Shirel, 2, came to daycare for the first time with severe developmental delays that hinted at deep trouble at home.

She showed signs of emotional and social trouble; her muscle development was lagging, visible in her dragging feet as she walked. She desperately needed more help than her mother—a struggling Ethiopian immigrant—could provide.

Learn how JDC’s early-childhood development program gave her and her mother the expert support they needed to blossom.

Nodar, 80, can't imagine where he would be today without the emergency assistance he received from JDC during the Russo-Georgian war.

After spending a month in the hospital recovering from the critical injury he sustained while rescuing his wife and daughter during the conflict, Nodar returned to find a shell of their former home; all of their belongings had been destroyed.

Read how JDC helped Nodar recuperate, aided his family, and helped him discover community for the first time.

Plus, learn how JDC's emergency response system is working today to help Jews hit hardest by the severe winter in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.

Gabriel heads up the JCC Hebraica, São Paulo’s premier Jewish hub that buzzes with activities for Jews of every age.

“Recruiting young people to the community is always a challenge, but we’ve had great experience with special initiatives such as our adventure trips," he says. Gabriel also spearheaded the highly successful local youth group; the center’s music school; a training program for madrichim (counselors); and a solidarity group that brings young people together for community service activities to assist the poor and the sick throughout the city.

Learn how JDC’s leadership training in Latin America helped Gabriel shape and realize his vision for his community.

As a wave of dangerous winter weather grips Eastern Europe and parts of the former Soviet Union, the death toll is rising and rescue crews are evacuating people from snowblocked villages in Serbia and Bosnia. In Bulgaria, temperatures plunged to their lowest since records began 100 years ago.

JDC immediately activated its emergency winter response system to supplement the critical care it already gives to tens of thousands of Jewish elderly and needy children through it's winter relief program.

Especially in the hardest-hit areas of the Balkans and Ukraine, JDC is currently:
-Furnishing heating fuel, blankets, warm jackets, clothes, and boots
-Providing food and heating supplies to those who cannot leave home
-Checking in on those who need additional medical care

Read the full press release here.

Lisi, a 29-year-old volunteer organizer in Istanbul, says, “Our community is small, but our potential is enormous.”

Like many of her contemporaries, not just in Turkey but in many parts of the world, Lisi grew up loving Shabbat celebrations at her grandparents' house, going to Jewish school, and taking part in youth group. But by the time she graduated from university, questions about her Jewish identity and whether she had the tools she needed to command her future began to arise.

Find out how JDC’s leadership training helped her find answers and go on to recruit hundreds of unaffiliated young people to Istanbul’s Jewish community.