March 23, 2023
49,436 people evacuated from danger to date
264 people evacuated from danger this week
31 trips into the deoccupied and frontline territories
Please RSVP here Please submit any questions here, you will also get a chance to ask questions at the webinar.
Last week marked one year of Ukraine TrustChain. From its inception, UTC has demonstrated the possibilities of local, grass-roots volunteer efforts in making a deep impact on communities in Ukraine suffering under war. The brave volunteer teams which we support in Ukraine risk their lives daily to help civilians on the ground by providing food, shelter, evacuations, heat, medical supplies and therapies, housing repairs, children’s supplies, therapies, and other everyday needs to sustain people. To date, UTC has deployed over $3.6 million to support Ukrainians, but these funds, with the creativity and depth of knowledge that our volunteers hold, serve hundreds of thousands far beyond their face value. Our volunteers have become a life source for so many, especially those who live in remote villages, sometimes hundreds of miles from big cities, with no water, no electricity, and no access to reliable food and healthcare sources, all while in danger of being wounded or killed by Russians shelling.
We remain incredibly grateful to all of you for responding to our organization’s mission to support Ukraine through networks of local volunteers. Thank you for your continued emotional and financial support and for putting your trust in us.
Ukraine Team Milestones
Ihor — Dobra Sprava (Good Cause)
This was the second week of our partnership with this highly efficient organization concentrating on evacuations from the hot zones in Eastern Ukraine. Most evacuations continue to come from Chasiv Yar, Kramatorsk, and Kostyantynivka. These towns are likely to become the next line of defense for Ukraine if the current budget is West. This prospect is pushing people to evacuate after they’ve tried to hold on to their homes for so long.
Last week Dobra Sprava evacuated 192 people with most of UTC support going to fuel and repair costs.
Kseniia’s Team - NGO Livyj Bereh
Svetlana, a volunteer from Kherson we support through Kseniia, brought aid to two villages around Kherson – Chaykine and Ivanivka. Ivanivka, in particular, sits right on the bank of the Dnipro River and, as a result, is being shelled by Russians from the occupied territories across the River. In addition to the artillery fire, our Kherson volunteers have to manage to complete their trip through unpredictable roads within the narrow curfew window, because in Kherson the curfew sets in at 5pm giving volunteers only 10 hours daily to complete their missions. Volunteers choose to use that time to help the villages suffering from Russian artillery.
Kseniia’s Livyj Bereh reported 8 more roofs completed, with the materials funded by our community’s donations. As we write this letter we are preparing to celebrate the 100th home completed by Livyj Bereh, a major milestone in reviving lives in Kharkiv area villages.
Inna’s Team - Krok z Nadiyeyu
Inna Kampen’s organization provided 8,700 people with aid packages and bread to 11,000 more. The most difficult trips were to the Kherson region to the towns of Berislav and Davydov Brot that suffer from daily shellings that Russia undertakes to terrorize the civilian population. One of the volunteers took three trips to Konstantynivka, Druzhkivka and Dobropillia - in the most dangerous parts of the Ukraine-controlled Donetsk region. Konstantynivka, in particular, is under continuous fire, yet many of its residents refuse to leave and are planning to stay and plant their gardens. Another team went to Myrne, Novoocheretuvate (send us your version of pronouncing this name), and Poddubne.
In recent weeks, Inna’s team, with a new level of energy and inisght of local needs, poured their efforts into the agrarian project which aims to support Ukrainian villages with seeds, tools and materials to restore life in their villages. What started as an ambitious project to provide targeted help to 5,000 families has grown into a massive effort covering 14,200 families in 30 locations in seven regions. Building on the diligent record-keeping work that Inna’s team performed in prior months, they carefully vetted each recipient during previous distributions.
While distributing seeds, the team also provided 200 households with essential materials to repair their homes. We continue to work together to support a deep effort aimed at rejuvenating Ukraine’s rural communities damaged by this war.
Natasha’s Team - Vysnia Volunteer Center
As soon as she returned from her expedition to the Kherson region, Natalia received a notice from her landlord asking her to vacate the space and storage facilities over the next three days. We are grateful to the owner, though, who allowed Natasha to stay in that location for more than 9 months without paying rent. Ukraine TrustChain hosted two summits in this space and will miss it dearly.
