Our Partners
Social Action Partners
Many members of Kol Hadash are active members of the Society for Humanistic Judaism (SHJ), our national organization of Humanistic Jewish congregations and communities. Through the SHJ, we participate in the Jewish Social Justice Roundtable.
Jews for a Secular Democracy.Through both our membership in the Society for Humanistic Judaism and individually, we partner with JFASD to counter the influence of religion on government policy and to defend the separation of Church and State.
Through our membership in the Society for Humanistic Judaism, we participate in the Secular Coalition for America, which advocates and lobbies on behalf of nontheistic Americans.
Locally, we are members of the Chicago Coalition of Reason, which connects various Humanistic and non-theistic organizations in Chicagoland.
Community Service Partners
Through a grant from jBaby Chicago, a program of the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago, we have free storytime sessions for each major Jewish holiday.
As part of our participation in the national Secular Week of Action, which celebrates what human beings can achieve together, we have collected and sorted items for The Ark’s Food Pantry.
Almost since our inception, we have partnered with A Safe Place collecting Wish List items at High Holidays, knitting blankets, building a garden, stocking a library, running 5ks and more.
Bernie's Book BankWe help Bernie’s process and distribute children’s books throughout Chicagoland to give underprivileged children the opportunity to explore new ideas, gain knowledge, and strengthen reading skills through book ownership.
Northern Illinois Food Bank (Highwood)
We regularly help distribute food to 400 families living in our community by unloading pallets of food from trucks, organizing the items, and loading individual vehicles.
Chai LifelineEvery year, the adult members of the congregation join our Sunday School students to make blankets for children facing life-threatening disease.
Community AlternativesWe collect winter holiday gifts for children coping with disabling conditions.
ountyWe have prepared and served dinner for the homeless at a local PADS shelter and supervised the shelter’s overnight stays.
Our services are held at the beautiful North Shore Unitarian Church located at 2100 Half Day Road in Deerfield. Every year, our two congregations come together for a “Mitzvah Day” (Good Deeds Day) to work together on a dozen or more community service projects.
Our Educational Partner
International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism
Rabbi Chalom also serves as the Dean for North America of the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism (IISHJ), which offers rabbinic and leadership training, publications, and public events to further the movement's intellectual work.