20 | MAY 26 • 2022 

B

eth Rodgers wears many hats at 
Congregation Beth Shalom in Oak 
Park as its vice president and chair of 
the programming committee. Rabbi Robert 
Gamer nominated her as Volunteer of the 
Week because he wanted to shed light on 
what Rodgers brings to the congregation. 

 “She continues to bring exceptional 
programs to Beth Shalom as well as the 
larger community,” Gamer said. “Café 
Shalom brings musical talents on an annual 
basis. Chanu-Con has attracted thousands of 
visitors over the few years it’s been running. 
Beth is also integral in planning other major 
and minor events for the congregation.
” 
Rodgers and her husband, David, joined 
Beth Shalom in 2013 after attending a few 
events, such as cooking classes and the shul’s 
annual Café Shalom event. The first time 
they attended Shabbos services, Rodgers says 
they immediately felt the feeling of family 
and community. 
Shortly after joining Beth Shalom, Rodgers 
became active in the shul as a board member 
and later took on the volunteer position as 
chair of the programming committee. 
“I wanted to continue to bring awesome 
and cool events to the congregation,
” the 
Oak Park resident said. “I started to think of 
things that would be worthwhile and exciting 
for more than just the people who belonged 

to the shul.
” 
The mother of three boys said inspiration 
struck in 2016 when her eldest son, Evan, 
who was 3 years old at the time, struggled 
to pronounce the word Chanukah and said 
“Happy Chanu-Con” instead. 
“My husband said we should have Chanu-
Con at the shul, which sounds like Comic 
Con but for Chanukah,
” Rodgers added. 
The ideas started flowing for the festival 
and Rodgers quickly began gathering ven-
dors, raffle prizes from local businesses, 
food and children’s activities in a short three 
months, which she said almost seemed 
unreachable at the time. 
“I started calling every place I could think 
of,
” Rodgers said. “That first year, we got 
400 people who came out, and we had a full 
room of vendors, children’s activities and 
everything worked out really great!” 
Beth Shalom is now going into its seventh 
annual Chanu-Con festival where Rodgers 
says everyone is welcome. 

 “I do it because I want the shul to 
succeed. I want Beth Shalom to thrive,” she 
said. For the last two years, the festival has 
been virtual, and Rodgers hopes they can 
be back in person this year. “Even though 
it’s based at Beth Shalom, it’s a nice way to 
bring the community together.” 
Rodgers turned her passion for the event 
into a children’s book. “I write young adult 

novels, and I’ve always wanted to write a chil-
dren’s picture book,
” she said. 
Rodgers is a freelance editor and worked 
together on the book with fellow board 
member Howard Fridson. “He illustrated it, 
and I wrote all the rhymes for the pages for 
the book titled Welcome to Chanu-Con.
” 
Rodgers says it is important to be proud 
and to not hide from your Jewish heritage. 
“No matter how old or young or in between 
you are, it’s important to take on a role in 
your community. Because the more we can 
do that, the more we show our pride, resil-
ience and our strength.
” 

For information about Beth Shalom or to get involved, 

email BethShalomProgramming@gmail.com. If you would 

like to nominate someone to be the next Volunteer of 

the Week, send a nomination with a short paragraph 

telling us why to socialmedia@thejewishnews.com. 

Beth Rodgers brings the community 
together through events.

Beth Shalom’s 
Mastermind of Events 

RACHEL SWEET ASSOCIATE EDITOR 

OUR COMMUNITY

VOLUNTEER OF THE WEEK 

Beth and David Rodgers with their sons 
Jared, 6, Evan, 8, and Noah, 3, celebrate 
Purim in March. 

Community members and congre-
gants spend time at Chanu-Con, a 
community-wide Chanukah festival 
at Congregation Beth Shalom. 

Beth Rodgers makes 
announcements at a Beth 
Shalom Got Talent event. 

