Eduard and Elizaveta, a refugee couple from Ukraine, will soon be settling in Greater Phoenix thanks mostly to the volunteer efforts of several members of Phoenix’s Beth El Congregation and Temple Chai.
(The couple’s surname has not yet been released.)
Now known as Beth El Congregation and Temple Chai: Uniting to Help Ukraine, the volunteers first came together in the weeks following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Greater Phoenix’s Jewish community, along with the rest of the country, watched in horror as millions of people fled Ukraine and sought refuge in neighboring countries. American Jews, regardless of religious or political affiliation, overwhelmingly support Ukraine, according to polling by the Jewish Electorate Institute in 2022.
Like many Americans who were watching the war unfold from afar, these local Jews wanted to offer concrete help. That opportunity came on April 21, when President Joe Biden announced “Uniting for Ukraine,” a streamlined process allowing 100,000 Ukrainian citizens to come to the U.S. while being sponsored by individual Americans.
When Leslie Cooper read about the new program in the New York Times, she immediately sent out a message to her fellow Beth El congregants asking if they would be willing to help. The response was a resounding yes.
“We were watching all these families on TV fleeing from Ukraine, so when Leslie reached out we were ready,” said Wendy Laskin.
Cooper contacted HIAS, a Jewish-American nonprofit organization providing humanitarian aid and assistance to refugees for over 100 years. The Uniting for Ukraine program requires private individuals to take responsibility for the financial and logistical support of resettling refugees. Thus, the assistance of HIAS and other refugee agencies are essential for people who have never done this sort of work before.
Soon after Biden made the announcement, HIAS launched a modified version of its Welcome Circle program to assist sponsors working with Uniting for Ukraine. Welcome Circles, first created to resettle Afghan refugees in 2021, are small groups of volunteers who are able to provide six months of assistance that resettlement agencies would normally do.
Initially, HIAS was able to place Ukrainians who had a personal connection to an American sponsor. Later, it would begin “blind matching” refugees with sponsors they did not know. That is the case with Beth El Congregation and Temple Chai: Uniting to Help Ukraine.
“The fabric of your community truly plays a role in this initiative,” said Isabel Burton, HIAS senior director of community engagement initiatives, in a press release. “It’s entirely about building on community strengths as we expand our communities to welcome newcomers.”
Cooper and her fellow congregants were excited about involving the wider community in welcoming refugees, but most of the work would have to wait. Summer, the High Holidays and a family tragedy delayed the committee for several months.
However, that time was not wasted. Beth El members reached out to Temple Chai, added to their number of volunteers and began dividing up responsibilities. While Cooper, chief of the civil litigation division in Arizona’s Attorney General’s office, remained the “ringleader,” several others stepped up to offer their talents and experience on many levels.
“We have a group with a complementary set of skills and experiences that has been extremely helpful as we’ve gained momentum,” Cooper told Jewish News. She pointed specifically to fellow Beth El member Beth Rosenberg’s background as a social worker.
“Beth has a good understanding of what’s necessary to get public benefits, which is one of the hardest things we’ll have to do,” Cooper said.
“I have done a lot of work through the years — trying to advocate for people in need of services and benefits — and I thought this was a good opportunity to help desperate people come to the United States and get away from the war. I was very willing to help in that effort,” Rosenberg said.
“I’m just sorry they’ll be coming to Phoenix in August,” she added. “That will be another thing we’ll have to figure out.”
Beth El Congregation and Temple Chai: Uniting to Help Ukraine is navigating a number of issues to help the Ukrainian couple become independent six months after their arrival. They both are eligible for public benefits, but that takes documentation and knowledge of the system, which is where Rosenberg comes in. Volunteers have to secure an apartment, furnish it, help the couple set up medical appointments, connect them with English language learning and get their employment authorization in place.
Cindy Weiser, a retired psychotherapist and clinical social worker, has always been drawn to Temple Chai’s social justice work. When she first heard about the effort to bring Ukrainian refugees to town, she knew she wanted to be involved.
“I’ve missed doing traditional social work and that is why I do social justice work; helping people and making the world a better place is at the core,” she said.
Weiser also found herself in a position to fulfill one of the most pressing needs. Her father-in-law had just passed away and she asked her mother-in-law, a Holocaust survivor and immigrant, about donating some of his furniture to the cause.
The coming together of moments that enabled a large donation of furniture was lovely, she said.
Laskin and Vicki Cabot, another volunteer, worked on raising and distributing money to the couple for their expenses. The Center for Jewish Philanthropy of Greater Phoenix will house the donated funds and disperse to Jewish Free Loan for distribution. CJP is doing this as a service to the community and not charging any fees for the fund. The Beth El Congregation and Temple Chai: Uniting to Help Ukraine Facebook page is a place for the community to learn more detailed information and donate.
A few details about the couple became known in the last few weeks. Eduard is from Kherson and a member of the merchant marines. Elizaveta is from Moscow and is now living in Georgia. Neither is Jewish.
Cooper and the other volunteers still have their fingers crossed that everything will go according to plan and as they continue watching the battle on TV, it all feels a little more personal.
“I’m really looking forward to the day our little group goes to the airport with balloons and welcome signs. I want to see everything come together and for them to come, get settled and feel safe,” Cooper said.
She knows there will likely be problems they never foresaw. After all, “Who doesn’t leave a war and not have problems?” But over the long run, she hopes the couple will feel they made the right decision.
Laskin said that many of the volunteers feel a personal attachment to work because many of their grandparents were refugees. She liked the hands-on approach of it all.
“I don’t like looking at the news. I don’t know how to solve the problem. I don’t know how to stop this war, but I thought maybe I can do something personal. When I learned that we could bring someone here it felt like a hands-on way to help one family at a time, and it felt very empowering and very real,” she said. JN
For more information, visit facebook.com/unitingtohelpukraine or phoenixcjp.givingfuel.com/uniting-for-ukraine.
Jewish News is published by the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Phoenix, a component of the Center for Jewish Philanthropy of Greater Phoenix.
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