Through their support for Save Ukraine, the largest humanitarian organization dedicated to rescuing kidnapped Ukrainian children from Russia, Jewish Federations of North America have helped rescue 137 Ukrainian children, reuniting them with their loved ones and making their families whole once again. 

 

Since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, over 19,000 Ukrainian children have been taken from their families and forcibly brought to Russia. There, the younger children are either “disappeared” into orphanages or handed over to Russian families, while older children are trained as Russian soldiers and forced to fight against fellow Ukrainians. 

 

"Jewish Federations have been involved with the Jewish community in Ukraine for years and years, supporting the rebirth of Jewish life across Ukraine and the humanitarian needs of the several hundred thousand Jews that live in Ukraine,” said President and CEO Eric D. Fingerhut. “When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, we saw the need to support all those who were suffering from that attack. We mobilized 141 Federations to raise over $100 million in a relatively short period of time to support as many of the causes as we possibly could.” 

 

While providing for the needs of the Ukrainian Jewish community was a priority, Jewish Federations also allocated donor funds to humanitarian organizations supporting all Ukrainians impacted by the war.  

 

Key among them was Save Ukraine, which Jewish Federations of North America hosted in their Flagship Public Affairs Office Wednesday for a meeting on their work. You can watch the full event here. 

 

“The more we got to know Save Ukraine, the more we became convinced that this is an organization worthy of support,” Fingerhut continued. “I’m very proud that our collective Jewish communities across North America have been able to be a part of the effort of Save Ukraine.” 

 

 

Save Ukraine’s mission is threefold: rescue, restore, and rebuild. It operates a 24/7 hotline to help families every step of the journey of tracking down their abducted children and provides evacuation services from combat zones. The organization also runs seven Hope and Healing Centers, which provide temporary housing, food, mental health, and family services. For displaced families with children, Save Ukraine has built 127 “FortHomes,” or modular housing, and 15 community centers to help strengthen and empower families. 

 

“We have programs for rehabilitation and reintegration, and almost every day, I have meetings with [the children], just to talk, to understand better how we can help, how we can heal their trauma,” said Save Ukraine Founder Mykola Kuleba. “It’s always horrible stories from them, which give us the understanding that we have no chance to stop. We have to move forward and save more.” 

 

During Wednesday’s meeting, Kuleba presented Fingerhut with a book telling the stories of the 137 Ukrainian children rescued with Federations’ support.  

 

To date, Save Ukraine has evacuated over 108,000 of the most vulnerable children and families from combat zones. Through its rescue efforts, Save Ukraine has returned 1,026 Ukrainian children, making it the only public organization in the country that regularly organizes – and successfully conducts – rescue missions. 

 

With the goal of saving 1,000 Ukrainian children in the next year, the work is far from over. Jewish Federations of North America will do everything in their power to continue supporting Save Ukraine’s mission: to save as many of these children as possible and bring them back home to their families.