The Joint Australia, in collaboration with The Central Synagogue and the Australian Zionist Youth Council have united to adopt a ‘sister community’ in Odessa, Ukraine with a successful Charidy call-a-thon kicking off last Sunday morning.

Eighty volunteers, mostly members of our youth, prioritised this mission and invested both time and energy to reach out to our generous community to raise much needed funds. Every dollar raised will be immediately directed towards the urgent care and needs of 120 displaced Jewish children from the Mishpacha Orphanage of Odessa currently in Berlin, and also for the wider Jewish community within the Ukraine.

There was a strong sense of camaraderie in the Central ‘call centre’. All on donation duty took their roles seriously, recognising the huge impact each dollar will have during these dire and desperate times. Some novice practiced calls to parents prior to dialling members and then confidently delivered their rationale for requests. All quickly found their rhythm and the overarching purpose added momentum and urgency.

Hineni Youth, Bnei Akiva, along with other representatives from our younger demographic in addition to parents, Kesser Torah College and so many others united. Day One was heart-warming and over $100,000 was raised with more donations to follow.

Rabbi Avraham Wolff is the Chief Rabbi of Odessa and has overseen the evacuation of these brave children – from babies to teens, with war still raging daily.