Jack G Buncher Charitable Fund for the AJJDC

Reaching the Most Vulnerable Jews - Welfare in the FSU and Ukraine:Across the FSU, tens of thousands of elderly Jews face daily struggles with extreme poverty. Without savings, and often without any family to help them, they try to manage on meager government pensions that cannot cover even basic food, medication and utilities. The crisis in Ukraine has made the situation worse, sending prices soaring across the region. The Jack Buncher Charitable Fund's support goes towards JDC's humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, as well as ongoing welfare throughout the region. JDC cares for poor Jews in the region through its (see Sched. O) network of 62 welfare centers that reach clients in over 2,000 locations in 11 countries across the FSU. During 2024, JDC helped ensure lifesaving aid for over 70,600 impoverished elderly Jews - 66,776 elderly Jews received food support, including bank cards for purchasing groceries/medication, food packages, meals on wheels, hot lunches and holiday food packages; 22,014 elderly Jews received homecare services, the most fragile clients received a total of 22,770,970 hours of assistance with daily tasks such as bathing, dressing, shopping, cooking and cleaning; 18,842 elderly Jews received medical care including medicines, medical services and loans of medical equipment; 42,094 elderly Jews received winter relief, warm clothing and blankets, subsidies to cover utility bills and wood and coal for heating. Aid for Struggling Jewish Families in Argentina:Since the early 2000s, when Argentina's economic crisis began ushering in an extended period of hyperinflation and unemployment, JDC has provided immediate relief and longerterm support to the country's most vulnerable Jews, in collaboration with local organizations.According to government statistics, inflation - which had remained in the double-digits for nearly ten years - hit more than 200% by the close of 2023. Basic necessities are unaffordable, jobs with decent wages are scarce, and more than 50% of the population lives under the poverty line. Lower middle-class families, who are not eligible for state welfare, have been hardest hit by the economic downturn.The economic reality has been especially challenging for Jews who live in small Jewish communities in the Argentinian provinces outside of Buenos Aires. With some communities located far from urban centers, employment opportunities are very limited, and poverty is extremely widespread.The aid provided by the Jack Buncher Charitable Fund has become a lifeline. In 2024, 839 people (346 families) received monthly food aid and 206 people (97 families) received monthly housing stipend.JDC is also working to strengthen the capacity of 14 of Argentina's small Jewish communities, toward achieving self-sufficiency and decreasing their reliance on outside support. This is carried out through a community development and leadership training program that helps Jewish professional and lay leaders build their skills and capabilities and share best practices.Global Jewish Welfare:Around the world, tens of thousands of Jews live in a state of poverty. JDC - throughout its decades of existence, and to this very day - has committed to doing everything in its power to raise impoverished Jews out of their state of privation, restore their dignity, and give them hope.In eastern Europe, Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the former Soviet Union, JDC delivers life-saving relief and social services to the neediest Jews living in dire conditions in places where nearly no other social services exist. JDC carries out this work in partnership with local Jewish communities, while building their capacity to support their own needy members in the long term. JDC leverages existing programs, knowledge, and relationships so these communities can become more self-sufficient. In the future, the hope is to see local communities more prepared and capable of taking increasing responsibility for this life-saving work by providing services autonomously and maximizing volunteer networks.Support from the Jack Buncher Charitable Fund gives JDC the agility and flexibility to meet ever changing and emerging needs, and apply welfare funds where they are needed most around the world.