Cans for Kiev

Congregation sends non-perishable kosher food to hungry Jews in Ukraine.

Community Contact Information: 
Temple Sholom 
Chicago, IL 
www.sholomchicago.org 
Chicago Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) 
http://www.juf.org/jcrc/default.aspx 
http://www.juf.org/overseas/kyiv_kehilla.aspx 

Goals:

  • Work with the local Jewish Community Relations Council.
  • Provide kosher food to hungry Jews in the Ukraine.
  • Engage the congregation in forming a bond with world Jewry.


Overview: 
As part of a continuing effort to assist Jews from former Soviet territories, the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of Chicago organized a food drive to assist many of the 100,000 Jews in Kiev, Ukraine, who are unable to afford kosher foods. 

Preparation: 
The synagogue set up receptacles to collect donations of non-perishable food. Members of the social action committee placed announcements in the congregational bulletin about the project, sent information home with Hebrew school students, and made announcements after Shabbat services. 

Project Implementation: 
Donations of canned fruit, canned vegetables, canned fish, canned soups, powdered milk, baby formula, rice and pasta were encouraged. All items needed a recognized symbol of kashrut. The JCRC of Chicago picked up the food from the synagogue and brought it to a warehouse to be sorted and sent to Kiev. 

Results: 
Congregants felt a sense of kinship with the Jews of Kiev. Ukrainian Jews were able to celebrate Shabbat in the same way as their fellow Jews in the United States.