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

St. John’s Charitable Fund has funded the following 15 vehicles for use in military hospitals and on the front lines in the Kharkiv, Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kyiv and Mykolayiv regions:

• Mercedes Sprinter ambulance
• Renault sedan
• Ford minivan
• Mercedes Sprinter van
• Custom-made buggy
• Mercedes Vito minivan (grey)
• Lada Niva
• Chrysler minivan
• Mercedes Vito minivan (white)
• Mitsubishi
• Hyundai Galloper
• Nissan Pathfinder

We collected and donated $85,000, which our contacts used to fund the following:

• 20 tons of food and water for the Mykolayiv region
• Metal plates to make 50 bullet-proof vests
• 2.5 tons of flour
• 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
• 4500 bottles of water
• 495 meals
• 500 bags of groceries
• Medicine and medical care
• Hygiene products
• Bedding
• Video surveillance cameras
• 42 pairs of tactical boots
• Generators
• 140 sets of thermal underwear
• Financial assistance to refugees and war victims throughout various regions in Ukraine

We also funded:

• 625 sterile burn dressings
• 480 emergency foil blankets
• 192 reusable rain ponchos