Things you can do for Ukraine

Politics and religion
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The other thread is moving really fast, so I thought it would be better to put ideas about personal action in a separate thread. (If the mods think this is inappropriate, my apologies.) I’m listing things I’ve heard that are most relevant to people in the US, but I’d love to hear suggestions of a more worldwide scope.

Donations

Humanitarian:

International Rescue Committee: Well respected org with a long history of helping refugees.

UNHCR: UN refugee org. This was my donation target. (For Americans, make sure you donate through “USA for UNHCR” for the tax deduction, if that’s your thing.) This is currently being matched, up to $1,000, by some celebrity-types I’m not familiar with.

Razom: Ukrainian aid org.

Military (I haven’t verified these, personally I’m a little queasy about directly donating for weapons):

National Bank of Ukraine: Special army fund?

ArmySOS: Ukrainian army support?

Journalism

The Kyiv Independent for independent journalism in Ukraine. (They’re cited a lot in that other thread.)

Other Lists

Contacting your representatives

I haven’t done this yet, but I’m going to put together I pasted below (in the spoiler-thing) a form-ish letter encouraging support for sanctions, military hardware (with my tax dollars, yes, I acknowledge hypocrisy), and refugee aid. Usually I just fill out the forms on my reps’ websites, but I understand snail-mail and phone calls are sometimes seen as carrying more weight. The forms on most congresspersons’ websites require (or at least ask for) your name and address, and it is annoying to get signed up for their stuff, but if you want your letter to have weight, you should demonstrate you’re in their district. I find it not too hard to get unsubscribed.

For the US House, start here and find their website; similarly for the US Senate.

Edit: Here’s what I wrote. It seems a little silly, but whatever.

Letter to Congress

Dear Senator/Representative X,

I am writing you concerning the Russian invasion of Ukraine. While the unprovoked, naked aggression displayed by the Putin administration is shocking and dismaying on so many levels, I will remain brief as I urge you, in the strongest possible terms, to act swiftly and with strength to aid the Ukrainian people.

Specifically, I urge you to support severe and long-term sanctions on the Russian regime, and work with the White House to provide aid as quickly as possible to the Ukrainian government. As we are already seeing a humanitarian crisis unfold, please see that plenty of resources are allocated to aid people displaced by this war, as well. Finally, a statement in support of the Ukrainian people would not be amiss.

Sincerely,

Rallies and Demonstrations

It’s not clear to me how much impact these would have (outside of the ridiculously brave souls in Russia and Belarus), but I imagine any local Ukrainian expats appreciate any show of support.

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There are Europeans who are driving to Poland to pick up Ukrainian refugees and drive them to either seek protection from a friendly government, or get them quartered with family elsewhere. Small gesture, but for the Ukrainians who catch a ride, it certainly means something.

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For the UNHCR donation, I believe there is a match donation of up to 1 million dollars from Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively still going on.

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Thanks for sharing the links @ooomalley

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From /r/Ukraine. Super long, @ooomalley let me know if you just want the reddit link.

Reddit - Dive into anything

I posted this as a comment in another thread but since so many people are asking how they can support Ukraine, I thought I would make this a separate post. The Kyiv Independent recently did a spotlight on many different charities across Ukraine. I’ll list the charities they mentioned by subject. All text/copy that you see below was written by the Kyiv Independent journalists.

Mods: I am not affiliated with the Kyiv Independent or any of the charities mentioned below. I do not financially profit from any contributions made to the Kyiv Independent or any of these charities. I just saw that a lot of people are wanting to help Ukrainians so I just want to share a resource list on how to do so:

Charities that help the war effort

  • Save Life: This NGO crowdfunds non-lethal military equipment, such as thermal vision scopes & supplies it to the Donbas front lines. It also provides training for Ukrainian soldiers, as well as researching troops’ needs and social reintegration of veterans.
  • Donbas SOS: This organization helps those who live in the Donbas war zone, those who relocated to other parts of Ukraine, and freed prisoners of war. It offers legal support, accommodation assistance, and psychological aid among other things.
  • Crimea SOS: This organization has been helping internally displaced people from Crimea since Russia occupied the peninsula in 2014. It documents Russian authorities’ repressions against Crimeans and advocates for the end of the occupation.
  • Hospitallers : This is a medical battalion that unites volunteer paramedics and doctors to save the lives of soldiers on the frontline. They crowdfund their vehicle repairs, fuel, and medical equipment.

Charities that help children

  • Tabletochki: This foundation has been supporting children with cancer for 10 years. They procure medicines, equipment, and arrange overseas treatment, among other things.
  • ChildrenWeWillMakeIt: This movement grew out of a campaign that raised $2 million to get the world’s most expensive medicine for a Ukrainian boy with spinal muscular atrophy. It now fundraises for the treatment of other Ukrainian children with SMA.
  • Ruka ob Ruku: This is a running club for children with disabilities. The initiative gives children an opportunity to train and take part in races together with their parents and volunteers.

