Ukrainian refugees from Mariupol region board a bus bound for Poland, at a registration and humanitarian aid center for internally displaced people, amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine May 17, 2022. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

JNS.org – On the sixth-month anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Jewish Federations of North America provided an updated summary of how its $73.5 million emergency campaign has helped with relief efforts.

Funding has gone towards emergency operational costs, temporary housing and transportation, security, humanitarian support and trauma relief; and in Israel, aliyah and absorption. The relief aid has been directed to some 50 non-governmental organizations providing humanitarian aid and relief to Ukrainian refugees in Ukraine and neighboring countries, as well as to new immigrants in Israel.

The funds raised by JFNA ensured that:

• 2.7 million pounds of medical equipment, clothing, food and hygiene products were distributed;
• 239,851 people were fed;
• 80,817 people have been evacuated away from danger zones;
• 399,902 calls for assistance were answered via special hotlines;
• 32,325 new immigrants have arrived in Israel from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

“Jewish Federations’ collective response to this crisis has been tremendous, as is demonstrated by the dozens of NGOs we have supported and the number of lives on the ground we have impacted,” said Eric Fingerhut, president and CEO of Jewish Federations of North America. “The scale of devastation is massive, and though these needs will keep growing, our system will continue to respond to these needs, to alleviate pain and suffering, and to provide essential care and support to Ukrainian refugees.”

A total of $61 million has already been distributed to Jewish Federations’ core partners: the Jewish Agency for Israel, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and World ORT, as well as dozens of other organizations providing critical rescue and relief to Ukrainian refugees of all backgrounds.