As thousands flee their homes from Ukraine into Poland, the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington is working along Ukraine’s border to help provide relief for thousands of families.
Gil Preuss is the organization’s CEO, and he arrived Monday morning. He said the organization consists of 140 chapters from across the U.S., and this trip is part of the organization’s first humanitarian mission to Ukraine to provide assistance for 200,000 Ukrainian Jews.
“It’s mostly women and children crossing the border,” Preuss said. He’s working to help provide basic amenities. “We’ve come over to provide support to the people working around the clock. There are hundreds, thousands of people working,” he said.
The work continues upon returning, when they come back and talk about it in their communities, Preuss said.
The organization has since opened a Ukraine Emergency Fund, collecting over $1 million and has assisted 1,000 Jewish Ukrainian refugees, including 100 orphans.
“It will be my duty when I return home to Washington, D.C., to report all that I saw and to mobilize our supporters to continue their outpouring of generosity,” Preuss said.
On Tuesday, the organization will be at a warehouse helping people in need of food and clothing. Preuss’ hope is that their stories won’t be forgotten.
“The organizations here still need help. My goal is to come back and talk about it wherever I can,” Preuss said.
You can learn more about supporting their efforts here.
