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HIAS Chicago’s 100th Anniversary

For over a century HIAS Chicago has stood strong for those who sought refuge here, helping thousands of families and their descendants to plant roots in a new land. To symbolize these important values and services, HIAS Chicago has chosen the planting of trees to mark its 100-year anniversary. Donors will plant 100 trees at a Chicago land site to symbolize their gifts to the HIAS Chicago Endowment Foundation in celebration of this historic milestone.

Plant Your Family’s Legacy in our Freedom Grove


HIAS Chicago has launched its 100th Anniversary Endowment Campaign and is planning a multi-purpose event for Thursday, June 21, 2012, with the following goals:

  • To recognize the contributions of HIAS Chicago as the gateway agency for tens of thousands of Jews to our community.
  • To raise $2,000,000 in a multi-year campaign for the HIAS Chicago Endowment Foundation, yielding approximately $100,000 per year to support essential services.
  • To celebrate the contribution and leadership of immigrants in the twentieth century to the growth of the Chicago metropolitan area, in business, science, sports and the arts.
  • To reconnect with the families of the thousands of Jewish refugees and immigrants that HIAS Chicago has helped to resettle.

The HIAS Chicago Freedom Grove will allow donors to honor, remember and celebrate family members, friends and loved ones who have been touched by HIAS Chicago’s services, with gifts ranging from $5,000 to over $500,000. Donations will be recognized with the planting of trees of various sizes, small groves, gardens and other greenery. Donors will be acknowledged on appropriate group and individual plaques at the park. Decisions about the type of recognition, tree size and location will be made based upon the size of the donor’s gift and available space. All commitments to the HIAS Chicago Endowment Foundation will be recognized as gifts to the Jewish Federation’s Centennial Campaign.

HIAS Chicago began as a seed 100 years ago. It has grown into a tree whose broad canopy has sheltered and nurtured thousands of individuals fleeing hardship and oppression. Donors will keep our Jewish legacy alive by planting a tree to honor their own family members as well as so many other families who made this country their home. They will help guarantee that, in another 100 years, a forest of hope and opportunity will still be there to serve those seeking safety and shelter in America.

SAVE THE DATE: THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2012

For more information about the campaign and HIAS Chicago’s 100th Anniversary, please contact:

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