Dear Andy,

I'm with my team in Caracas, and the needs on the ground are only growing. Over 2,200 people have perished — including nine members of the Jewish community, more than 50,000 are missing among nearly 800 collapsed buildings, and 1.8 million are in dire need of life-saving aid, more than one-third of them children.

Put simply, what I'm seeing is devastating.

In a matter of seconds, tens of thousands of people lost their loved ones, livelihoods, and access to safe drinking water. Among the Jewish community, hundreds have been driven from their homes — over 150 dwellings were destroyed or rendered uninhabitable — and more than 600 require urgent assistance, like food, medicine, trauma support, and more.

I’m sure you know that the longer survivors go before receiving help, the more difficult recovery becomes.

Every moment counts: That's why I'm asking you to make a generous gift for earthquake victims in Venezuela.

Working alongside and on behalf of the Venezuelan Jewish community, we've deployed a rapid humanitarian response to provide basic necessities to both Jews and their neighbors. The Hebraica JCC, our longtime partner on the ground, is providing shelter for people with nowhere else to go, along with food and hygiene kits. They have also opened a soup kitchen that serves healthy, nutritious meals to community members who are hungry.

I sometimes ask myself, “Why do we do this work?” To my mind, no one says it better than Daniela Sultan, a Jewish community member in Caracas whose home was damaged by the twin magnitude-7.5 and 7.2 earthquakes. She and her children found care and refuge at the Hebraica JCC, which she describes as an “oasis.”    “No words will ever convey what we felt or experienced during the earthquakes,” Sultan told us. “In this difficult moment, the Jewish community has truly become our second family — a place where we feel safe and at peace. And thanks to the infrastructure built over the years, they were able to respond immediately.”   At JDC, we don't pick up and leave when a disaster ends — we stay for the long haul, launching robust and nimble relief efforts that ensure the community comes back stronger than before. This has been our promise and our vow since our founding more than a century ago.

In the coming days, the demand for food, water, hygiene kits, and access to medical supplies and equipment will only grow. Please show up for Venezuelans in need with a contribution that saves lives.

With gratitude for your commitment,

Sergio Widder

JDC Regional Director for Latin America