a life member because you are the heart and soul of our section! Is there someone in your life that you think would enjoy being a part of our group of motivated, fun, and thoughtful women? A collective of folks connecting with each other and learning together as a community of progressive change-makers. If you do, why not gift them a membership!

Chicago North Shore has several new ways to support our section. As always, you can make a one time donation or purchase a tribute (links are below), you can even purchase an NCJW star necklace or hanger charm or become a monthly donor!