Events

Jeff Kaminsky, founder of Project Aid and Rescue Volunteer Organization, will be sharing his journey in helping Ukraine.

About Jeff

Jeff lives in Northbrook and is a volunteer first responder with the Northbrook CERT or Community Emergency Response Team.  In March of 2022 at the beginning of the Russian War against Ukraine, Jeff organized a humanitarian mission and flew to Berlin to aid and rescue Ukrainian refugees who were fleeing the war. After initially assisting with the care and resettlement of 200 Jewish orphans rescued from Odessa, Jeff began volunteering at the Berlin Central Bus Station where nearly 40 buses of refugees were arriving daily from Ukraine. Most of the refugees were women and children who fled for days or weeks to escape Russian bombings and terror.  Many people had no place to go and hadn’t slept in a bed or bathed for nearly a week.

Having seen their exhausted faces and learning that many people had no place to sleep, Jeff began renting hotel rooms for the most vulnerable refugees, including women, children, the elderly, and people suffering from cancer or who needed other medical assistance.  He began using social media to share with friends and family back home about the dire situation for the refugees on the ground in Berlin.  People were moved by his posts and began donating money to help.   To date, Jeff has raised funds that have enabled him to provide hotel rooms with a clean bed, a hot shower, and a fresh breakfast, to more than 1,000 refugees. 

As the situation inside Ukraine continued to deteriorate, Jeff began working with other volunteers and organizations to provide a range of aid including bringing food and medicine to people inside Ukraine; organizing medical extractions from within Ukraine; bringing busloads of refugees out of Ukraine, and working to find semi-permanent housing in Germany, France, Italy, and Poland. 

Since returning home, Jeff has continued to help refugees in various ways and has created a volunteer organization called “Project Aid & Rescue” which is a grassroots team of volunteers located in the United States as well as in Europe, and whose purpose is to raise money to help refugees as well as the Ukrainian people still inside Ukraine. 

Jeff has a unique ability to build relationships and bring people together through networking, his entrepreneurial spirit and his belief that working together “we will either find a way or make one!”

Jeff was born and raised in the Chicago area. He graduated from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign with a bachelor’s degree in Urban & Regional Planning & Land Use Development as well as a master’s degree in Business Administration in Marketing & Entrepreneurship.

Jeff Kaminsky is Director of Business Development at Accurate Perforating and Accurate Metal Fabricating. When not working Jeff enjoys being outdoors, biking, running, traveling with his family and watching his three kids play baseball and soccer. During the pandemic, Jeff and his family took on a new hobby and built several raised gardens that produced over 1,000 pounds (454 kg) of fruits and vegetables in one season that resulting in receiving the Village of Northbrook’s Green Resident Award for Sustainability.

Nate will lead a discussion on digital currency technology, asset classes, and how to evaluate a portfolio opportunity.

• A couple key points Nate will cover:
  • What is Bitcoin (a payment network and a currency)?
  • How does Bitcoin differ from other cryptocurrencies?
  • What makes this relevant from a technology perspective?
  • How do these compare to traditional financial asset classes?
  • How can you effectively evaluate these opportunities for your portfolio.
• About Nate:
  • Nate says his mission to is love, be loved, and give love to others. Each step in his career has been towards greater service of others. I am grateful for God's blessings and the new members he adds to my community. Currently, my full-time focus is cultivating financial independence for businesses and families throughout the US. I spent the previous chapter of my career building Ruben Digital, providing thoughtful marketing experiences for inspired business owners! I have been involved with many local, regional, national, and international non-profits so I can help align my business with causes that matter to me. I am grateful to be speaking with Rotary!