As many of you know, I was born and raised in Ukraine and lived there till the age of 23. Both of my parents as well as my brother and his family are still in Ukraine in the city of Donetsk. Since Putin started the full-scale war in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the entire country is in chaos and some parts are already in humanitarian crisis.

There are many official ways to donate to various international organizations to support Ukraine. However, there are also many local organizations and volunteers who are helping people during the war times reaching deeper into the communities than big organizations can reach. They are providing food, medication and shelter to the elderly in need, helping orphanages, helping people who lost their homes etc. They are buying the food and supplies with their own money or the money raised from people locally.

Because I have family in Ukraine, I have a way to reach those local organizations and volunteers directly and to distribute the money to where it’s needed most. This fundraiser is designed to raise money for those local organizations that are boots on the ground and are trusted by the locals and whom you cannot reach otherwise through official online sources.

At the moment, there is no way to transfer the money over there and to take it out of the bank machines there. But the acute phase of the war will be over at some point (hopefully soon) and by then, I will already have this money ready to send over as soon as possible. There is and will be a huge number of elderly and kids in need, and this money will help them as soon as possible. All the money raised will go to support only humanitarian needs of people who need them most. You’ll just have to trust my character and my judgement on that, I’ll find a way.  

Thank you for all your support! Truly appreciate it.

Lena