Your donations to and purchases from Vintage Thrift benefit The United Jewish Council of the East Side.

The United Jewish Council is both a coordinating body for Lower East Side neighborhood, secular, civic and fraternal organizations, as well as a direct provider of services. Formed in 1971 by neighborhood leaders and residents, the UJC works to preserve and stabilize the Lower East Side community through a wide range of human services and community development programs.

The United Jewish Council operates three senior centers on the Lower East Side which provide services such as:

• hot kosher lunches at the centers and delivered to housebound residents of the Lower East Side
• Senior Shuttlebus Service which operates as a senior shopping service, giving residents access to supermarkets and other local shopping destinations, as well as to access medical appointments
• a variety of programs including art, yoga, movies, holiday celebrations, and trips to local cultural institutions

The UJC has developed and now manages 170 units of low income, elderly and special needs housing. It operates a home health care program, providing over 100 licensed home attendants to elderly LES residents, as a means of allowing them to age in place. The UJC also provides a broad range of social and youth services to neighborhood residents in need, both as sole provider and in collaboration with other community and citywide agencies.

Funding from the UJC also goes to an array of Jewish programming:

• the Passover Campaign provides Seder packages to families in need, to celebrate their own Seders, and also holds two community Seders,
• Partners in Torah and the Jewish Outreach Program hold weekly study sessions at a local synagogue
• Chanukah and Purim festivals with costumes, food, dancing, games, and more

To find out more about The United Jewish Council and their programs, visit their website.

Donations also benefit the Lower East Side Conservancy, a nonprofit organization promoting Jewish culture and preserving historic houses of worship on New York's Lower East Side. The Conservancy was created to preserve, enhance and support the Lower East Side's body of historic buildings, including its architecturally, culturally and religiously-significant living synagogues, and to raise public awareness of the Lower East Side's distinct cultural identity—both as an historic and present-day Jewish community—by showcasing its historic, cultural, religious, educational, architectural and business resources very much in active use.

The LESC works collaboratively with these Lower East Side institutions to positively promote our rich and vibrant community to residents, visitors, shoppers and tourists. The Conservancy operates historic walking tours and educational projects so that the historic importance of the Lower East Side can be accessible and appreciated by everyone. For more information about the Conservancy, visit their website.