The past year and our work with Ukrainians have brought many joyful moments for our staff and clients: first days of school in the US, instruments distributed to Ukrainian musicians, and generous community members going above and beyond. Just last week, the UMass Fine Arts Center provided complementary tickets for a Ukrainian refugee family served by JFS to see the Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine. NEPM was able to share this story. Read more here. We received a large donation of musical instruments from Stammel Stringed Instruments in Amherst to be distributed to Ukrainian families. The instruments will be distributed by a local conductor at a special gathering (in the planning stage now).

Two wonderful volunteers have been teaching ESL in Westfield and Chicopee to Ukrainian adult learners since last summer. The students have progressed significantly – they are eager to communicate in English. These volunteers lead class independently, they arrange logistics, provide snacks, support students to apply for other education opportunities. As one of the teachers, Susan Quandt, said to the students during a recent interview and article in the Reminder, “Remember back in the summertime, you knew almost no English […] Now look at you. You can make jokes, laugh, make plans.” Susan and fellow teacher, Marilyn Sandidge, have made an incredible difference. JFS extends deep thanks to them, to our frontline staff, and our community who has done so much – donated funds, supplies, volunteered, and advocated.

A very special Valentine’s Day Party was held on February 14th in West Springfield for over 150 Haitians. Many of the attendees arrived here as Humanitarian Parolees, and subsequently found their way to JFS for help. After hearing that some of our Haitian clients wanted to do something special for their loved ones on this holiday, our JFS Haitian Case Manager, Marie-Ange Laroche, stepped in to bring this Valentine’s Day celebration to life.

Many Haitians experience abuse and sexual violence on their journey to the U.S., and this gathering was a way for loved ones to show their spouses and families that they are loved. The meeting room for the party was donated, local Haitians opened their home kitchens for food preparation, CHD provided chocolates, gifts and flowers, and Marie-Ange provided desserts, decorations, party set-up, clean-up, and much more!