Helping those affected by the war in Ukraine

Greetings to everyone,

My name is Dmitriy. I was born and raised in Ukraine. The country of my birth holds a special place in my heart for many reasons, but most importantly, I remember the fantastic, kind-hearted people and the eight years that I spent at my Christian school (“Radiance” www.radiance.school), located in the city of Zhytomyr. I was blessed to move to the United States when I was about 14 years old. Through much perseverance and God’s help and guidance, I became an attorney with a primary focus on helping those that were injured and/or wronged by others.

As many of you are aware, on February 24th, 2022, Russian president, Vladimir Putin, began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine under the pretext of a “special military operation”, which simply put is a declaration of war. Since then, Russia has fired over 450 powerful ballistic missiles at dozens of peaceful Ukrainian cities.

The air and ground attacks have led to more than 2,000 Ukrainian civilians being killed, millions wounded, hundreds of thousands fleeing for their lives to nearby countries. But the majority of the population of Ukraine (43+ million) either couldn’t leave or decided to stay and defend their freedom. The majority is still living in a horrifying nightmare with ballistic missiles flying around erratically above their homes, schools, and hospitals. Most of them are not currently employed and are unable to support themselves.

The World took notice as many of us took the fight to social media and blasted Putin’s insane delusions of reestablishing the old Soviet Union by perpetrating genocide of the Ukrainian people. Many countries, businesses, and international leaders have joined the fight and stepped up to help. A myriad of fund-raisers, charities, and crisis funds have been established, and I’m sure most, if not all, of them are legitimate foundations. At first, I also wanted to donate to one of those charities, but then realized that I could make a more significant impact by donating directly to those affected by the war.

 Moreover, if you’re anything like me, then I’m sure you’d agree that it would be great to see what exactly has been done by the charity after you’ve made a donation. For all of the reasons stated above, plus some, I decided to create a small charity – Ukraine Crisis Charity Fund (UCCF). The mission and primary focus of this charity will be to help those in need and dire circumstances directly. To that end, I’ve located several trustworthy individuals (deacons/pastors/leaders of local community) in Kiev and Zhytomyr who will personally help those in need and keep us posted on the progress.

 Here’s how we’ll help those affected by the war:

- Feeding those that are currently living in bomb shelters, including children and orphans;

- Assisting women and children with being evacuated to nearby countries;

- Feeding Ukrainian military and others that are starving; and

- Assisting with local medical emergencies and other needs that our leaders identify in the local communities.

To the extent possible, our leaders will document everything and post it on our Facebook group – Ukraine Crisis Charity Fund (https://www.facebook.com/groups/655743318907182). So far, I’ve posted a few videos and pictures of the current living arrangements.

Any donation is much appreciated! Rest assured that your contribution will go a long way and make a real difference in someone’s life!