Zoya Shvartzman on the Huge Impact of Small Acts of Kindness and Support

Zoya Shvartzman knows the difference a Jewish community can make. Growing up in the former Soviet Union, Zoya’s family was forbidden to practice Judaism under the communist government.

When Zoya and her mother immigrated to Vancouver, she got her first taste of Jewish community—a community that provided them with friends, scholarships to JCC summer camps, financial support and vital connection to their Jewish heritage. It was here that Zoya realized the power of a Jewish community that helped newcomers for no reason other than that they were Jews and needed help. “The Jewish community helped us with food, but they didn’t only fill our stomachs. They also filled our souls,” she says.

Now, as director of strategic partnerships for our trusted overseas partner, the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), Zoya is in a position to help many more Jews in need. She works to build vibrant communal life in countries where Jews were nearly wiped out by the Holocaust and then communism.

Watch her FEDtalk to see how seemingly small acts of kindness and support can have a tremendous impact.

Make your gift to the Federation Annual Campaign today: http://jewishvnacouver.com/donate.