Create your own legacy with Selfhelp when you name us in your estate planning. By joining our Legacy Circle, you help ensure that Selfhelp’s future is bright for many years to come.
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.
“Joining the Legacy Circle at Selfhelp was so simple and so gratifying. We’re thrilled to use an estate gift to support Selfhelp in its second century. Selfhelp has been in our family for generations past, and will stay in our family for future generations!” – Martha and Steve Loewenthal
How to Create Your Jewish Legacy at Selfhelp
1. Make a gift through a bequest in a will, trust or estate plan.
2. Add (or change) a beneficiary designation on an IRA, pension fund, or life insurance policy. Your legacy commitment can be expressed as a specific dollar amount or as a percentage.
3. Give an outright cash gift to the Selfhelp endowment fund, which provides financial security for the organization.
You can make it happen in four easy steps:
1. Reflect on your Jewish passions and discuss them with your loved ones.
2. Contact Selfhelp’s Director of Development, Beth Ida Stern, at [email protected] or 773-596-5862.
3. Fill out the simple Declaration of Intent Form below. This non-binding agreement simply shares your intention to include Selfhelp in your legacy planning. We’re delighted to help!
4. Formalize your commitment by having a conversation with your personal financial advisor or attorney, or contact Beth Ida Stern at Selfhelp for more information at [email protected] or 773-596-5862.
Declaration of Intent Form
Welcome Legacy Members
- Anonymous (4)
- Ethan & Elizabeth Bensinger
- Jack R. Bierig
- Sheila & David Cahnman
- Richard & Susan Eggener
- Judy Faitek
- Peter & Ann Glaser
- Rabbi Suzanne Griffel & Dr. Saul Weiner
- Nate Hartmann
- Tina & David Herpe
- Peter & Barbara Hillebrand
- Austin Hirsch & Beth Gomberg-Hirsch
- Rafael Juss
- Joe & Esther Katz
- Steve & Martha Loewenthal
- Anne & Keith Moffat
- Stephen Nechtow
- Franklin Nussbaum
- Judith Parker
- Michael & Paula Perlstein
- Stanley & Judith Pollock
- Dr. & Mrs. Bernard Pritzker
- Walter & Chaya Roth
- Fern Schaffer
- Robert Schuckman
- Mr. Jonathan Schwartz
- Les & Lisa Stern
- Henry & Judy Straus
- Dr. Howard & Marillyn WeissZ”L
- Jerrold Wolf & Jan Levin
- Judith Wolf
- Dan & Cindy Wolf
For more information, please contact our Director of Development, Beth Ida Stern: [email protected]
The Create a Jewish Legacy program is sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Metro Chicago and the Harold Grinspoon Foundation. A $10,000 free-and-clear cash gift is received when we achieve our goal.