Some introductions are more significant than others. In the mid-1990s the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City helped connect the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) with Lenexa-based Heart to Heart International (HHI). The matching up of the two international humanitarian organizations ultimately resulted in disaster relief efforts that otherwise may not have been as effective or have happened at all.
The significance of the JDC and HHI partnership has been formally recognized. On April 15 the Heart for Humanity Award for 2018 was presented to the JDC. The recognition was bestowed at the HHI’s 25th Anniversary Gala at the Overland Park Sheraton Hotel.
The Heart for Humanity Award is presented to a group, organization or company that exemplifies compassion toward the underserved and victims of disaster by supporting Heart to Heart International (HHI) through monetary, volunteer and gift-in-kind support.
The relationship with JDC and HHI began through an introduction from Patricia Werthan Uhlmann and Deborah Bretton Granoff of the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City. The connection was forged when these two women saw the dire need for medicines, particularly for the elderly and poor in Jewish Federation’s overseas partner region, Bulgaria and Romania. Being familiar with both organizations, Granoff and Uhlmann recognized how HHI’s strong connections with pharmaceutical companies could mesh with the international breadth and resources of the JDC, which is an overseas partner agency of Jewish Federation.
“Heart to Heart and the JDC played a significant role in efforts to provide needed medications to needy Jews and others, and we really have Tricia (Uhlmann) to thank for envisioning this partnership. It has been a true partnership in every sense of the word,” Granoff said.
According to HHI, it was partnering efforts in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti that solidified the JDC-HHI relationship. JDC provided funds for critically needed vehicles used by HHI to provide emergency medical care to victims, as well as funding to help build a school in Fondwa, Haiti. Since that collaboration, JDC has been an important supporter of many of Heart to Heart International’s missions, including the Ebola response in Liberia, Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Irma in 2017.
In addition, JDC and JDC Entwine, its young adult engagement platform, have collaborated with PowerServ and a number of local and national Jewish groups to assemble hygiene kits for people impacted by crisis and disaster. HHI has distributed these kits to people around the world, from Syrian refugees in Turkey to U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico.
“Both JDC and Heart to Heart International seek to serve those people whose lives have been devastated by disaster,” stated Jim Mitchum, CEO of HHI. “We have been privileged to have a relationship with both the JDC and the Jewish Federation of Greater Kanas City for many years. With their support, we’ve been able to provide aid to countless more victims in need.”
Michelle Rosen accepted the award on behalf of the JDC, the world’s leading Jewish humanitarian assistance organization. Rosen is a member of the Executive Committee for JDC and past chair of the JDC GRID (Disaster Relief, Recovery, and Development Programs) Committee.
“It’s a profound honor for me to accept this award and pay tribute to our partnership with Heart to Heart International,” Rosen said. “We play a role in repairing a broken world and strengthening two organizations, JDC and Heart to Heart, that put saving lives before all else.”