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Come Together – How to Help the People of Ukraine Today
Forget about borders and politics. The people of Ukraine are suffering immensely. Here’s how you can help.
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We’re all familiar with what’s happening in Ukraine. At the time of writing, the Council on Foreign Relations estimates that since Russia’s invasion began on February 24, over two million Ukrainian refugees have fled the country. The UN believes that the invasion could eventually create as many as seven million refugees, catalyzing Europe’s largest humanitarian crisis since the Balkan Wars of the 1990s.
As of March 7, verified civilian casualties number around 1,200, though the true numbers may be much higher. Ukraine’s emergency services reported on March 2 that they believe civilian deaths already number over 2,000.
What does the war have to do with indoor skydiving?
There are public wind tunnels in both Ukraine AND Russia. In fact, the ISS database shows that today, there are wind tunnels in almost 60 different countries around the world.
Anyone who has been involved in the sport for any amount of time will have made friends from all around the world. Bodyflight lets us rise above politics, nationality, race, gender, religion, and age.
Here at ISS, we’re passionate about connecting flyers together, giving them a resource to experience the sport no matter where they are in the world. However, we also feel it’s our obligation to provide resources to help our flyers give back, when and if they can.
As we highlighted in a recent feature on the site, it doesn’t matter whether you’re an 85-year-old American veteran who is confined to a wheelchair, a 12-year-old Russian child suffering from cerebral palsy, or a fit, healthy, 19-year-old from Singapore, when flying in the tunnel, you’re on equal ground.
Boris Nebe, Managing Director at Indoor Skydiving Germany, tells ISS, “The skydiving and windtunnel community is super international and we are above and beyond any borders or political systems. Anybody has a reason for his own understanding of what is happening in the world right now. I believe that we all want it to end as fast as possible and with the least possible amount of victims and horror.”
It’s easy to see all this horror in Ukraine on your television screen, on social media, on YouTube, and feel impotent. You might watch the bombs dropping on civilian buildings, the photos of injured women and children, the tides of refugees, and feel powerless to help.
But there ARE ways to help, even from your desk at home. There are dozens of organizations that are working on the ground, both in Ukraine and in neighboring countries, helping provide medical aid, food and water, shelter, and other crucial supplies for the Ukrainian people affected by this tragedy.
Below we’ve pulled together a list of nonprofits working to curb the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. We’ve grouped them into categories to make it easier to navigate but bear in mind that many of these organizations fit into multiple categories:
Support Children in Ukraine
Save the Children
There’s no safe place in #Ukraine, and the situation is changing by the hour.
We’re ready to provide assistance such as food, water & safe places for kids as people flee amid freezing temperatures and brutal conditions.
But we need your help. Donate now. https://t.co/87YU044jMJ
— Save the Children US (@SavetheChildren) February 25, 2022
This youth-focused nonprofit is working in Ukraine to aid children caught in the middle of the armed conflict, forced from their homes in freezing temperatures, and exposed to injury, hunger, and cold.
They estimate that over 400,000 children live in areas at high risk of the direct impacts of the presence of soldiers and artillery, including being injured or killed by guns, landmines, and explosive weapons, or being displaced from their homes. Donations will help provide children and families with immediate aid, such as food, water, hygiene kits, psychosocial support, and cash assistance.
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Voices
This Ukraine-based nonprofit provides psychological and psychosocial support to children and has been working in conflict areas in eastern Ukraine since 2015. Their stated objective “is that every child who has suffered from the war in Ukraine must get psychological help in time.”
They provide therapy and support via a variety of methods, including art workshops, mobile therapists, and digital content creation, where young children can create videos, write essays, and paint pictures to share their stories and get their voices heard.
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UNICEF
We are horrified by the reported attack today on a maternity hospital in Mariupol, #Ukraine.
Full statement from @unicefchief.
— UNICEF (@UNICEF) March 9, 2022
UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) is working in Ukraine to provide a variety of supplies, including personal protective equipment to protect health workers from COVID-19 as they respond to the health needs of children and families, as well as other medical supplies, including medicine, first aid kits, midwifery kits, and surgical equipment, and early childhood and recreational kits. More supplies, including 17,000 blankets and warm winter clothing for children, are also en route via Poland. The first UNICEF convoy reached Lviv on March 5.
