Bringing aid: Building hope

The Jewish Alliance’s largest overseas partner, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (the Joint or JDC), acts as our global emergency response partner, working in 70 countries around the world. The 110-year-old Jewish humanitarian organization’s mission is to save Jewish lives, build Jewish life, empower Israel’s most vulnerable populations, and respond to disasters and crises impacting all people. JDC plays a central role in the work between the Alliance and its partner regions: Warsaw, Poland; Rosario, Argentina; and Afula-Gilboa, Israel.

Victoria Blint Midrony, JDC’s Senior Director of Global Resource Development, says, “We are grateful to have the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island as a vital partner. We draw on our shared commitment of helping vulnerable Jews and strengthening Jewish communities. Our work together represents a deep belief in the Jewish value of mutual responsibility that becomes more crucial daily amidst the conflicts in Israel and Ukraine and surging antisemitism.”

In Poland, JDC works directly with the Warsaw JCC, which it founded in 2013 and is now a center of Jewish life that welcomes 3,000 program attendees annually. Some highlights of their activities include cultural events, weekly classes, a women’s Rosh Hodesh group, and children and youth programs, serving residents, Israeli expats, and Ukrainian refugees of all ages.

Among other projects, JDC has a presence in 14 Jewish communities in Argentina that are struggling due to the current deep recession and 193% inflation rate. JDC is providing poor Jews with food assistance and subsidizing rent and utilities. The organization is also working to strengthen these communities by cultivating lay and professional leaders and volunteers. They are teaching them how to monitor, measure, and evaluate projects and programs and conduct community decision-making. To connect Jewish communities and help them be resilient, JDC holds regional meetings for social service professionals and volunteers from 12 communities across six Latin American countries. This enables the sharing of ideas and best practices.

In Israel, JDC’s work is imperative. Even before Oct. 7, they were our on-the-ground agency in all Israel matters. More than 1 million Israelis benefitted weekly from JDC-developed programs. Since Oct. 7th, JDC has directly aided more than 450,000 of the hardest-hit Israelis. JDC’s response to the ongoing war has been incredible. JDC is addressing Israel’s national mental health crisis by implementing vetted mental health and trauma programs. These include online platforms that offer hundreds of therapeutic options, quiet rooms, and its Hibuki therapy for traumatized children. JDC is also providing medical equipment and safety kits to communities under fire in the north of Israel. And it is bolstering economic recovery by providing employment support services to evacuees, reservists, and the newly disabled as well as assistance and training to vulnerable businesses.

On this work with our partner regions, Blint Midrony continued, “The Jewish Alliance plays a pivotal role in sustaining a diverse range of JDC’s work in communities around the globe – from Poland, by helping the JCC in Warsaw become a dynamic hub of Jewish life as well as serving as a steadfast pillar of support and source of hope for both residents and Ukrainian refugees; to Argentina, by ensuring basic human needs and relief services are provided to vulnerable Jews struggling with poverty due to socioeconomic turbulence; to Israel, where each day, in addition to providing core programs and services for the most vulnerable, we are addressing the growing war-time emergency needs of the hardest-hit Israelis.”

The work of JDC is too vast to be explained in one article. The work they do is crucial in helping the lives of Jews EVERYWHERE.

Every gift to the Alliance Community Campaign honors these priorities and reaches partners such as JDC. Should you wish to make a difference and get involved in the allocations process, through committee membership or contributing to the Community Campaign, visit: https://www.jewishallianceri.org/support-us/featured/donate-now. You may also contact Brad Swartz, Fundraising and Partnership Manager, directly at bswartz@jewishallianceri.org.

BRAD SWARTZ (bswartz@jewishallianceri.org) is the fundraising and partnership manager at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.