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Max Grudin with Shah Haq, a Lufthansa representative at the JFK airport. Lufthansa has been supportive of the effort by airlifting supplies.
The locals in Ukraine get very little humanitarian support because many volunteer efforts do not distribute supplies in unsafe areas. A lot of women and children come to get help.
Volunteers perform quality control at Afya’s warehouse in Yonkers.
Max Grudin with Shah Haq, a Lufthansa representative at the JFK airport. Lufthansa has been supportive of the effort by airlifting supplies.
Despite the many challenges this summer (high fuel prices, extreme heat, gun violence), Temple Israel Center in White Plains and Westchester Reform Temple (WRT) in Scarsdale are stepping up to help relieve the Ukraine crisis. The two temples are co-hosting a “Second Life” drive to collect pre-owned medical items to be donated to Afya Foundation, a local leader in efforts to aid Ukraine.
The needs are dire and donations and really appreciated, said Overhill Road resident Max Grudin, a native of Vinnytsia, Ukraine, who is helping to publicize the charitable effort.
If you or your organization would like to join the drive, contact Grudin at mgrudin@yahoo.com. Any pre-owned items or in-kind donations may be tax deductible.
Afya was founded by former Scarsdale resident Danielle Butin. “It is a very efficient nonprofit: for every dollar donated to the Afya Disaster Response Hub an astounding 90 cents goes directly to supporting global health during times of disaster,” Grudin wrote in an email to the Inquirer.
Volunteers perform quality control at Afya’s warehouse in Yonkers.
Earlier in July, Afya arranged to collect and donate almost 500 pounds of supplies for Ukraine, such as first aid kits, knee braces, gowns, wound care, etc. Grudin personally delivered supplies to Poland last week, and from there volunteers were transporting the items to Ukraine. The Afya supplies Grudin brought to Poland will reach volunteers from Ukrainian nonprofit Ridnyi Krai (Brovary branch) in Kyiv before July 31, he said.
According to Grudin, volunteers led by Svitlana Fedosova are distributing medical aid to civilians in the Kharkiv region as well as to defenders in the east and south of Ukraine. “In the meantime these volunteers have been distributing other humanitarian help in Chuhuiv and Malynivka, near the city of Kharkiv, three miles from the front line. Few organizations supply these dangerous areas, and these volunteers provide help that is otherwise not available,” he said.
Grudin expressed gratitude to Lufthansa for its support in transporting the goods, and to his neighbor Nick Buchen for helping to bring the bags to the airport.
Now through the end of August, Temple Israel and WRT are accepting donations for “second life” (pre-owned) medical items such as:
reading glasses and magnifier glasses
unopened pain killers and ointments
test strips, adult diapers, slings, braces, underpads
… and so on. Open packages are acceptable, but expired medicines are not.
Contact Sharon Stiefel at WRT (sharon.stiefel@wrtemple.org) and Rabbi Annie Tucker at Temple Israel Center (a.tucker@templeisraelcenter.org) for guidelines.
Afya can provide a letter acknowledging your donation, and possibly provide an itemized list of donations if requested. Grudin said donors should consult a tax advisor about deductibility of donations.
Afya also needs funds to buy some items that cannot be obtained otherwise and also to fund transportation to disaster areas, Grudin said. Those who want to help should bring checks to Temple Israel Center or WRT, or go to https://afyafoundation.org/donate/ to make a donation.
Grudin said those who want to make sure their donation goes to a particular cause can write a check made out to Afya and mention the cause or contact Grudin at mgrudin@yahoo.com to help direct the funds.
Visit Afya’s Ukraine campaign page at https://bit.ly/3PUxjSq for a link to a wish list of most-needed items that can be purchased on Amazon.com for direct shipment to Afya’s warehouse.
The locals in Ukraine get very little humanitarian support because many volunteer efforts do not distribute supplies in unsafe areas. A lot of women and children come to get help.
Grudin gratefully acknowledges (with apologies to anyone he omitted):
The Afya Foundation — Danielle Butin, David Bourns and Arilene Garcia for providing and packing the supplies and for the motivation.
All the Scarsdale donors who gave funds and supplies to the Afya Foundation, to other charities and to Grudin.
The Lufthansa Group for their support. Shah Haq is their representative who managed the check-in process very efficiently.
Dara Broxmeyer Gruenberg — for connecting Grudin with Afya and advice.
Westchester Reform Temple — Rabbi Jonathan Blake, Mary Blum and Sharon Stiefel for spearheading the donation drive effort.
Temple Israel Center — Rabbi Tucker for joining the effort at short notice.
Nick Buchen for helping with the transportation and handling of the Afya Foundation supplies.
The Scarsdale Forum for giving Grudin an opportunity to speak about the issue.
Mykhailo Sorochynskyi for transferring the supplies from Poland.
Svitlana Fedosova and the Ridnyi Krai Brovary Branch for their selfless dedication.
… and Grudin’s wife Ingrid Tamm for giving him time and inspiration to work on this.
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