Jenny B. Friedman Foundation, Inc.

Statement of Purpose & Personal Credo

The Board of Directors and Officers believe that all people have value, self-worth and dignity, regardless of who they are. When you save one life, you save a whole world. We believe in the ethic of, "Treat others as you would treat yourself".

Jenny Friedman was a person born with low expectations. But she surpassed and surprised all the experts. She rose to the very top of what she could be. She had many friends. She was an expert swimmer having won her meet at the Special Olympics eight years in a row. After graduating Palatine high school in special ed, she worked. This was a real job. She was a Mail Clerk for a large insurance company and took the bus three times each way. Jenny didn’t take charity, she gave it. And she took care of her friends, which included Maggie Daley, Irv Kupcinet and Terry Savage. And many, many more. She liked herself and she brought happiness and joy.

In her honor and memory, the Jenny B. Friedman Foundation was started. We are 501c3 approved by the IRS. Our mission is to help people with special needs to enhance them and raise them up to be the best they can be. No one should feel alone, desperate or abandoned. We give out grants to help people with disabilities for basic needs – rent, utilities, food, shelter. Whatever it takes to let them know they are not forgotten and to help them function to be productive.

On the table and with Your Help, we have the following plans. We are scouting for a building to house the Jenny B. Friedman Food Bank and Job Training Service for people with disabilities. We are planning the Jenny B. Friedman Camp for Disabled Children and Adults, with animal therapy and planting. And other plans to come as the Board may see fit.

There are some people who have great ideas, and some people who carry them out. When Jenny’s friend died in high school of epilepsy impoverished in foster care, Jenny was the only one to come up with the idea of fundraising to buy her friend a headstone. And she did. Over the course of a year, everyone contributed, teachers, students, staff, the alumni and public. That is the inspiration we have for You. We will continue her grace, her goodness and her caring. We take care of people with special needs and that is what we are going to do.

Even if a person is disabled to the extent he can only paint a brushstroke on a stick – that stick can still be useful and sold to construction companies and surveyors. Everyone comes to the table with what they have and everyone brings something. Wherever there is discrimination, we’ll be there. Wherever there are stumbling blocks, we’ll be there. Wherever there are hardships for people with disabilities, we’ll be there. Join us as we fulfill this Mission. 

In Jenny’s honor, the JBFF Board and Officers carry on her selfless compassion and positive spirit.