Why we help.
At a time when many people are isolated, dispersed, and disconnected, Yad Chessed offers Jewish people a modern way to fulfill the age-old mitzvot of tzedakah (charity) and chessed (loving kindness). Now, more than ever, with the rising cost of living, it is critical to extend a hand to people facing financial hardship.
Yad Chessed provides swift emergency financial assistance across Massachusetts while upholding the dignity of each client.
Grocery and kosher market gift cards for Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot, Purim, Shavuot, and Passover help build a community of support where all can participate in Jewish life, holidays, and traditions.
Before Hanukkah and Shavuot, Yad Chessed volunteers deliver kosher Shabbat meals across Greater Boston so those struggling financially can feel the warmth of our Jewish community.
Yad Chessed helps our community fulfill the Purim mitzvah of Matanot LaEvyonim (“gifts to those in need”). We collect donations and distribute more than $100,000 worth of grocery and kosher market gift cards to those in need on Purim day so they can buy food and celebrate the holiday.
Financial hardship is stressful and isolating. Our social workers provide compassionate guidance and budget counseling to help our clients access and maximize benefits, and resources, and move them toward a more sustainable and hopeful future.
There are grieving families in our community who cannot afford a funeral for their loved ones. Yad Chessed partners with funeral homes, cemeteries, and rabbis to ensure everyone can carry out the sacred mitzvah of a Jewish burial.
The funds we distribute for food, medical expenses, shelter, and other essentials, as well as our guidance and compassionate case management, help alleviate economic distress and move each client toward a more hopeful future and financial sustainability.
Yad Chessed builds, fortifies, and unites our entire community by creating avenues for all to support one another through the mitzvot of chessed (kindness) and tzedakah (charity).
Listen
Guided by our Jewish values and the concept that all human beings are created “btzelem elokim” (in G-d’s image), we listen with compassion, respect, and without judgment. For some who are truly alone, a Yad Chessed social worker is the only ear they can rely on.
Collaborate
In the spirit of unity and shared responsibility for all in our Jewish community, we collaborate with agencies, organizations, community leaders, and volunteers because the people we seek to help often have complex and multilayered challenges which one entity alone cannot solve. When we come together with a common purpose, we can overcome even the most daunting challenges.
Connect
Tzedakah (“righteous giving”) extends beyond financial assistance to include connecting people to the support they need. We connect people to existing state, local, and community resources, programs and benefits to ensure that they are accessing all available relevant supports so that we maximize limited funding and help to put together as comprehensive of a solution as possible.
Assist
By caring for one another within our Jewish community, we will build a more compassionate and supportive society for all. We assist people with grocery store gift cards so that they will experience the dignity of choice and can shop just like any other community member. We view ourselves as an extension of the Jewish communal family for people who may not be able to rely on family … and as such we want to treat them as family.
Help starts here
Yad Chessed builds, fortifies, and unites our entire community by creating avenues for all to support one another through the mitzvot of chessed (kindness) and tzedakah (charity).