COMMUNITY & CULTURE
NONPROFIT SPOTLIGHT
Y
ou don’t have to be a woman, and you don’t have to be
Jewish to touch and impact lives through the National
Council of Jewish Women St. Louis.
“We are one of the few organizations that actually
connects the dots between community service and
advocacy,” said Ellen Alper, NCJW’s executive director. “We’ve been
around for almost 125 years, and we have a strong history of identifying
the community’s needs and developing a response to those needs.”
For instance, the volunteer-based membership organization has
made strides in the fight against human trafficking by spearheading
an effort that requires emergency rooms, airports and other places of
transit to display posters with the National Human Trafficking Hotline
(1-888-373-7888).
In St. Louis, NCJW has approximately 1,600 members who advocate
on a range of issues, including supporting common-sense measures
to curb gun violence, preserving reproductive rights, and fighting for
racial, economic and social justice.
“Our members bring those passions to the table,” Alper said. “Many
of our community service projects have been spun off as independent
organizations such as The Scholarship Foundation, Legal Advocates for
Abused Women and the Crown Center for Senior Living. All of these
are independent organizations today.”
Another example of the NCJW’s impact on the community can
be observed every year in July during its Back to School! Store for
underserved children.
“It’s a giant, pop-up store where each child is paired with a volunteer.
They go through the store to pick out a backpack, a winter coat, a pair
of shoes, socks, underwear and other personal care items,” Alper said.
The all-day July event is a huge undertaking, with hundreds of
volunteers helping more than 1,500 children.
“Not only are we giving the kids the stuff they need, they’re being
exposed to role models. They develop a relationship with their personal
shoppers, who get them excited about going back to school, and that’s
important. We know that when kids go to school on the first day,
they’re more likely to stay in school,” she said. “But it’s not enough to
give the child a backpack. We examine why the child needs it to begin
with, or why his or her parents don’t have a job that pays a living wage.
That’s how we tie it together with our advocacy work.”
It’s all part of the belief in the Jewish value of repairing the world or
“tikkun olam,” according to Alper.
“As Jews, we have an obligation to give back and touch lives,” she
said, recalling a prior Back to School! event. “We had a little boy who
was walking through the store with his personal shopper. When he saw
all these people helping all these kids, he pulled out a dollar from his
pocket and said, ‘I want to help, too.’ That’s how we know we’re making
a difference.”
MISSION: To advance social and economic justice for all women,
children and families.
HOW YOU CAN HELP: More than 650 volunteers are needed to set
up, break down and work morning, midday and afternoon shifts for
the Back to School! Store event in July. Sponsors, and monetary and
in-kind donations such as school supplies and clothing are also needed.
For more information, visit ncjwstl.org.
SAVVY I SOPHISTICATED I SASSY
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