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Provide Medical Support
Sunflower of Peace
Our volunteers are hard at work preparing the shipment for Ukraine. It is incredible to see the amount of donations and we are all so grateful for your help! ?#Ukraine #StopWarInUkraine #StandWithUkraine #HelpUkraine #SupportUkraine #SunflowerOfPeace pic.twitter.com/sT1DodfmBk
— Sunflower of Peace (@SunflowerFund) March 4, 2022
This Boston nonprofit, founded in 2014, is currently working exclusively to mobilize support and aid for Ukrainian orphans, internally displaced persons, and others affected by the conflict, providing medical assistance and other necessities. Currently, the organization is raising money to distribute first-aid backpacks, medicine, medical instruments, and other supplies for Ukrainians in need. They’re also currently looking for logistics partners, volunteers in the US, and volunteer organizations in Europe.
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Doctors Without Borders
First #MSF emergency medical supplies arrived in #Ukraine. 05 March.
The shipment includes:
-> surgical kits
-> trauma kits
-> chronic disease medications
-> mass casualty supplies
MORE SUPPLIES COMING!!! pic.twitter.com/5GKvVLrmQ3— MSF Ukraine (@MSF_Ukraine) March 6, 2022
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international medical nonprofit with teams currently working in Ukraine, Poland, Moldova, Hungary, Slovakia, Russia, and Belarus to provide aid for those affected by the war in Ukraine.
MSF reported that their first shipment of emergency supplies was received by the Ukrainian Ministry of Health in Kyiv on March 6. The shipment includes surgical kits, trauma kits, and necessities for intensive care units, emergency rooms, and surgical operating theaters—approximately 1,400 cubic feet of supplies.
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Red Cross
Many of you are asking about our work in #Ukraine, as the situation becomes increasingly dire and desperate.
In just 2 weeks:
? Homes have been reduced to rubble
? Families have no food, no water, no heat, no medical care
? 2 million people have fled
What are we doing? ?
— ICRC (@ICRC) March 9, 2022
The International Committee of the Red Cross has worked in Ukraine since 2014, and currently, the Red Cross team in Ukraine is one of its largest in the world, with over 600 staff members.
Red Cross support includes emergency assistance like food, water, and other essential items in addition to supporting hospitals and primary healthcare facilities with medical equipment and emergency preparedness. The Red Cross also repairs water stations, helps rehabilitate damaged homes, and aids in reconnecting families separated by the conflict.
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Humanitarian
Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain
This group is a community partnership of Ukrainian churches and other organizations in Great Britain. They’re running a GoFundMe in collaboration with a variety of accredited Ukrainian charities to provide medicine, food, and other supplies and services to support Ukrainians in need.
Donations will go towards immediate emergency and ongoing needs, like blankets, food and hygiene packs, medicine packs, crisis counseling, and support services. You can visit their GoFundMe page (below) to learn more.
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CARE
International nonprofit CARE is aiming to support the most vulnerable Ukrainians, especially female-led households and the elderly. The goal of their Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis Fund is to provide life-saving assistance to 4 million people impacted by the conflict.
CARE’s priority is to meet the immediate needs of affected families through the distribution of critical food and water supplies, as well as hygiene kits, cash assistance, and psychosocial support.
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Refugee Support
UNHCR
Right now, the crisis in Ukraine is forcing families to flee their homes.
Please make a donation today to send lifesaving aid to displaced Ukrainians, and @VancityReynolds & @blakelively will match your gift $1-for-$1 up to $1,000,000.https://t.co/1CHpm9CqUl
— USA for UNHCR (@UNRefugeeAgency) February 26, 2022
The UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) is a UN Agency mandated to aid refugees, as well as forcibly displaced communities and stateless people.
The UNHCR has been working in Ukraine since 1994 and is currently distributing emergency supply kits with items such as thermal blankets and water cans. They are setting up transit centers to assess the needs of newly displaced people and provide temporary shelter, in addition to providing the most vulnerable families with cash assistance to address urgent needs.
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Animal Welfare
PETA
After four long, difficult trips, PETA Germany has rescued more than 300 dogs & cats from Ukraine—& they’re not stopping now.
Here are some of the animals they’ve transported out of the conflict zone who will be reunited with their families or adopted into safe homes ❤️ pic.twitter.com/8lQKPTBYly
— PETA (@peta) March 10, 2022
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is, by their words, “the largest animal rights organization in the world.” PETA works through public education, investigative newsgathering and reporting, research, animal rescue, legislation, special events, celebrity involvement, and protest campaigns.
They are currently working inside Ukraine to find animals that have been abandoned by their owners and take them to neighboring countries where new owners can be found.
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Lastly, find out what is being done in your local area to support the crisis. Many local initiatives have been set up to send supplies to Ukraine, support refugees, find housing for animals, etc.
And remember, it’s not all about money. Your time and energy can be just as valuable.
Published: March 10, 2022 | Last Updated: March 10, 2022
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