A Heartfelt "Thank You"

February 11, 2010

Yechiel,

A brief note from this cold and snowy land. The situation here is very sad. The average Gross Domestic Product drop in 2009 18% for the three Baltic countries is an incredible economic catastrophe, and 2010 looks even worse.

Three thousand four hundred newly impoverished elderly and kids have been added to the JDC's caseload over the past 18 months. This translates into a more than a 200% growth!

I just left a woman's home in Riga, Latvia. Due to the economic collapse, her rent now equals her pension. She literally has no money left for food, medicine, etc. She's a proud woman who was self-sufficient her whole life until the economic crash. Without our help, she would be destitute. She has no family to support her.

How many times have we said that you and The Fellowship are truly the saviors of the elderly and children here in the Baltics, and in the former Soviet Union? Still, it cannot be said enough. As our federation funds have fallen, you have stepped up that much higher. Kol halavod, once again, Yechiel. Your imprint of mitzvot is huge here.

L'hitraot,

Alan