The JFR Board of Trustees at its last meeting voted to increase monthly award levels for JFR-supported rescuers, effective January 1, 2019.  We estimate that we will expend $1.1 million in direct support of Righteous Gentiles during 2019.  As the rescuers age, their needs become more acute.  The JFR is working hard to meet these needs.

As we welcome a new year, we thought it appropriate to take some time to provide information on how our rescuer support program works.  Many of our donors have asked when and how we send our funds to rescuers.

Sending Rescuer Awards

• Rescuers living outside the United States receive their awards every four months – March, June, and November.
• Rescuers living in the United States receive their awards quarterly – January, April, July, and October.

How are Funds Sent

• Rescuers living in the United States and Canada receive a bank check.
• Rescuers living in Poland receive a wire transfer into their bank account.
• Rescuers living in all other countries receive their funds via Western Union.

How do we know rescuers are alive?

• Annually, every rescuer must provide a notarized document stating that they are alive.
• Annually, every rescuer must provide a copy of their pension statement for May or June.
• Rescuers living in Poland and Ukraine, the two countries with the largest number of supported rescuers, must provide a copy of their pension statement for December of January.

If you would like more information on the rescuer support program, please email us at [email protected].

The JFR offers young people who are about to become a Bar or Bat Mitzvah the opportunity to twin with a rescuer.  The JFR Bar/Bat Mitzvah program matches a Bar/Bat Mitzvah with a rescuer, enabling the participant to learn about that individual and the incredible acts he or she did to save Jews during the Holocaust.  The program is a powerful way to teach our young people about the importance of tzedakah, tikkun olam, and hakarat hatov.  JFR staff will work with each family to provide information about individual rescuers that resonate to the family and their child.  The suggested minimum gift to the JFR for participating in the program is $180.  Click here for more information.