Each week, 17-year-old Maria Zimina visits two elderly Jewish women in her hometown of Poltava, Ukraine — bringing them groceries, changing lightbulbs and performing other household repairs, helping balance their checkbooks, making conversation, and brightening the lives of these otherwise completely isolated seniors.

For Zimina — whose commitment to mutual Jewish responsibility was catalyzed by her local chapter of Active Jewish Teens (AJT), the JDC youth program in the former Soviet Union (FSU) in partnership with BBYO — volunteering is both a duty and a joy.

“If I don’t bring them food one day, they might go hungry, and that’s a reality I can’t ignore. I recognize the responsibility I’ve taken on, and I’m committed to fulfilling it,” she said.

If each of us could do at least one small good deed every day or even once a week, the world would be a much better place.”

Maria Zimina

Active Jewish Teens (AJT) Volunteer

Her work speaks to a powerful evolution taking place across the FSU — dynamic volunteer initiatives and exciting new programs that are expanding the menu of community- based solutions to welfare needs.

Recognizing that traditional approaches like homecare and bank cards to purchase food and medicine are just one piece of
a larger puzzle, JDC-supported Jewish communities large and small are harnessing their creativity to holistically care for tens of thousands of at-risk older adults and families.

“JDC is committed to pioneering innovative approaches that not only address immediate survival needs but also foster vibrant local Jewish communities. That’s how we ensure both dignity and quality of life for those we serve,” said Olga Statland- Vainer, who directs the organization’s FSU welfare programs. “Our approach is to have rising leaders work alongside established networks to create sustainable support systems that enhance daily living and preserve cultural connections for our most vulnerable community members.”

The people who benefit from these emerging solutions couldn’t be more grateful — like 92-year-old Oksana Khotinskaya, a JDC client in Tbilisi, Georgia, who receives a double portion of hot food through Meals on Wheels three times a week.

“I am a lonely and ill retiree who has been under your care for many years,” she said. “The thought of losing that support terrifies me.”

Luckily, your good work always sustains me. JDC is absolutely essential to me and so many others.”

Oksana Khotinskaya

JDC Client

From volunteers baking challah to teenagers delivering nutritious groceries to older adults, a growing number of grassroots food security initiatives are emerging as vital tools in the fight against hunger.

In Kazakhstan, for example, JDC volunteer centers in three cities have engaged nearly three dozen people in providing supplemental support to more than 100 needy Jews — seniors, people with disabilities, and low-income families.

Forty-six-year-old Lyubov Zavalnaya has volunteered in Shymkent for 18 years, taking special pride in cooking food for Jewish holidays and baking pies for children in need. Now her daughter Taisiya continues the family tradition.

“From generation to generation, Jewish values are passed down in our family: helping one’s neighbor, compassion, and the joy of service,“ said Taisiya, 13.

Nichita Caterniuc, outside a client’s home în Chișinău, Moldova.

“My volunteer work is an important contribution to the development of our Jewish community, and it makes me happy that I can change people’s lives for the better.”

For some, giving back is a personal way of expressing gratitude to JDC and their local Jewish communities for the support they’ve received.

Nichita Caterniuc began engaging with Jewish programs in his hometown of Chișinău, Moldova, at just 2 years of age. Now 18, he manages the city’s JDC volunteer center and plays a critical role in its “Healthy Breakfast” initiative, where young people like him deliver food like fruits and vegetables, cereals and flour, and rice cakes to vulnerable Jews living on fixed incomes.

“My grandfather experienced true hunger after the Holocaust,” Caterniuc said. “He taught me that if you’re in a position to share, you must — and even though he’s gone, I carry that lesson with me always.”

Everyone on our team understands how difficult it can be for older people to afford these basic items. That’s why this precious project means so much.”

Nichita Caterniuc

JDC Volunteer

For Olga Govorova, 85 — one of the elderly women visited each week by Maria, the Poltava volunteer — it’s impossible to imagine life without JDC.

“Maria is my lifeline. She lifts my spirits and provides assistance,” she said. “My greatest wish is for the conflict here in Ukraine to end soon, and though I know it won’t be easy, I do know I’ll survive — thanks to her, JDC, and all who support me.”

Jewish volunteerism

Fostering Volunteerism to Serve the Neediest Jews