This week, Natalia had to resolve the tough logistical challenges of moving her office with many pallets of food still being distributed and stored. The new space Natalia found will require paying $350 in monthly rent.
Meanwhile, the Kryviy Rih team went to the Kherson region again bringing in seeds and potatoes specifically suitable for planting. This delivery is part of a larger effort across UTC teams to support villages during the upcoming planting season.
Pavel’s Team — Touch of Heart and Dawn of Hope
Last week, Pavel was dealing with a leg injury and Olena was recovering from surgery.
5,700 people received help this week. 11 tons of aid were pushed to the villages of Musykivka, Balabanovka and Novomykolayivka. On a separate trip, the team delivered mattresses and 1.5 tons of potatoes. 112 tons of firewood were delivered to Mykolayiv for future distributions in the area. Firewood is not only a source of warmth, while temperatures are still below 10 celsius, but it is also essential for cooking food in villages that do not have access to natural gas.
Pavel continues to push aid into Zaporizhzhya which, this week, became the site of another horrific terrorist attack. At the moment Pavel’s team is UTC’s main channel to support the Zaporizhzhya area.
Oleksandr’s Volunteer Network
Pavlo V’s Dnipro team delivered 2,500 kg of groceries to Slovians’k. So near to the front, the deliveries are made to the sound of explosions and sirens, but the people here wait their turn patiently to receive help. 750 kg of groceries were delivered to Kostyantynivka and Druzhkivka each. Kostyantynivka and Druzhkivka were relatively calm a month ago, but enemy artillery is now increasing rapidly. In Kostyantynivka, over the past three days, Russian artillery, including jet artillery, has attacked the city more than 25 times, injuring 13 people, killing one and destroying more than a dozen houses.
438 kg of oil and wheat and 210 grocery sets were delivered to Kramatorsk, where the situation is dire and shelling is becoming more frequent. The team also distributed 400 kg of grains and 36 kg of salt in Pokrovsk and 180 kg of grocery sets in Hirnyk and Kurakhove.
Boyarka coordinator Oleksandr S shared a story of veterinarian Artem from Krasnopillya who risked his life to save a family’s cow in the village of Myropil's'ke, Sumy Region. This village, located on the border with Russia, is constantly under fire. 14 families still live there, but shops do not work and there is no one to deliver food. One of the families in Myropil's'ke, keeps some cows and survives on their milk. This week, a cow fell critically ill but the local veterinarians from surrounding villages refused to treat it. The road to Myropil's'ke passes along the border, with Russian artillery pieces visible along the way and is considered too dangerous for passage. Artem made the harrowing drive to the village and managed to save the cow.
In Odessa, Sandra S’ kitchen fed more than 600 people, including bedridden patients. The kitchen has scaled down its work to Wednesdays and Thursdays only for the next month.
Andriy P in Chernivtsi loaded a truck with groceries, hygiene, disposable dishes (for Sandra S’s kitchen), children's stationery and clothes, suitcases and shoes, as well as boxes of apples from Bukovyna. This aid will be delivered to IDPs in Mykolaiv and to de-occupied villages in the Mykolaiv and Kherson regions.
Oksana K in Lutsk brought back aid from Warsaw. Sports clothes and shoes for 40 children were taken to a sports school in Barvinkove in the Kharkiv Region. Food kits, energy supplies and hygiene products were distributed to individuals in the 53rd army battalion. 50 children with disabilities received hats and backpacks. Hygiene products and food were sent to families in Zazimya (Kyiv Region), military personnel in Donetsk, IDPs in Lutsk Mykolaiv and to communities on the Belarusian border.
Oleksandr Z Lutsk NGO "Star of Hope," distributed 120 pairs of glasses and sunglasses in Olyka at a psychoneurological dispensary, which helps mentally ill IDPs as well as local patients. 86 pairs of eyeglasses and sunglasses were also issued in Lutsk to parents of children with disabilities. “Star of Hope” held art therapy classes at the “Star of Hope” center, at the Volyn state rehabilitation center and in the refugee center at Adrenaline City.
