About Sibyl Kaplan Moses
Sibyl Kaplan Moses (1916 – 1994) dedicated her life with over sixty years of volunteer service.   She was widowed when her children were young, worked full time while rearing her kids, and found time to volunteer for many organizations.

Sibyl Kaplan Moses was a person who deeply cared about all people in the world and wanted to help in any way she could while she maintained a full time job.  In the 1930's, Sibyl and a group of friends organized a hard-working, driving, ambitious, community-conscious, philanthropic group - B'nai B'rith Young Girls.   As these young women were too young to join the established B'nai B'rith Women, they petitioned the organization's
founder, Anita Perlman,  to start their own "girls" group in Chicago.  Thus, B'nai B'rith Young Girls was formed under the auspices of B'nai B'rith.  Sibyl received an honored title bestowed on the member who had served with the most distinction and was the most active.  This group of talented and dedicated individuals became the guiding lights in the formation for B'nai B'rith Young Girls, which grew into large numbers during World War II. 

Sibyl's work was extensive -- "charitable, social, devoted, and a constant driving force in her life", as quoted by her brother and sister in law, Leonard and Florence Elliot.  During World War II, Sibyl applied her many talents to help perform for the USO. With a tremendous flair for the piano, as she studied as a child at the Block School of Music in Chicago, she partnered up with some friends. They took their act on stage and performed for all the troops in Chicago and sometimes preceded comedian Bob Hope.  

Volunteering was natural for Sibyl as her dedication grew to help kids with special needs.  In the 1970's, she volunteered to teach piano at a home in Elgin, Illinois for children who were separated from their parents.  Working, widowed and rearing two children was demanding enough and it was exemplary for her to take time to teach these kids and give them something they would never forget for the rest of their lives. 

In addition to the volunteer teaching, she also was the co-chairperson for the local American Cancer Society chapter, president of PTA for elementary and junior high school, president of the local Hadassah chapter, volunteered at the local hospital, published bulletins, and active in Sisterhood.  She also spent many hours walking door to door with her children collecting dimes for the March of Dimes chapter. 

When she was in her seventies, her dream of becoming a grandparent became a reality, having three grandsons, two of whom were twins.  One of her twin grandsons was not progressing developmentally in comparison to the other twin.   Shortly after her death in 1994, one of the twins was diagnosed with autism.  Had she lived today, she would, no doubt, be volunteering many hours on the phone and web searching for help for the autism community.  

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