Legacy Circle

Did you know that The Selfhelp Home got its name because the original organization, founded in 1936, was entirely “self-help”? When we were founded on Chicago’s South Side, we were so small that we were completely self-sustaining. And because we were founded to help senior Holocaust survivors find home in Chicago, we grew with the number of refugees.

A major factor in our success was the generosity of our residents in leaving part or all of their estates to The Selfhelp Home in order to “pay it forward.” These visionary souls wanted future residents to know the care, comfort, and compassion that they felt at Selfhelp. It didn’t hurt that one of our founders, Dorothy Becker, insisted that Selfhelp residents consider estate gifts. You did not say “no” to Dorothy!

As we celebrate our first century, The Selfhelp Home recognizes how critical estate gifts are to our past, present, and future. “Planned giving,” which is thinking ahead about your estate and planning to share it after your life. It can be a difficult and uncomfortable thing to think about, at first, but because we see the profound impact of estate gifts around us every day, and because we’re here to help in any way we can, the discomfort subsides, leaving a beautiful gesture and so many future beneficiaries of your own vision and generosity.

The Selfhelp Home partners with the Jewish United Fund’s Create a Jewish Legacy to make our planned giving easy and simple. Create a Jewish Legacy is a hands-on endowment fundraising program that strengthens the Jewish community by training and supporting Chicago Jewish agencies, day schools, senior communities, and synagogues in the area of legacy giving. The program teaches professional staff and volunteers how to secure legacy gifts for endowments, which will provide a steady and potentially growing stream of dollars to sustain them for generations to come.

In one way or another, your life is rooted in Jewish experiences connecting you to the Jewish community. Chances are you already support The Selfhelp Home, but have you included our beloved home in your will or estate plan? By leaving a legacy to Selfhelp, you can assure that the traditions and institutions that mean so much to you today will be there for future generations of residents and their families.

• Express values instilled in you by your parents and grandparents.

• Perpetuate the Jewish traditions you cherish.

• Preserve the programs and organizations that support Jewish life in Chicago.