Vladyslav K’s team in Mykolaiv delivered 24 tons of water, nine tons of groceries and 300 grocery sets to the city. Natalia B in Kherson distributed dairy products to local families. Viktor V in Lutsk distributed 55 food and hygiene kits for IDPs in the cities of Lutsk and Blahodatne and in the village of Pavlivka.
Tetiana’s Team - Dopomoha Poruch
This week Tetiana’s team distributed 250 aid packages to refugees in Smila. They also made a trip to the village of Sanzharyha and brought aid packages to 25 local families.
Finally the team prepared and distributed 30 packages for socially vulnerable people in Smila.
Karina’s Team - We Save Dnipro
Karina joined our UTC volunteer Zoom call this past Sunday. She talked about her volunteering, her views on what kind of help is most needed, her efforts to improve life in the shelter. Currently, Karina is trying to help people in the shelter with job placement and help the displaced children in the shelter with emotional rehabilitation, singing up several teens for boxing lessons and taking the children to indoor entertainment venues. She wants to give children back some of the childhood they lost to war.
Additionally this week, Karina’s team delivered medicine (sedatives, antibiotics) to two clinics in the Donetsk region, as well as some food to the people there, supported evacuations of 29 people this week and 43 evacuations we failed to report last week, and housed 92 people in the shelter (plus two kittens).
Angelia - Mobile Clinic
On March 16, the mobile clinic visited Boryspil’ – a city near Kyiv with a large airport. Currently, Boryspil’ is home to many internally displaced people (IDP’s) from the east. The clinic included a family doctor, an ENT, a gynecologist, and lab equipment for blood, urine and lipid analysis.
77 patients were served, receiving 260 services. Among them was a family from Avdiivka, deep in the occupied part of Donetsk, who amazingly managed to get out to safety a day before a shell hit their house. They were finally able to receive medical care.
Marina’s Team — Good Give Ukraine
Marina provided food and clothes for internally displaced people in distribution centers. Food packages were delivered in the Saksahan territorial community. Marina's team sent aid to Fedorivka village and carried on delivering food packages to the homes of elderly and disabled people.
Andriy’s Team - BF Pomahaem
60 people continue to live in Andriy’s shelter in Voloske. Currently, Andriy’s warehouse has completed giving out aid to refugees in Dnipro. Last week, they provided help to 686 people, 387 of whom were children. 30 more vetted foster homes are receiving smaller 100 lb 2.5 kwt generators that we delivered to Andriy’s warehouse earlier.
Andriy has been in a fascinating battle with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Andriy takes an extremely open, critical position highlighting the corruption in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the affiliation of its top clergy with Moscow church officials. This position has led even to the petition to expel Andriy. Although this has not in any way impacted our work with Andriy’s team, we have immense respect for his brave position and his ability to withstand the public and toxic attacks from those who refuse to acknowledge the problems that persist within UOC which used to be part of Moscow Patriarchate.
Timur’s Team – Timur and Team
This was a week of recuperation and preparation. Several team members who were sick, including Timur, are now on their way to recovery. One team member had to have surgery (unrelated to volunteer work) so the whole team visited him in the hospital to support him. The remaining time, they focused on deliveries to seniors with disabilities in their local area. They delivered aid to 130 households and started staging for larger long-distance deliveries for the following week. They plan to return to Kupiansk and other areas close to the front line.
Dina’s Team - Vilni Liudy – Vilna Krayina
This week VL-VK distributed 747 food and hygiene packages. Additionally, thanks to a generous grant from Carry the Future, the volunteers were able to provide diapers to displaced children and people with disabilities.
Funding from Ukraine TrustChain allows Dina’s team to pay for deliveries of humanitarian aid supplied by other organizations. As a result, this week they were able to distribute medicine and 3 tons of pet food.
How to Help
Donate - The money goes directly to teams providing aid on the ground, who respond dynamically to the most urgent needs.
Fundraise - Organize fundraisers at your school, work, place of worship, with friends and family, etc.
Spread the word - Share our website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn with your friends, family, and colleagues.
Fill out this form if you’re interested in volunteering with us, and we’ll let you know when opportunities come up.
Download and print our flyer. Ask your local coffee shop if you can add it to the bulletin, or use it as part of your fundraiser.