Since the war in Ukraine started, there has not been a quiet moment for the Jewish population in Kyiv. In response, our partner agency, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), created a new initiative to help address their trauma.

Thanks to your generous donations, the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County is able to support the JDC’s initiatives, including a new Trauma Network, which provides individualized support to those who are living amid the ongoing threat of gunfire, bombings and hostile invasion.

The JDC is one of the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County’s historic partners, receiving support for programs and services in Israel and Jewish communities around the globe. With that embedded presence in more than 70 countries worldwide, these established programs are able to nimbly react with a vital, life-saving response when crises arise.

Your donations fund lifesaving and life-sustaining aid

Ukrainian civilians, being evacuated from Irpin, with the help of local volunteers. Irpin, a city north of Kyiv, has been the scene of heavy fighting between the Russian army and Ukrainian forces. Much of the city is destroyed by Russian shelling.

In late 2022, JDC started training trauma center staff to help with serving the Jewish community of Ukraine. JDC staff aids civilians like Boris, a high schooler who is still trying to attend school, while air raid sirens sound and bombs fall, threatening his safety. Anna, a Holocaust survivor, was rendered immobile when she heard the sirens go off. Paralyzed by fear, she could not make it out of her home without support from her neighbors.

The JDC’s trauma response team uses various methods, including doll therapy for the youngest children, to help citizens process the horrors and anxiety of living amid war.

Additionally, the JDC is providing food, medicine and winter relief aid; helping the “new poor,” born of skyrocketing inflation and diminishing employment opportunities; and operating emergency hotlines, in collaboration with Jewish communities in nearby countries.

As winter takes its toll, our partners, including the JDC, Jewish Agency for Israel and United Hatzalah, are distributing portable heaters and cooking stoves; sleeping bags that can withstand subzero temps; rechargeable flashlights, and nonperishable foods, warm blankets and fleece-lined clothing; wood and coal, and subsidies for higher utility bills. This life-sustaining response can only be accomplished through the generosity of those in our community.

Helping is simple: Give at jewishboca.org/donate

Our Annual Campaign raises funds to support our agencies as they support Ukrainians.

Giving is simple. Visit jewishboca.org/donate and feel secure in knowing that your gift will go toward helping Jewish families around the world thrive, no matter how dire their circumstances.