COLUMBUS, Ohio — Greeted by stuffed animals and candy, Ukrainian children are finally getting a little comfort in the midst of chaos and destruction, thanks in part to JewishColumbus.
The local organization has raised over $310,000 to help aid in relief to refugees fleeing the country. Joel Marcovitch, the CEO and President of JewishColumbus, along with board member, Max Brickman are on the ground at the border of Ukraine and Poland, helping first-hand.
"These people have nothing. Nothing at all. You got kids who have plastic shopping bags that just are full of a few items they managed to grab,” says Marcovitch who documented their efforts with his phone.
"Meeting them as they cross the border was incredibly powerful for us as we see the children's faces,” Marcovitch explains.
The two men brought six suitcases of 300 pounds of essential supplies to the refugees including clothes, sanitizing products and stuffed animals. He says they are hoping to show the people of Columbus how far their contributions are going in this dire time.
"Even though that we may not know the names of the people that we helped, the fact that matter is that we're in this together as a Jewish community,” Marcovitch shares.
Jewish Columbus is just one part of the global Jewish effort to help refugees. The Jewish Federation of North America has already raised over $28 million dollars, but Marcovitch says this is just the start to aiding in the humanitarian crisis.
“I know that we'll step up as Jewish Columbus to help house them, feed them, get them trained and jobs and workforce and become part of our wonderful community that we have in Columbus,” Marcovitch shares.
To learn more on how Jewish Columbus is helping the Ukrainian efforts, you can visit their website.