Northbrook Spotlight | Purim at The Ark | Young Leadership | Passover

The Northbrook pantry serves individuals and families from a wide range of communities across the northern and northwest suburbs, from Batavia all the way to Waukegan. Some clients are navigating health challenges, job loss, divorce, or sudden financial instability, while others are immigrants or older adults living on fixed incomes. 

Geography does not dictate need, and no one is immune to hardship. 

What truly defines the Northbrook pantry is its people. The small, dedicated staff is supported by tireless volunteers who make their work possible. They greet clients, help load pantry packages, and make everyone feel welcome and supported. Delivery volunteers extend that care further, bringing food to clients who cannot travel to the pantry.  

A dedicated Northbrook volunteer, making weekly deliveries.

Rabbi Israel Brooks reads the Megillah to an audience of Ark staff and clients.

Earlier this month, The Ark community, including clients, staff, volunteers, and supporters, came together to celebrate Purim with joy, tradition, and meaningful connection. 

Nearly 100 guests gathered for a Megillah reading led by Rabbi Israel Brooks, followed by a festive seudah meal.

The celebration was made even more meaningful thanks to the many volunteers who helped prepare mishloach manot in the weeks leading up to Purim. Volunteers from the Holocaust Community Services’ Mitzvah & Mingle Survivor Group, The JUF Women’s City Council, Solomon Schechter Day School, Shaarei Chinuch Day School, Tamarisk North Shore, Ark Family Volunteers, and Ark Program and Pantry Prep Volunteers spent hours assembling and decorating the holiday packages that were distributed to families. 

A group of volunteers puts together mishloach manot  bags for Ark staff.

Olivia and Juliet saw a need and took action. 

These two generous high school students from Lake Forest organized a cereal drive to support the pantry at The Ark, rallying friends, neighbors, and local businesses to make a real difference. They partnered with Sunset Foods in Lake Forest, placing collection bins in the store so customers could easily donate boxes of cereal. They also reached out to friends and relatives, using any monetary donations to buy cereal at cost from Aldi and stretch every dollar as far as possible. 

In total, more than 500 boxes were collected, providing over 5,500 bowls of cereal for families who rely on our pantry. 

Collection drives like this make a powerful impact. Every box helps ensure that people who turn to The Ark for support can put breakfast on the table and save money amid rising food costs. When young people step up like Olivia and Juliet have, they not only help stock our shelves, they inspire others in the community to give back. 

The next generation is taking the lead, and we could not be more grateful.

Thank you, Olivia and Juliet, for showing what community truly looks like. 

Want to organize your own pantry collection drive to support our West Rogers Park or Northbrook locations? Use our pantry collection guide to gather essential kosher food, toiletries, paper goods, and specialty items that help keep our shelves stocked.

On Pesach night, families gather around a table that looks much like it did the year before. There is matzah, wine, familiar songs, and a Haggadah that’s stained from being used countless times. Yet something deeper is happening in that shared space. Around that table, generations sit together and tell a story that’s uniquely ours. 

The Torah frames the night around the simple act of telling our children the Passover story. The Haggadah adds that in every generation we are meant to see ourselves as if we personally left Egypt. Pesach isn’t preserved through books alone. It lives because parents and grandparents pass it on, and children ask and listen. When that happens, the distance of thousands of years begins to narrow. 

In Egypt, we were families struggling to survive. At Sinai, we stood together and became a people bound by a shared purpose. The Seder traces that journey and links us in an unbroken chain to our own parents and grandparents, whose parents and grandparents before them experienced the Exodus and stood at Sinai. Through conversation, questions, taste, song, and memory, we return to the point when the family of our forefather Jacob became Am Yisrael, growing from a family into a nation. 

That movement from family to nation does not belong only to the past. It happens whenever families look beyond their own tables and see themselves as part of something shared. The Ark reflects that spirit, a community where dignity and generosity bind families together. As we gather at our Seder tables this year, we carry that shared story forward. 

In preparation for Passover, our dedicated case managers are working closely with Ark clients to help make sure they have access to the resources they need not only to celebrate the holiday, but also to feel secure during this season. 

Our pantries in West Rogers Park and Northbrook are distributing tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of kosher for Passover food, our pharmacists are filling hundreds of prescriptions, our rabbi is preparing to lead The Ark’s mock seder, and so much more. 

Join us with a Passover gift today and help every Chicagoland Jew celebrate the holiday with joy and dignity. Your generosity helps bring stability, empowerment, and hope for those most vulnerable in our community. 

• Schedule a tour at The Ark for a first-hand understanding of how our organization provides support to address needs in our local Jewish Community.
  
  
• Make a connection between your company or organization and The Ark for an informational program or service project.
  
  
• Start a Pack the Pantry collection drive for our West Rogers Park and Northbrook pantries.  Challenge your friends, neighbors, and co-workers to help you collect any one item from our pantry list. 

To learn more about how to get involved at The Ark, contact us at volunteer@arkchicago.org.

Explore Our Newest Career Opportunities!

Case Manager – Northbrook

We’re looking for a compassionate problem-solver who thrives in a mission-driven, team-oriented environment.

The Case Manager serves as the central hub of client care at The Ark, supporting individuals and families as they navigate complex challenges. This role builds collaborative care plans, coordinates internal and external resources, and helps clients move toward stability and self-reliance. 

Dental Hygienist (Part-Time)

The Dental Hygienist provides essential preventive care in The Ark’s free dental clinic, helping patients maintain their oral and overall health. This role delivers high-quality services, educates patients on effective oral care, and works closely with our dentist and healthcare team to support coordinated, patient-centered care. This is a meaningful opportunity to make a real impact by expanding access to critical dental care within the community.

Every gift to The Ark ensures that those facing hardship find a safety net and lifeline of support.