About JUF Right Start

A gift to your family from Chicago’s Jewish community

Jewish Early Childhood Education… the gateway to Jewish Life

We believe that Jewish early childhood education is so important that we created JUF Right Start to make Jewish preschool and daycare more accessible and affordable for Jewish parents.

The program’s centerpiece is a gift voucher—the first of its kind nationally--that will substantially offset the cost of Jewish early childhood education. The voucher can be applied to the tuition of the first child in your immediate family to attend a participating Jewish preschool or day care. It is not based on need (please see eligibility information). Tuition reimbursement is based on the number of days a child is enrolled.

Voucher amounts are:

• $500 for a child who attends 3 days per week
• $750 for a child who attends 4 days per week
• $1,000 for a child who attends 5 days per week

Families with children age 3 and over, who are not eligible for the voucher, will receive the JUF Gift of Family Learning, a yearlong selection of Jewish books and music from the PJ Library.

Jewish Life Begins at Birth

Inspiring a lifelong love of Judaism in a child takes a loving Jewish home, Jewish schooling and Jewish experiences that transmit the richness, the joy and the beauty of our 3,000-year-old traditions. Jewish early childhood programs especially have a major impact on a child’s emerging Jewish identity and serve as an important gateway to other facets of Jewish life.

The warmth and creativity of these programs engage our youngest children as they teach them Jewish values, concepts and traditions. Children in Jewish preschools and daycare centers learn that there is a special meaning to Jewish community and continuity.

Through JUF Right Start, we hope to help Jewish families participate in the rich and rewarding experience of Jewish early childhood education, as well as to help connect them to Jewish life and community. Jewish life begins at birth, not when children enter their adolescent years.

JUF Right Start also aims to build a sense of community among families with young children. Throughout the year, JUF Right Start will sponsor family-oriented programming, featuring Jewish music, crafts and storytelling, as well as bring in speakers to talk about parenting issues. Programs are open to the entire community.