These groups raise funds and awareness by appealing to the wide range of interests and utilizing the diverse skills in Jamestown.  The list of groups and contact person for each group are available here. JURP invites you to join one or more of these groups or to contact us about a group you would like to start. We need your ideas and energy!

Current Groups and Areas of Need

Community Visibility - Betsy Gooding (bgooding88@gmail.com) and Kathy Banks (kbanksri@gmail.com) - Jamestown/Janet Skinner (janet_skinner@cox.net) and Linda Gaitonde (lindabrazilgaitonde@gmail.com) - Aquidneck. A key part of our work is to keep concern for Ukraine active and visible in our communit(ies). Early on, Ukraine flags were a part of that evolving effort. We continue to search for new ways to engage the community and recruit supporters and volunteers. Donations for flags have raised over $17,000 in support of Ukraine. Members of the flag “team“ will be present at most JURP events. With fairly extensive coverage in place in Jamestown, the focus now is on generating flag presence on Aquidneck Island. This will progress when a volunteer from Aquidneck is designated to co-chair the flag team.

Sunflower Festival- Karen Buetens: kbuetens.jtn@gmail.comThe sunflower, the national flower of Ukraine, has become a symbol of solidarity with the Ukrainian people. Last year’s Sunflower Family Festival in August was a wonderfully successful community event, bringing Ukrainian Americans and Ukrainian refugees to Jamestown for a celebration of Ukrainian Independence Day and Ukrainian culture. We are planning for a repeat this coming August.

Talks and Informational Presentations - Jan Krause Greene: jan.k.greene10@gmail.com
Arranging talks and speakers to increase awareness of humanitarian and other issues in the Ukraine crisis            

Refugee Hosting and Support in the Jamestown/Newport area - John Andrews: jtn4ukr@gmail.com
Our goal is to help with the hosting and support of Ukrainian refugees who have been displaced by the invasion of Ukraine. We are also looking into ways to support Ukrainian orphans who are being sheltered in our “sister” city, Ustron, Poland.  

Aid to Ustron, Poland - Ewa Wright: ewaandbob@yahoo.com
Ustron is a small town in Poland currently supporting 1500 refugees, including 230 orphans/foster children. Ewa is a long-time Jamestown resident from Ustron and has direct contact with people in the town, including the mayor. She has recently visited the town and the program that is taking care of displaced Ukrainian orphans. This group has organized special gifts and letters to be sent to the children, and is in the process of setting up a pen-pal group.