Chabad on Campus Students Step Up Again For Relief Efforts

Chabad on Campus students on a Jewish heritage trip in Poland are stepping up the plate once again. As previously reported, a group of some forty students with the Chabad on Campus International Poland trip are visiting historic sites in the once-thriving Jewish epicenter. Though not originally on their itinerary, upon encountering the crisis face to face, they have raised significant funds to aid refugees pouring in from neighboring Ukraine.

The initial batch of supplies were delivered and enthusiastically received in Lublin, Poland. But the urgent social media posts and word of mouth have not died down, and now, thousands of dollars more have poured in, empowering these students to once again hit the local supermarkets and load up on supplies, this time in Krakow, Poland.

For these students, the relief efforts were particularly personal, as many of the families they helped were staying in their same hotel. “With all the money raised, we had to buy multiple suitcases to pack everything up for the many families we had met at the hotel,” said Gabrielle Shaiman, one of the trip participants. “We bought clothing, apartment necessities, food, and cosmetics. We also purchased furniture and pots and pans to fill the empty apartments Chabad has sponsored for families.”

Students also helped build shelves and organize the Chabad refugee center brimming with donations from concerned citizens.

While refugee work may have disrupted a long planned itinerary, “Such work is ultimately a true outcome of the awareness of heritage being fostered,” said Rabbi Yossy Gordon, CEO of Chabad on Campus International. “We are both proud and deeply moved by the spontaneous and critical work the students and staff are doing right now in Poland.”