Dr. Allan Stillerman, Minneapolis Jewish Federation donor, and James Cohen, CEO, are in Poland on a solidarity mission organized by the Jewish Federations of North America. Representatives of a handful of Federations are seeing first-hand the incredible work our overseas partners are doing on our behalf and offering support to the courageous refugees being helped.

Jim arrived at the border crossing at Medyka after a long but uneventful bus trip.

“I’m not sure what I expected to see, but what we saw was emblematic of the tragedy that continues to unfold because of this war,” he explained.

“Fortunately, we were told the number of people trying to cross the border has diminished daily—so the chaos and frenetic tension are not nearly as bad as they were two weeks ago. That said, we witnessed a steady stream of Ukrainians crossing over into safety. There were some small families, but I was struck by how many people were all alone.

“Right over the border-crossing, dozens of relief agencies have set up booths at what looks like a knock-off version of the State Fair. You will be incredibly proud to know the very first booth people encounter flies the Israeli flag and houses volunteers and professional crisis experts from our overseas partners JAFI and JDC,” says Jim.

A Ukrainian girl smiles in the front seat of the bus that will take her to Warsaw

After getting their bearings, being given initial information as to what they can expect, and picking up any essentials they didn’t bring, hot meals ranging from fresh pizza to traditional Polish pierogi are served. Folks are transferred to the transit center where there are mess halls for dining, shared sleeping accommodations (in what was a giant Tesco supermarket), and the various offices of bureaus and agencies that will send people to their next stops. (For privacy, pictures are forbidden in the accommodations area. They are very basic, but clean.)

If you feel ill at the transit center, you go to the infirmary staffed completely by Israelis (the day we were there), medical clown included.

Have young kids? They can spend the day at the little kindergarten, also staffed by Israelis.

A little boy receives a warm coat at the transit center.

The work being done with our dollars is simply unbelievable.

Please consider giving the Ukraine Emergency Relief Fund and funding more of this life saving humanitarian work for our Ukrainian siblings.

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Minneapolis Jewish Federation's Ukraine Emergency Relief Fund is helping our overseas partners who are on the ground in Ukraine and providing critical welfare where it is most needed. 100% of the funds raised go directly to help our partners during this critical moment.

On the Ukrainian border