The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) for the first time will send Russian-speaking and Ukrainian-speaking volunteers to Moldova, Spain and the Czech Republic to work with refugees from Ukraine. Volunteers of Jewish federations have been working in Poland and Hungary since March of this year. Volunteering is expanding in response to requests from partner organizations to help refugees from Ukraine in these countries – Jews and non-Jews.
In Moldova and the Czech Republic, volunteers who are specialists in education and mental health will work in collaboration with Early Starters International, an Israeli NGO that specializes in working with children in Ukrainian refugee centers. In Spain, volunteers will help the progressive Jewish community Comunidad Judia Bet Shalom in Barcelona conduct Jewish education classes for Jewish refugees from Ukraine.
Since the launch of the volunteer program, implemented in partnership with the Joint (American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee) and the Jewish Agency for Israel (Sohnut), the Jewish Federations of North America have trained and deployed more than 100 Russian-speaking and Ukrainian-speaking specialists. Volunteers, all of whom are from the former Soviet Union, were recruited from 17 US states and four Canadian provinces.
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Jewish federations have raised more than $80 million. These funds were used to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukrainian refugees and Jews in Ukraine. In addition to this, the Jewish Federations, in cooperation with the Shapiro Foundation (Boston), launched 2 grant programs to help immigrants from Ukraine to the United States.
“The Jewish community has always been and will always be at the forefront in reaching out to both Jews and non-Jews in dire need of support,” said Eric Fingerhut, President and Executive Director of the Jewish Federations of North America. “The way our communities have responded to the call to help Ukrainians, affected by the war, whether through charity, aid to the displaced, or through volunteering in the countries of Eastern Europe, reflects our Jewish values, which guide us.”