2022 IN REVIEW
GLOBAL IMPACT.
Cover art by Nadiya Sadirova
HIGHLIGHTS OF 2022
JANUARY
The year began with a focus on providing services and aid to combat the global pandemic.
FEBRUARY
Our world changed on February 24 when Russia invaded Ukraine. Our coordinators immediately pivoted to help the elderly, especially those unable to relocate.
We hope you will take pride in the impact your support is having.
APRIL
With war raging across Ukraine, we made special arrangements to purchase and distribute over a ton of matzah. This year, the freedom of Passover was a source of inspiration to Ukrainian Jewish communities.
MARCH
As the needs in Ukraine grew, more and more people volunteered to help Action-PSJ, offering financial support, donations of supplies, and the work needed to prepare an aid shipment.
MAY
While the Russian invasion continued to target Mariupol, Action-PSJ helped with the evacuation and relocation services as well as aid for those too frail to relocate.
JUNE
Volunteers of all ages rose to the challenge of providing essential aid to Ukraine. From packing soup kits to school backpacks, our person-to-person approach resulted in a record 15,000 tons of aid being shipped to Ukraine.
JULY
Between shortages and inflation, the costs of even basic supplies rose dramatically Action-PSJ responded by distributing over $76,000 in emergency stipends, a 768% increase from 2021.
AUGUST
To help children in Ukraine prepare for school, children from many greater Boston organizations volunteered to make special school and activity backpacks. This was a valuable opportunity for local youth to help children in Ukraine.
SEPTEMBER
Action-PSJ’s Ukrainian Update Zoom meetings with local coordinators let us hear firsthand about the situation and needs in Ukraine from people helping their neighbors endure.
OCTOBER
In preparation for the upcoming brutal winter and anticipated elongated blackouts, Action-PSJ proactively ordered electric heaters and USB lamps.
NOVEMBER
To share a new, creative perspective on life in Ukraine today, Action-PSJ published Indestructible Beauty, a unique portfolio of work by Ukrainian artist Nadiya Sadirova.
https://issuu.com/actionpsj/docs/indestructible_beauty
DECEMBER
The light of Chanukah, with its story of resilience, has special meaning for the Ukrainian Jewish Community today. Though heat and electricity will be limited this winter, our Ukrainian brothers and sisters have a little bit of light to dispel the darkness.
Local Kindness. GLOBAL IMPACT.
DEAR FRIENDS,
What a challenging and exhausting year this has been. And also an incredibly fulfilling one. Together, we have been helping our Ukrainian friends and partners overcome the many challenges raised by COVID, the Russian invasion, and inflation. Yet there is still so much work to do.
Today, with such severe electricity, water, and heat shortages, the elderly and disabled Ukrainians we serve need us more than ever before. This, in turn, means we need you more than ever.
Chanukah takes on even greater importance for Ukraine’s Jewish community as they fight for freedom.
Without electricity, homes and streets are especially dark this winter in Ukraine. During this festival of light, the symbolic glow of the candles shines with their resistance, faith, and freedom.
LOOKING BACK
Thanks to you, Action-PSJ coordinators in 2022 distributed more than 15,000 tons of aid (a 375% increase from 2021) and provided over $76,000 in Emergency Stipends (a 768% increase). And it was all done with Action-PSJ’s unique person-to-person approach that helps us maximize the impact of local resources and ensure that aid goes directly to people in need.
Statistics alone don’t capture the scope of impact Action-PSJ has had this year. With the same Ukrainian resilience and bravery that continues to amaze the world, our community coordinators support those
most in need - the elderly and people with disabilities. They have opened their homes to displaced people, distributed aid to their community, and advocated to secure medicine and other essential supplies for the needy. In doing so, they often put their lives at risk.
Will you be a helper and stand with Ukraine with a year-end donation to support this vital work?
LOOKING AHEAD
Today, most of Ukraine is without reliable electricity, heat, and water. The number of people depending on Action-PSJ for assistance continues to soar. That is why we are asked to help the elderly and adults with disabilities in six more devastated communities around Kyiv. The needs in these small villages are beyond imaginable, and we need to send everything from hand warmers and blankets to medications, meals, and monthly survival stipends.
Even before the war, the elderly faced difficulty securing healthcare. Now, with the war raging, overcrowded hospitals are facing a surge of displaced people, soldiers, and civilians suffering from war injuries. New approaches are needed to meet this growing demand. Thanks to your support, we will soon launch a groundbreaking pilot telehealth project with the Jewish Medical Center of Dnipro. This vital medical center has close ties to Boston and its vast medical resources, as it was developed as part of the thirty-year CJPDinipro partnership.
THE NEEDS CHANGE DAILY
As a small yet mighty organization, Action-PSJ has the agility and resourcefulness needed to meet Ukraine’s ever-changing needs quickly. Our local coordinators and partner organizations understand what their communities need. Some of these needs are widely known, such as the demand for space heaters for elderly people. Now, we’re being asked to provide check-in calls for our homebound elderly, reflective clothing to keep people safe on the dark streets, and the telehealth program to deliver virtual medical check-ups. Your support to Action-PSJ provides the resources to quickly, efficiently, and cost-effectively meet these critical needs.
The boots-on-the-ground people and partners in Ukraine we work with are the modern-day resistance movement. They need us. Ukraine needs us. And we need you.
How much can you donate to invest in this innovative lifesaving project?
THE PROGNOSIS 2023
While we pray for peace, at Action-PSJ, we are well-advised to prepare for the invasion of Ukraine to continue. Infrastructure will continue to be targeted, leaving our Ukrainian bubbes, zaydes, and friends without vital services such as water and electricity. Food shortages will continue as roads and railways into and across the country remain dangerous if not destroyed.
Every day, more people need Action-PSJ’s services. We need more resources to meet their ever-changing needs. We need you to help. Just as even a little light dispels the darkness, every donation is helpful.
Please support Action-PSJ, knowing that your donations directly serve those in need. You can rest assured that your gift to Action-PSJ will provide elderly Ukrainians warmth, comfort, and, let’s not forget, hope.
During the darkest days your gift gives light.
With gratitude,
May the lights of Chanukah usher in a better world for all humankind.
Your action steps to help Action-PSJ do more: n Give online www.actionpsj.org/donate n Call 781-893-2331 with your donation n Mail a check with the enclosed envelope n Meet to create an individualized gift
Debbie Kardon, Executive Director
Local Kindness. GLOBAL IMPACT.
POST-SOVIET
ACTION FOR
JEWRY
1430 Main Street Waltham, MA 02451 781-893-2331 www.actionpsj.org info@actionpsj.org