Ukraine is in Crisis

As conflict erupts across the country, Ukraine’s most vulnerable Jews are in distress and American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee {JDC} has launched an emergency campaign to meet their spiking humanitarian needs.

In more than 1,000 locations across Ukraine, JDC provides a lifeline for an estimated 40,000 Jewish elderly and 2,500 poor Jewish children and their families through its network of care services, Jewish community programs, and Jewish leaders — and today, they need help.

In the tense months leading up to the current crisis, JDC was already addressing dire economic needs among Ukraine’s poorest Jews in the face of sharply rising food, medicine, and utility prices. JDC provided extra essentials, while also working to ensure continued aid during variety of crisis scenarios, including food package delivery, online support and care, mapping clients to be able to reach them in an emergency, and coordinating with local Jewish organizations.

Now in the current emergency situation, JDC is leveraging past experience in responding to regional crises and the COVID-19 pandemic to guarantee that the vital services they provide continue uninterrupted — no matter what.

• They are providing extra essentials like food and medicine; Engaging and readying  volunteers, staff and network of Hesed social service centers to address emerging needs as events unfold; Preparing to handle mass displacement, deploy psychosocial support, and increase aid to the most vulnerable; Activating online platforms and hotlines created during the pandemic to deliver remote care and maintain human connection with those they serve; Coordinating their emergency response with other agencies on the ground to ensure critical assistance reaches Jews in distress across the region.

Ukraine’s vibrant Jewish community is one of the largest in the world, home to an estimated 200,000 Jews. Since the collapse of communism, JDC has worked in Ukraine, and across the former Soviet Union (FSU), to save Jewish lives and build Jewish life — caring for tens of thousands of needy Jewish elderly and poor families; rebuilding and innovating Jewish community life; and training a new generation of Jewish leaders.

To donate by phone, call 212-687-6200 or visit jdc.org.