Disaster Relief
In everything you do you enounter sparks full of life and light, aspiring to rise toward the heights. You help them and they help you.
Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook
Guided by professional and lay leaders who are grounded in the traditional Jewish values of Tzedakah, deeds of loving kindness, justice and Tikkun Olam, which call upon us to rescue the imperiled, care for the vulnerable and help assure the vitality of Jewish life in Richmond, in Israel and around the world.
Current Needs
In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we have joined the Jewish Federations of North America’s (JFNA) emergency campaign to provide humanitarian assistance to vulnerable Jewish populations living in Ukraine. Funds will be allocated through Jewish Federations’ core partners, The Jewish Agency for Israel, The Joint Distribution Committee and World ORT, and others who are on the ground in Ukraine, and will provide critical welfare where it is needed most and support to protect and safeguard Ukraine's Jewish community as well as Jews in neighboring countries.
Funds will support urgent necessities of vulnerable Jewish populations, community security, temporary housing for displaced persons, emergency needs in Jewish schools and aliyah - related assistance.
There are approximately 200,000 members of Ukraine’s Jewish community, which boasts close to 300 Jewish organizations dispersed over some 100 towns and cities.
100% of your donation will go to help our Ukranian neighbors.
Immediate and short term needs already total $34 million and grow daily and include:
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Helping people make Aliyah to Israel
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Securing the local community and its institutions
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Maintaining critical welfare services
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Assisting internally displaced people in multiple locations
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Launching an emergency hotline
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Securing temporary housing for people in transit
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Purchasing satellite phones to maintain communications across the region
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Securing five Jewish schools and training staff to manage crisis needs
Past Relief Efforts
COVID-19 Community Relief
Our lay and professional team at Federation worked with our local and overseas partners to identify and triage needs, raise funds, strategize, and share information and resources. Our goal was simple: to ensure that critical services to the vulnerable were maintained and our agencies remained strong.
To date, Jewish Community Federation of Richmond has distributed $303,000 in Coronavirus relief funds. These funds have been leveraged with other statewide and federal grants, and private philanthropy to infuse over $5.5 million into our community. These funds have made an immediate impact on every part of our Jewish world.
Tree of Life Synagogue - Pittsburgh
After the attack at the Tree of Life Building in Pittsburgh, Federations immediately mobilized providing solidarity, financial support, and resources related to trauma and security to help the community begin to recover.
Hurricane Harvey
After flooding from Hurricane Harvey devastated the Houston Jewish community, Federations sprang into action, mobilizing volunteer groups and donations to help the community support its members as it rebuilt its infrastructure.
Working with The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston set up the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund, which raised more than $22 million to assist the community with both short- and long-term recovery needs.
This vital fund helped provide immediate assistance to individuals and families after the storm, including financial assistance, furniture and appliance grants, and much more. Federations also provided Houston with countless packages of essential supplies, including air mattresses, clothing and more.
Earthquake in Haiti
In partnership with JDC, The Jewish Federations of North America meet short-term emergency needs in Haiti by:
Convened the Coalition of Jewish Disaster Relief to ensure coordination and cooperation, to maximize our impact, to ensure we meet medium-term and long-term needs and to avoid duplication of efforts;
Funding the Israel Defense Forces field hospital,the first portable medical facility operational in Haiti. This facility included 120 personnel: physicians, surgeons, obstetricians, nurses and others. Federations purchased medical equipment including infant incubators for a neonatal unit and orthopedic devices to support the IDF Medical Corps.
Worked with Heart-to-Heart International, a U.S. non-governmental organization, to provide emergency medical assistance, equipment and other services;