Dear Community -
I am deeply moved and incredibly proud to share the extraordinary story of how our community came together to support our neighbors in Richmond yesterday during a critical water shortage. What we accomplished in less than 24 hours was nothing short of inspiring, and it is a testament to the strength, compassion, and generosity of our small but mighty community.
Late Wednesday afternoon, I received an urgent call from the Jewish Federation of Richmond. Their community had been without drinkable water for days, and while repairs were making progress at the water treatment facilities, they were days away from being able to guarantee safe water again. And to make matters worse, another winter storm was on the horizon. The future was uncertain, and all they knew was that they needed water.
When I asked how much water they needed, their response was simple: “As much as you can.” And they needed it the very next day. In that moment, despite not knowing exactly how we were going to pull this off, I knew that our community would rise to the occasion. We have seen it time and again: when there is a need, we step up.
The answer was easy: "Yes! You can count on us."
We divvied up responsibility, with the UJCVP organizing the water collection and transportation and the Richmond Jewish Federation facilitating the distribution to the Jewish community and beyond.
Our goal was to prioritize at risk populations, isolated elderly, homebound and both Jewish and non-Jewish families and organizations which still do not have potable water, especially in the hardest hit east end.
Within the hour, the mobilization was already underway. A call went out to the community asking everyone to go to the stores, purchase water and bringing it to our campus. We also set up a donation system for those who couldn’t purchase water themselves but wanted to contribute. It was heartwarming to see people come together, and even more so when I went out to buy water myself. I found the shelves close to empty — many people from Richmond had already made the journey to our area in search of water. It was clear this was a larger issue than we had realized, but we were determined to do what we could.
Our team immediately reached out to corporate stores to try and buy water in bulk, but the response was largely unfruitful. Then, a call came in from a store supervisor who had been moved by what we were trying to do. She was able to secure two pallets of water for us, and we didn’t stop there. Thanks to more outreach, we ended up with seven pallets of water bottles.
By the early morning hours of Thursday, our campus became a hub for water collection. People came together—some bought water, others donated money to purchase it, and volunteers driving from different areas to help. Our interfaith partners also joined the effort, spreading the word far and wide. It was beautiful to see so many different people, from all walks of life, come together for a common cause.
One person dropped off just a single case of water and apologized for not being able to do more. I showed her the huge pile we had already collected and said, "Look at how one case at a time adds up." In that moment, I was reminded of the immense power of community—when we all do our part, even in small ways, we can accomplish something truly remarkable.
As the day went on, volunteer drivers arrived with their own vehicles and rented flatbed trucks. They loaded up with water and began organizing caravans to transport the water to Richmond. When I spoke to the Richmond community about our progress, it became clear that our collection efforts had already exceeded the needs of the Jewish community alone. Through the Richmond Federation, our water had been distributed to Jewish Family Services, Richmond Hebrew Day School, Congregation Beth Ahabah, the Weinstein JCC, Temple Beth El, Keneseth Beth Israel and Hillel at VCU.
It was amazing to see how much our community had gathered in such a short amount of time. But we didn’t stop there—we knew that Richmond and Henrico County’s broader community needed support too. With help from a Richmond city council member, we were connected to Richmond and Henrico County emergency services, and we began coordinating to supply water to their distribution sites.
Our 26-foot U-Haul truck was packed front to back with water—so much water that I don’t think the wheels could have taken another pound of weight. The journey to Richmond was slow and steady, but it was worth every minute. When we arrived, it was incredible to see the water being unloaded directly into ambulances and city vehicles. In Henrico, the water was added immediately to the distribution pile, where lines of cars had gathered to receive donations.
By the end of the day, all of our water caravans had returned to the Peninsula, marking the conclusion of an extraordinary day of service. In less than 24 hours, our community had collected tens of thousands of gallons of water to support Richmond in their time of need.
Yesterday’s events demonstrated just how powerful we can be when we commit to saying “yes” and answering the call to be a blessing to others. The outpouring of generosity, compassion, and teamwork was nothing short of extraordinary. Thank you to everyone who went shopping for water, donated, volunteered and drove.
And thank you for supporting our Annual Campaign, which allows our community to be here 24/7 365 days a year to quickly respond during this and other crises.
You have made a difference and we couldn't be more grateful.
Shabbat Shalom,
Eric Maurer
CEO
emaurer@ujcvp.org
To subscribe to this weekly Shabbat message, please click here.