Charities for the elderly

  • Happy Old: This charity provides older people across Ukraine with groceries and medicine, holds educational, entertainment, and sports events, as well as helps with employment. They even created a modeling agency for the elderly.
  • Let’s Help: This charity cares for older people living alone and helps state retirement homes. They also advocate for better treatment of older people by the state, including providing people aged 60+ with easy access to education.
  • Starenki: It’s a charitable initiative devoted to issues of old age in Ukraine. They help lonely seniors by providing them with groceries and hygiene products.

Charities that help women

  • Women Perspectives: This organization has been helping women who have faced domestic violence, discrimination in the labor market, and other issues. The NGO works with local and state authorities to promote pro-equality gender policies in Ukraine.
  • Marsh Zhinok (Women’s March): Every year, on March 8, this initiative holds a rally promoting gender equality and the protection of women from gender-based violence. Currently, the organization is petitioning for Ukraine to adopt the Istanbul Convention.

Charities for blood donation

  • Blood Agents: It is an NGO that promotes regular, conscious and gratuitous blood donations. They have encouraged people to donate blood over 5,000 times over the past six years.
  • Donor UA: It is an automated system for recruiting and managing blood donors, designed to promote the donor movement in Ukraine. You can help by signing up and donating blood or by supporting the project with money donation.

Charities for animals

  • Sirius: Is the largest shelter for stray animals in Ukraine established in 2000. Its capacity is over 3,000 animals. The institution crowdfunds for animal feed, veterinary drugs, construction and repair of enclosures, and other needs.
  • Happy Paw: Is a charity dedicated to solving the problems of homeless animals in Ukraine. The charity helps owners find lost animals, sterilizes domestic animals of people in need & holds lectures on humane treatment of homeless animals for schoolchildren.
  • UAnimals: Is a movement for protecting animals from exploitation & abuse. The organization managed to achieve a ban on animal circuses & persuaded many designers participating in Ukrainian Fashion Week to abandon natural fur.

Charities for the environment

  • Ukraine Without Waste: It is a Ukrainian non-profit promoting the practice of sorting household waste. They educate companies on how to go green at their offices, and hold lectures for the wider public.
  • Laska: It’s a chain of two charity stores in Kyiv that promote conscious shopping. They accept donated clothes, resell 15% of them, and send the rest to orphanages, homes for the elderly and centers for people with disabilities.

Charities for the homeless

  • Help the homeless: This initiative supports homeless people & the elderly in need, by providing them with free meals, medicine, hygiene products, clothes & shoes. Launched by a group of volunteers in 2016, the organization has been relying on crowdfunding.
  • Suka Zhizn: This organization grew big from a 2017 Instagram account launched to tell stories of homeless people. Now volunteers provide various support to the homeless: employment, sorting out documents, searching for relatives & legal counseling.

Charities for investigative journalism

  • Slidstvo: Is an independent agency launched in 2012 that produces award-winning documentaries exposing corruption. They have investigated mismanagement of prisons, fraud, money laundering at PrivatBank & the assassination of journalist Sheremet.
  • UKRPravda News: Founded in 2000 by Gongadze, a prominent journalist who was killed the same year, this publication is among the most influential in Ukraine. The reporters break political scoops and unmask officials who abuse their power.
  • Zaborona Media: This is an independent media outlet founded by journalists. They investigate topics such as violations of Ukrainian workers’ rights in the Middle East, arms trafficking, and corruption in the construction sector.

Charities that preserve Ukrainian cultural heritage

  • Parkhomivka Museum: The museum, located in a small village in eastern Kharkiv Oblast, is an 18th-century villa that offers a permanent collection of exhibits by artists as iconic as Picasso, Malevich & Manet. You can support it by coming & buying a ticket.
  • Save Kyiv Modernism: Is a movement that unites architects, designers and activists who advocate for the protection of the remarkable Soviet modernist structures across Ukraine.
  • FrankivskToCareAbout: Is a movement for the preservation of architectural heritage in the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk. Founded in 2016, the initiative renovates old wooden doors of the city’s ancient buildings.

Charities helping with covid

  • Svoyi: Svoyi gives free oxygen concentrators to people who contracted COVID & can’t be hospitalized due to personal circumstances or when hospitals are overflowing. It also helps those discharged too early in favour of patients in more serious conditions.
  • Monsters, Inc.: This organization is based in Odesa and provides emergency medical aid to people living in the region. They also help COVID hospitals, procuring medicines and equipment.

