ST. JOHN’S CHARITABLE PROGRAM

St. John’s Charitable Program had its beginning in September 2009 when a group of concerned parishioners shared a dream of helping the poor. From its very beginnings the aim has been twofold – to help people here in the United States – our own St. John’s parishioners and the needy in the city of Newark, and to help the needy in Ukraine.

At first we addressed the needs of the elderly and sick in our St. John’s Church community. Every two weeks St. John’s Charitable Program delivered home-cooked meals to the parishioners who needed this. We also addressed the needs of the soup kitchen that is run by the Roman Catholic St. John’s parish in downtown Newark. At first we helped them through food drives but now our Charitable Program donates money and makes large purchases of specific non-perishable foods that the soup kitchen particularly needs. Being that Ukraine is going through a difficult time, much of our attention and many of our donations are sent to Ukraine.

THE WORK OF OUR CHARITABLE PROGRAM

From September 2009 until the present:

• personal visits to our parishioners - 864.

Helped the needy in the US:

• Food and monetary donations for St. John’s Soup Kitchen in the city of Newark - $12,760
• Help for Ukrainian families who lost everything as a result of hurricanes - $7500

THE ACTIVITY OF THE CHARITABLE PROGRAM at St. John’s Ukrainian Catholic Church in Newark, NJ from September 2009 until February 2022

• Visits to our elderly parishioners – 1280

Aid for the needy in the United States – to date:

• In food and monetary donations feeding the hungry of the city of Newark, NJ – $16,560
• Help for the victims of hurricanes in the US – $7500

Aid for the needy in Ukraine – to date we have sent:

• Orphans – $6,000
• Disabled children - $5,500
• The homeless - $10,400
• Wounded soldiers - $7,620
• Destitute families - $44,500
• Needy senior citizens - $15,740
• Refugees - $6,500
• For the incarcerated - $3,380
• For the treatment of alcoholics - $6,460
• In $10 gifts for 3234 needy individuals - $32,340
• Camp stay for poor/homeless children - $4,000
• Excursions for handicapped children - $5,400
• Hemostatic bandages and tourniquets for soldiers - $15,750
• Feeding the hungry - $126,500
• Meds for poor sick - $26,300
• Talking watches for the blind – 7,200
• Wheelchairs – 525
• Walkers – 451
• Commodes – 149
• Forty-pound parcels of clothing – 1220
• Pairs of shoes – 7550
• Pairs of socks – 21,500
• Hats for needy children – 6010
• Thousands of annual St. Nicholas gifts for poor children
• Thousands of adult diapers for the elderly

SINCE WAR BROKE OUT IN UKRAINE IN FEBRUARY 2022

On February 24, 2022, with the beginning of a full-scale war in Ukraine, thanks to the financial and material support of our donors, the volunteers of our fund were able to focus all of their efforts on helping Ukrainian soldiers, the wounded, the sick, the disabled and internally displaced persons.

With the support of generous donors our Charitable Fund purchased 26 vehicles for military hospitals and for the needs of soldiers on the front lines in the Kharkiv, Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk and Mykolaiv regions.

• 1. Mercedes Sprinter Ambulance
• 2. Renault
• 3. Ford Minivan
• 4. Mercedes Sprinter
• 5. Custom-made buggy
• 6. Lada Niva
• 7. Chrysler Minivan
• 8. Mercedes Vito
• 9. Mitsubishi
• 10. Hyundai Galloper
• 11. Fiat
• 12. Nissan Navara
• 13. Dacia
• 14. Nissan Pathfinder
• 15. Mercedes van
• 16. Custom-made buggy
• 17. VW Sharan
• 18. Nissan Terrano
• 19. Hyundai Santa Fe
• 20. Nissan Pathfinder
• 21. Nissan
• 22. Land Rover
• 23. Motorcycle Trail Bike
• 24. Honda CRV
• 25. Volvo XC 90
• 26. Nissan X-Trail

We paid for:

• 20 tons of food and water for the Mykolayiv region
• Rehabilitation instruments for wounded soldiers and civilians, in particular children

We also paid for:

• 2.5 tons of flour for thousands of pieces of pastries which were baked and delivered to soldiers on the frontlines and to refugees
• 330 pounds of sugar
• 66 gallons of sunflower oil
• 440 pounds of pasta
• 550 pounds of rice
• 154 pounds of salt
• 340 jars of pork stew
• 150 cans of lard
• 5100 bottles of water
• Medicine and medical care

We sent money to volunteers in Ukraine who bought food products and

• Prepared 500 kg of meat and vegetable salads, which fed over 3000 soldiers
• Delivered 540 dinners for the hungry
• Delivered 500 bags of groceries to those affected by the war

We purchased and sent:

• 4 generators
• Over 100 lbs of medications
• 250 sterile burn dressings
• 850 tourniquets
• 59 wheelchairs
• 149 walkers
• 23 commodes
• 19 pairs of crutches
• 100 pairs of men’s underwear for soldiers in the trench lines
• 1140 sets of thermal underwear
• 700 pairs of socks
• 750 hats
• 52 pairs of army tactical boots
• 1800 hand warmers
• 192 multipurpose ponchos
• 480 emergency foil blankets
• 12,500 water purifying tablets
• 160 sleeping bags
• 140 yoga mats
• 50 thermos bottles
• 200 flashlights and spare batteries
• 150 surgical and isolation gowns
• Hundreds of hygiene products
• Thousands of adult diapers and thousands of bed pads for the wounded and sick
• Metal plates for making 50 bulletproof vests