The Mid-Kansas Jewish Federation provides information and referrals, emergency social services, and emergency financial aid for Jewish residents of Wichita and the surrounding area.  The social service policy includes the following criteria:

• Federation social services will be considered for persons personally contacting the MKJF office and requesting assistance from the director, president or social worker. Other persons may be referred to the office from other agencies or by the rabbis in the community.
• If a member of the Jewish community contacts the MKJF with a concern regarding the welfare of another in the area, the director or social worker will contact that person to determine what service is indicated. Results of that investigation remain confidential, as does all other social service casework.

Financial assistance is provided for immediate needs, including food, clothing, shelter, utilities and medical.  The client may be asked to provide supportive documents such as bills, rent receipts, bank statements and income tax returns to verify need.

Money is paid directly to the vendor and the client is given a voucher in exchange for these services.  No money is paid to the client without the approval of the Executive Committee.

In no case will a client receive more than $1,000 in assistance within a 12-month period without the approval of the Executive Committee.

Whenever possible, the client will be asked to sign a contract for repayment to the Mid-Kansas Jewish Federation for financial assistance.  It is understood that this may not be possible in some situations, but MKJF would like to help others to help themselves and remain independent.

The MKJF is committed to respecting the privacy and dignity of each individual and their right to ask for and receive assistance in a professional setting.

The MKJF is grateful to Marcia Solomon, our social worker, for the many hours of devoted service she has given to the Social Service program.

The MKJF Senior Outreach Coordinator visits elderly (or homebound) members in our community by phone and personal visit; recruits seniors to attend Federation and Jewish community events; helps to plan the monthly Café Chevre "not-for-seniors-only" lunch and education program; and provides referrals to social service and governmental organizations that work with seniors.

Suzy Siegler Rieber serves as the MKJF's Senior Outreach Coordinator.

The children of our community also take part in Senior Outreach, delivering hamentaschen to our seniors every Purim and inviting Cafe Chevre to Camp Shalom for a special lunch every summer!   

A core element of the MKJF's mission is to build the connection between American Jews and Israel by sponoring programs and trips. 

Federation celebrates Yom Ha'atzma'ut with a festival, which includes games, food, and Israeli entertainment. In 2010 we are planning a "Walk With Israel," walking from one congregational building to the other, with educational stations throughout the walk and the festival at the other end.

The MKJF has an on-going, long-term relationship with Pinat Shorashim, an innovative educational park located at Kibbutz Gezer (http://www.pinatshorashim.org.il).  The park serves as a hands-on educational center for groups from within Israel and abroad which serves to illustrate to participants the essential role that Eretz Yisrael plays in the lives of Diaspora Jewry and also teaches Israelis the importance of Judaism in their own lives. A portion of MKJF's allocation to the United Jewish Communities (UJC) is designated to this project.  David Leichman, executive director of Pinat Shorashim, visits Wichita annually.

Wichita families host Technion students competing in the Design, Build, Fly competition in Wichita every other year. 

The Camp Shalom summer day camp includes an annual Israel Day, which includes Israeli food, song, and games.

The MKJF has sponsored two Jewish-community missions to Israel and one interfaith mission, and we hope to have another mission, perhaps orientated toward families, within the next year.

The MKJF Annual Campaign benefits several overseas partners. The two main partners are the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) and the American-Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC).

The JAFI works in communities around the world to bring to Israel Jews who want to come home and also works to put Israel into the lives of the Jewish world's next generation. The JAFI creates opportunities for at-risk immigrants and young people and offers programs that benefit many sectors of Israeli society.

The JDC sponsors programs of relief, rescus and renewal in Israel and 60 other countries around the world. Since the fall of Communist regimes, the JDC has helped to rebuild Jewish life in Eastern Europe. In Israel, the JDC addresses social service needs for children, immigrants, the elderly and the disabled. And in times of crisis - national disasters, wars, famine - the JDC offers aid to non-Jews to fulfill the Jewish tenet of gemiullut hasadim - acts of lovingkindness.