The global shortage of protective supplies like masks, gloves and gowns, is affecting our nation’s entire medical infrastructure, with nursing homes, hospices, home care and other frontline providers particularly hard hit. Hundreds of nursing homes, eldercare facilities, hospice centers and other Jewish healthcare and human service providers are currently facing a dire shortage of necessary products.

Several weeks ago, JFN teamed up with Jewish Federations of North America and the North American Volunteer Network (which includes alumni and members of the AEPI fraternity) to help procure much needed equipment for these facilities. So far, the project has managed to disburse more than two million masks, two million gloves and 500,000 isolation gowns to 200 facilities across North America. Because all this equipment is far more costly now than usual, we’re raising money so that these agencies don’t have to cover the difference between the normal price (which they will pay) and the current one. We are especially proud that a group of JFN-Israel donors has already come together to support this project, raising more than $100,000

You can support this project in a few ways:

1) JFN is acting as a fiscal aggregator, so you can donate through us by emailing Deena Fuchs at [email protected].
2) If you’re an Israeli funder, you can join the group of Israelis supporting this project by emailing Efrat Oppenheimer at [email protected].
3) From now through May 4, JFNA is running Pledge to Protect, a crowdfunding campaign with the goal of raising $3 million through 100,000 donations. Donate through Pledge to Protect here.

You can learn more about this joint effort here.

Feedback is already coming in from the agencies we’ve helped. Jeff Cohen, the CEO of Kline Galland Home, a Jewish nursing home in Seattle, recently said: "We just tested all our residents this weekend and came back with ZERO positive cases [of coronavirus]. We all know this is 100 percent because we have the [personal protective equipment] to treat our patients safely and responsibly. You all are saving lives.”

Photo caption:AEPi Brothers Raphael Eidelman, Tal Ankori and Noah Ben-David delivering supplies to Jewish Family Services, Los Angeles.