The Dnepropetrovsk Kehillah Project (DKP) was launched by JCRC in 1992 as part of a national effort, organized by the National Conference on Soviet Jewry (NCSJ) to link American Jewish communities with Jewish communities in the Former Soviet Union (FSU). The JCRC DKP is supported by a special allocation from the Overseas Committee of Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP).
Each year, CJP asks the JCRC via its Committee for Post Soviet Jewry (CPSJ), chaired by Arthur Waldstein, to determine annual funding priorities and to oversee all projects and initiatives that are part of the Dnepropetrovsk Kehillah Project. (Click here to read a message from the chair). The CPSJ allocates funds each year to both local Boston organizations working on DKP projects and to the Dnepropetrovsk Jewish Community directly. JCRC works closely with Rabbi Shmuel Kaminezki, the chief rabbi of Dnepropetrovsk, the Dnepropetrovsk Jewish Philanthropic Fund (the “CJP of Dnepropetrovsk” which the JCRC and Boston lay leaders helped Rabbi Kaminezki create to encourage philanthropy in Dnep), the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, and others to ensure that priorities identified are beneficial to the Jewish community of Dnepropetrovsk and connected to their needs on the ground.
The goals of the DKP are as follows:
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Provide opportunities for the Boston Jewish community to play a direct role in the historic revitalization of Jewish life in Dnepropetrovsk by participating in exchange projects, encouraging personal connections and providing humanitarian assistance.
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Partner with the Jewish Community of Dnepropetrovsk to improve Jewish life there and to foster self-empowerment and advocacy among the Jews of Dnepropetrovsk.
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Provide technical assistance across a range of key initiatives relating to: caring for the elderly; women's and children's health; children with special needs; improving education; micro-enterprise for women; and at risk youth.
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Raise awareness in Boston and advocate on behalf of Jews in Dnepropetrovsk and the Former Soviet Union.
