Saks Family to Receive Rabbi Robert J. Marx Social Justice Award from Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, Nov. 18
CHICAGO — Esther Saks and her four daughters, Ruth, Beth, Jane and Naomi, are the 2010 recipients of the Rabbi Robert J. Marx Social Justice Award, to be presented Nov. 18 by the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs.
The award is presented each year at JCUA's annual Rabbi Robert J. Marx Social Justice Awards Dinner. This year's co-chairs are Judy Gaynor, Robert "Bud" Lifton, and Laura S. Washington. Honorary co-chairs include Timuel Black and Rep. Jan Schakowsky ( D-Ill. ) .
[ Jane M. Saks ( Executive Director, Ellen Stone Belic Institute for the Study of Women and Gender in the Arts and Media ) is a feminist activist, cultural advocate, writer and educator who challenges and champions issues of gender, sexuality, human rights, race and power within the worlds of arts and culture, politics and civil rights, academia and philanthropy. She serves on several boards including: Co-Chair, Chicago Foundation for Women's Lesbian Leadership Council, Radio Diaries of National Public Radio, US Friends of the South Africa Constitutional Court Architecture and Art Programme Committee, and Chicago Committee of the African Women's Development Fund and Chicago Committee of Human Rights Watch. She is a published poet and, as a writer collaborates with artists including: Jim Hodges, Kerry James Marshal and Inigo Manglano-Ovalle. She is an invited lecturer at civic, cultural and educational institutions, and recipient of numerous awards and honors including: a 2005 Leadership Greater Chicago Fellowship; 2008 Woman of Valor Award; 2009 Business and Professional People for the Public Interest "40 Who've Made A Difference Award;" a 2009 inductee to the City of Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame; and a 2010 Impact Award from the Chicago Foundation for Women. Jane and the Institute received the Visionary Award from Rape Victims Advocates in June 2010 and the Leppen Leadership Award, from About Face Theatre and About face Youth Theatre in recognition of its extraordinary support, programming, and work with LGBTQA youth. ]
The JCUA Rabbi Robert J. Marx Social Justice Awards Dinner is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., Nov. 18 at the Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel Chicago, Crystal Ballroom, 163 East Walton Place, Chicago.
Register online for the event at www.jcua.org or contact Pamela Klier-Weidner, JCUA director of development, at 312.663.0960 ext. 115.
Esther Saks, lifelong social activist, and her late husband Alan dedicated their days to fighting for causes they believed in, and in their 50-year marriage, raised four daughters who've devoted their lives to working on issues of human rights, women's rights, race, hunger, and equitable business practices.
"Living a self-sustaining and self-supporting life is a given, but above that offering one's resources, time and intelligence to your communities, takes the meaning of life next level," said Esther Saks. "Our family has always felt that one owes something to your community," she said.
Esther Saks helped found and currently serves on the board of the Young Women's Leadership Charter School, the only all-girls school in Chicago with a curriculum emphasis on math science and technology.
As president and CEO of the 50-store chain, Saxon Paint & Hardware, Alan Saks became well-known for his ethical business practices in the Chicago communities in which his stores were located, and provided paint for many nonprofits across the city.
Ruth Saks is owner of Ruth Saks Ltd., a marketing and advertising consulting business geared toward helping businesses stay afloat during the recession; Beth Saks is treasurer and chief financial officer of The Global FoodBanking Network; Jane Saks is founding executive director of the Institute for the Study of Women and Gender in the Arts and Media at Columbia College Chicago; and Naomi Saks is a spiritual care and bereavement coordinator for a hospice in Northern California.
About the Rabbi Robert J. Marx Social Justice Award
The Rabbi Robert J. Marx Social Justice Award was created to recognize, on an annual basis, the day-to-day work as well as the overall accomplishments, of socially conscious individuals who act on the values that JCUA's founder, Rabbi Marx, lives and teaches.
About JCUA ( www.jcua.org )
The mission of the Chicago-based Jewish Council on Urban Affairs is to combat poverty, racism and anti-Semitism in partnership with diverse communities. Guided by prophetic Jewish principles, JCUA pursues social and economic justice for our most vulnerable neighborhoods by promoting a vision of empowering communities from within. Since 1964, JCUA has assisted groups in low-income and minority communities, built coalitions with diverse groups, advocated on issues of poverty and racism and mobilized a Jewish constituency to create a more just city and nation.
