National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) was founded in 1893.  Today, NCJW has 90,000 members in 500 United States communities dedicated to helping people of all races, religions and economic backgrounds. Here is just a sample of the work done by NCJW in the Greater Minneapolis community over the years:

• In 1933, NCJW began what is now the local MEALS ON WHEELS PROGRAM.
• In 1952, NCJW helped found the COUNCIL HOUSE FOR SENIOR CITIZENS (known today as Senior Resources).
• In 1964, NCJW created the WISE VOLUNTEER PROGRAM in the Minneapolis School System.  
• In 1984, NCJW developed a program that distributed “Call Police” highway emergency banners nationwide to help protect drivers stranded along highways.  
• In 1996, NCJW began PROJECT RESPECT, a prejudice reduction program created for the Minneapolis Public School system and run by our section for over a decade. Project Respect was featured in 1997 at a major conference on hate-based violence.
• In 1988, NCJW was honored for its role in beginning Minneapolis Jewish Family and Children’s Service’s PROJECT DRIVE-A-DAY, helping to ease the burden for senior citizens by helping with transportation.
• In 1999, NCJW began STUFF FOR SCHOOL, a community service project that furnishes students in the Minneapolis public schools with the supplies they need to embark on a successful school year. This widely recognized, ongoing program continues today, serving more than 100,000 students since its inception.
• In 2005, NCJW launched BOOKS FOR HOME, a spin-off of the Stuff for School program, which has provided more than 2000 students in grades 1-3 with books – first for use in their classrooms, and then to take home – in order to help advance literacy in the most disadvantaged Minneapolis neighborhoods.
• In 2009, NCJW launched STUFF FOR KIDS, which provides backpacks and personal items for homeless and highly mobile students.