NATIONAL COUNCIL OF JEWISH WOMEN

Back to school! Store and kids community closet:the back to school! Store is a one-day event set up like a department store. Each child is assigned an adult volunteer to help him or her shop for free for clothing and school supplies. In collaboration with over 75 community organizations, ncjw provides programming in the areas of child safety, nutrition, vision screening, health issues, etc., for parents/guardians and children. A new "family resource guide" has been developed to provide important information about all the services available in our region to support the families and children. Each child receives everything they need to start the school year: clothing, coat, shoes, undergarments, backpack, book and school supplies. (see schedule o)(back to school! Store and kids community closet continued)everything is brand-new and chosen by the child with their personal shopper. The child's self-esteem and excitement to begin the school year are paramount to the running of this project.kids community closet provides children with items they may need on a daily basis at school, whether due to an emergency or an ongoing family situation. Closets stocked with new clothing and uniforms are placed in underserved schools, where 70% or more of the children live at or below the federal poverty level. The clothing, personal care items and school supplies we supply to these young students are distributed on an as-needed and ongoing basis. Children can attend school confidently, in clean, new clothes that fit, and with the supplies they need. It is also our goal to relieve the financial burden currently placed on the teachers and administrators who find it necessary to personally purchase these emergency items for their students on an ongoing basis. Having a closet in the school will help teachers, counselors and administrators meet an immediate need and get right back to the mission of education.eligible kids will predominantly range in age from pre-kindergarten to fifth grade. In some cases the program will reach out to middle school and preschool children as well. Over 13,000 children have access to the closets on any given day.

Ncjw resale shop: the ncjw resale shop provides support for the ncjw community service and advocacy projects and programs. As part of the council's community service programming, underserved individuals in the community receive vouchers to shop at no cost at the shop. The shop carries clothing, accessories, jewelry, furniture and more for women and men. Annually, over 100 vouchers are given out to individuals in need to shop for free in our store.

In april 2024, ncjw undertook a fiscal sponsorship program with hope always fund, an illinois nonprofit corporation. Grants given to the organization supported the accessible healthcare project. The accessible healthcare project will expand access to reproductive healthcare services. The project will expand reproductive healthcare to tens of thousands of pregnant people and take other steps needed to promote and provide healthcare services and education to people in underserved communities and to those in need throughout the country.