Help for the victims of the catastrophic Southeast Asia tsunami continues to arrive from the United Jewish Communities (UJC) and the Federations of North America.
After the devastating earthquake and tsunami in late December, more than 60 communities launched highly successful mailbox drives to support non-sectarian aid by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), the overseas arm of the Jewish community. JDC provides relief and promotes Jewish renewal in more than 60 countries.
Together, federations and JDC have raised more than $15 million to date.
By phone, mail and the Web, federations from Atlanta to Winnipeg, Manitoba have raised more than $4.9 million for JDC, with donations still coming in. So far JDC has received $4.7 million of that federation aid, and has raised some $11 million itself. With $8.5 million raised by the American Jewish World Service (AJWS), which fights poverty around the world, North American Jewish groups have raised some $24 million to help tsunami victims.
In an effort to coordinate the Jewish response and plan for intermediate and long-term rebuilding, the 36 organizations belonging to the Jewish Coalition for Disaster Relief formed the Jewish Coalition for Asia Tsunami Relief. The coalition opened a single account to coordinate allocations for tsunami relief, with the AJWS and JDC contributing an initial $250,000 apiece. The coalition is now reviewing aid requests as well.
So far JDC has allocated some $800,000 to emergency relief groups in Southeast Asia.
For information on how to donate to the JDC, or to donate online now, click here. For more information on how your donation to tsunami relief would be allocated, please click here.
Israel also continues to help as well. The government and a coalition of Israeli NGOs have dispatched hundreds of thousands of dollars' in emergency aid such as medical supplies, food and water to Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand, while Magen David Adom, hospitals and kibbutzim have sent personnel to the disaster zone to help treat victims at crisis-care centers and feeding stations. On Feb. 1, Israel held a national fundraising day for tsunami victims, with a poster showing a grieving couple and the headline, "For You it's Yesterday's News. For Them Its Today's Reality."
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These federations are taking action to help victims of the Southeast Asia tsunami. We are updating this list regularly, so please contact us if you are not listed but wish to be. Please e-mail info@ujc.org.
Federations raising money generally for tsunami relief:
UJA-Federation of New York
Federation mailboxes for JDC:
· Jewish Federation of San Antonio, Texas
· Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix
· Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona – Tucson
· Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles
· Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago
· Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta
· Birmingham, Ala. Jewish Federation
· Jewish Federation of Silicon Valley-San Jose CA
· Allied Jewish Federation of Colorado
· Jewish Federation of Durham-Chapel Hill, NC
· United Jewish Community of Broward County, Fla.
· Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando, Fla.
· Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County
· Sarasota-Manatee Jewish Federation
· Tampa-JCC Jewish Federation
· Greater Miami Jewish Federation
· Jewish Federation of Washtenaw County, Ann Arbor, MI
· Jewish Community Federation of Richmond, VA
· Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, D.C.
· The Associated, Baltimore
· Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia
· Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey
· Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey
· Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford
· Jewish Federation of Northeastern N.Y.-Albany & Schenectady
· Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, BC, Canada
· UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, Ontario, Canada
· Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland
· United Jewish Federation of Pittsburgh
· Jewish Federation of the North Shore, Salem, Mass.
· Jewish Federation of Greater Houston
· Jewish Federation of Cincinnati
· Jewish Federation of Madison, Wis.
· Jewish Federation of Winnipeg/Combined Jewish Appeal
· Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford, Conn.
· Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit
· Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, Marin and the Peninsula
· Jewish Federation of Somerset, Hunterdon & Warren, N.J.
· Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County, Fla.
· Syracuse Jewish Federation
· Jewish Community Federation of Louisville, Ky.
Federations referring donors to JDC and/or American Jewish World Service:
· Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston
· Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas
· Minneapolis Jewish Federation
· Jewish Federation of St. Louis
· Jewish Federation of Grand Rapids, MI
· Jewish Federation of Rhode Island
· Augusta, Ga., Jewish Federation
· Columbus (Ohio) Jewish Federation
Federations fundraising via email, phone for JDC:
· United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, Va.
· Jewish Federation of Northeastern Penn., Scranton.
· The Merrimack Valley Jewish Federation, Andover, Mass.