The accidental activist...

I connected in early March 2022 with a few World Central Kitchen volunteers on the ground in Poland at the border of Ukraine. One colleague had helped set up the kitchen and shortly after, another volunteer, Holly Connor, my angel on the ground, was not only cooking in the kitchen, she was helping refugees relocate, so I launched a GoFundMe campaign to help her fund transportation, accommodations, supplies and other needs as Ukrainians crossed the border to safety. I was hoping for a few hundred dollars. Within a week, the campaign received $10,000, and the rest is history! 

I arrived in Poland three months later, in early Summer 2022, to cook with World Central Kitchen for six weeks on the border. While there, I partnered with other NGOs including  UAid.Direct, UkrainianChildren.org, KHARPP and later upon returning to the US, Leleka Foundation and Rotary International, in supplying food, water, clothing, hygiene, medical aid, military clothing and supplies, wood-burning stoves to survive the winter and more life-saving items and services.

Over $100,000 has generously been donated since then and distributed directly to Ukrainians with a small portion going to support the dedicated and selfless volunteers that run these organizations, risking their lives every day to deliver food and supplies to people in need. Many of the people, projects and donations area detailed here on the initial campaign's GoFundMe page.
 

We continue to support families we meet along the way and the organizations above and a few new ones so please consider contributing. Every dollar helps. Every dollar saves lives. Every dollar creates a ripple of impact - we have great ROI! - and enough ripples create a wave so please join me in creating another wave of humanitarian aid as we work on our next very exciting projects that I describe below.

Mykolaiv Orphanage Renovation: In January 2024, I joined the UAid Direct humanitarian aid run to the southeast front lines. On the way, we stopped at an orphanage in Mykolaiv who had requested help renovating some of the infrastructure. We fell in love with them and are doing much more than their original request. We kitted out all the teen boys with soccer uniforms and equipment; we purchased 10 looms for the art room; we are launching a mental health initiative called "The School of Joy" with Dr Natalia Piskova teaching all the children as well as the all the staff mindfulness, meditation and MBSR to help heal trauma and better manage the continual air raid sirens and trips to the bomb shelters; and we have an incredible partnership with the Odessa Police Academy where they work with the children once a month on prevalent issues such as bullying, domestic violence, self-defense and more. 

Wood-burning Stoves: The past two winters, we have supplied much of the east and southeast front line villages, shelters, trenches, schools and homes with wood-burning stoves as the power grid is constantly targeted and bombed. You can find one of our stove an average of every 20km from Kherson to Dnipro along the front lines, saving lives in these brutal winters. In 2022, we focused on Eastern Ukraine; in 2023, we made a huge impact narrowing our focus on the southeast front lines.

Clowns without Borders: The past two years, James the Clown has brought love, laughter, joy, and awe to tens of thousands of children (and adults!) in hospitals, schools, orphanages and underground bunkers across Ukraine with his joyful programs, infectious laugh, kind heart and mysterious magic tricks. James also went (and continues to) go viral across Ukrainian Instagram for riding his Penny Farthing bike through the center of downtown Kyiv during a demonstration. We will continue to work with James to ensure the children of Ukraine have a little love and laughter in their lives a few times a year. 

Food/Hygiene Program: This past winter we supplied seven (7) villages with food and hygiene boxes, feeding and caring for ~2,000 people for close to four (4) months. We are looking to expand our reach four-fold this coming winter of 2024-25.  

Slava Ukraini! Heroyam Slava! Thank you! We couldn't do this work without kind, generous souls and the tireless, brave team on the ground so a huge thank you to you all! Dyakuyu!