EDIT: 26/2/22 - There have been a lot of requests to add various charities/resources. Usual disclaimer: I am not affiliated with any of these organizations. I am adding a few below. Before donating, PLEASE DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH about them. The one that I will emphasize as legit is directly from the Ukrainian government (first link below). Also, I appreciate the Reddit awards but please save your money and donate to any of the causes instead. And finally, I want to reiterate that all of the credit for the original post above this line goes to the brave journalists at the Kyiv Independent. I am merely someone who compiled their Twitter messages and formatted the links. Please support their work, they are an important voice that is telling the world about what’s going on in Ukraine right now.

From Ukraine’s official Twitter page

Other links. (These below have not been vouched for by the Kyiv Independent, so please for the love of Ukraine DYOR people!):

  • From /u/Zestyclose-Pea-3533 - Orphan’s Aid Society: “OAS provides material and moral support for Ukrainian orphans and half orphans up to 18 years of age. For those orphans pursuing their education in institutions of higher learning stipend assistance can be maintained. OAS focuses on children outside of state funded institutions. It is our belief that a family environment is more conducive to a child’s development than that of an institution. Hence our approach of providing direct financial assistance to guardians and relatives of orphans who might otherwise not be able to support an orphaned child.”
  • From /u/Morkava - Blue Yellow: “This is Lithuanian group that is directly supporting Ukraine militias for 8 years. They have direct contact with them and know the current needs.”
  • From /u/AntoineMichelashvili - The Chabad Center: “The Jewish community in Ukraine is in need of your assistance during these dire times. As the threat of war intensifies, Mishpacha Chabad Odessa is preparing to support the hundreds of Jews who are unable to evacuate the country including orphans, students, and Holocaust survivors. Preparations are also underway to absorb Jewish refugees from the surrounding regions of Kharkiv, Kiev, and Dnieper. $500,000 in donations are urgently needed to purchase medical gear, protective equipment, and basic necessities such as clothes and sleeping bags. Money is also needed to help stock emergency shelters with several tons of cereal, buckwheat, sugar, rice, flour and other non-perishable staples. These donations will also help defray the costs of additional security personnel arriving from Israel to help protect the Jewish community.”
  • From /u/CoinGate - CoinGate - Helping Ukraine collect funds from the crypto community.: “Support Ukraine by donating crypto to the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) special accounts that will be used to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine. All transactions are approved and settled by International Business Settlement in Lithuania (IBS), who will also help ensure the transparency of the movement of the funds.”
  • From /u/waterynike - BStrong: “BStrong in partnership with Global Empowerment Mission has committed to sending 100,000 hygiene kits, blankets, generators, and sleeping bags to Ukraine’s NATO bordering countries.Initial commitment of supplies will exceed $10M. Our teams will be on the ground in Rzeszów Poland (Polish border to Ukraine) starting February 25, 2022 setting up base camp refugee operations with our Polish and Ukrainian partners.”
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Thanks for this thread.

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This is inspiring and heartwarming! Do you know of any efforts to coordinate such a thing? I’d be hesitant to advise our European QT3’ers to just hop in a car and drive in the direction of the Polish-Ukrainian border. ;)

Thanks, it turns out the UNHCR page confirms this.

Thank you, @orald!

Thanks, I’ll put the link in the OP.

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I’ve seen a few Facebook groups like this or something like this Czech endeavour, and I’m pretty sure there’s also a Discord two where people flock to to organize this.

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All I know is that it’s happening through Facebook :)

Here’s the article I read. Requires translation from Danish:

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My experience with UNHCR is that if you donate there they will, for years, send you snail mail and email every single day soliciting further donations. I’d suggest anonymous donations if you go there.

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Seems a small price to pay.

I hear this also from some folks on the forum as to why they don’t donate to candidates they say they support.

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Outstanding thread, thanks for this @ooomalley !

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I said donate anonymously, not don’t donate. Also be aware that $0.35 of every dollar you donate is going toward fundraising for UNHCR and not to relief activities.

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I agree, I prefer the International Rescue Committee https://www.rescue.org/.

You’ll still get solicitations for donations, but mostly by email.
IRC, work helping refugees predated the founding of the UN. I don’t have solid data, but my impression is they are faster and more responsive than UNHCR

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Thanks @Strollen the Program Expense Ratio at 87.8% is much better than UNHCRs.

Thanks for pointing out how high the PER was for the UNHCR @Matt_W

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That’s a great call on the IRC, @Strollen. I’ve actually donated to them before and I don’t know why I didn’t think of them this time. I’ll add it to the list in the OP.

Also, another plug for everyone to write their reps. I pasted my letter in the OP, but you can write your own, doesn’t have to be much.

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I get that perfect efficiency is sort of a thing now with charity but I’m sort of happy to also support the UN as a concept despite being somewhat less efficient rather than another NGO.

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More options from folks at The Obama Foundation.

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Thanks @orald! I’ll add it to the top.

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Cool. I wish there were more visits here and more click throughs. Thanks again for trying to get folks to step up