Dec 7, 2022

JFNA Responds to Refugee Needs

In response to the escalating needs of displaced Ukrainians throughout Europe, The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) has expanded its volunteer program to serve Jewish and non-Jewish refugees in Moldova, Spain and the Czech Republic. Since the program launched in March, JFNA, in conjunction with Federation overseas partners the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and The Jewish Agency for Israel, has already placed more than 100 Russian- and Ukrainian-speaking volunteers at various locations in Poland and Hungary. In Moldova and the Czech Republic, volunteer educators and mental health professionals will support Early Starters International, an Israeli early childhood nonprofit currently operating centers for Ukrainian refugees. In Spain, volunteers will assist the Jewish community in Barcelona, providing Jewish content-based programming and emotional support to refugees in their native language. “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 JFNA President and CEO Eric Fingerhut. “The way our communities have responded to the call to help Ukrainians affected by the war… reflects our Jewish values, which guide us.”