We are excited to share with you our series Razom Says Dyakuyu. “Dyakuyu” means “thank you” in Ukrainian. Our work supporting Ukraine and getting humanitarian aid on the ground where it is needed most, would not be possible without the generous donations made by donors. With this series, we are highlighting some of the amazing donors and unique fundraisers that have supported Razom.
Theater has always been an important tool during dark times and today it acts as a creative outlet and a way to help Ukraine since russia’s brutal, full-scale invasion in February.
Razom is grateful to have become a beneficiary of Shakespeare with Benefits, a theater company of professional actors who perform a “bard-based variety show” and raise funds for various charitable organizations working towards the betterment of our shared society.
“As we watched the horror of Putin’s illegal and immoral war on Ukraine unfold, everyone desperately wanted to help,” said Kate Konigisor, founder and director of Shakespeare with Benefits. “So, as actors we did what we do best and mobilized our theater company to perform our show in order to raise more funds than any of us could have individually.”
On Tuesday, May 10, the actors performed in front of a packed house at the West End Theater in the historic Church of St. Paul & St. Andrew – a space that gives non-profit professional theater groups a platform. Viewers were captivated by the witty performances of well-known and lesser-known plays of the Bard of Avon. Two Razom representatives spoke with those in attendance about the work our volunteers do to help people on the ground in Ukraine.
In addition to staging the performance, the team of Shakespeare with Benefits actors organized an online GoFundMe campaign and put together a set of prizes to be raffled off. As a result, close to $14,000 was collected and transferred to Razom’s Emergency Response project.
“Razom for Ukraine was the perfect beneficiary because of the vital work they are doing in Ukraine, getting medical supplies where needed and so much more,” Konigisor said.
Razom and all the people who we’ve been able to support on the ground in Ukraine during the war say “dyakuyu” to Shakespeare with Benefits for their creativity and support!
We are excited to share with you our series Razom Says Dyakuyu. “Dyakuyu” means “thank you” in Ukrainian. Our work supporting Ukraine and getting humanitarian aid on the ground where it is needed most, would not be possible without the generous donations made by donors. Within this series we are highlighting some of the thousands of amazing donors and fundraisers that Razom has been very fortunate to gain support of.
Students at Northeastern University in Boston came together to fundraise more than $30,000 for Ukrainian relief efforts this spring. Ukrainian-American students Deanna Zawadiwsky, Terenia Hankewycz, and Zachar Hankewycz organized a Ukrainian Cultural Club at the University with Deanna becoming its first president, Terenia vice-president, and Zachar its treasurer.
The students sent Razom a detailed letter on how they started the club, fundraised, and got their community involved. We are reprinting their letter, written by current Northeastern University Ukrainian Cultural Club president Zachar, in the hopes that it may inspire other students.
Razom and all the people who we’ve been able to support on the ground in Ukraine during the war say “dyakuyu” to Deanna, Terenia, Zachar, and all the students at Northeastern University who contributed.
Letter from Zachar Hankewycz, Current President of Northeastern University Ukrainian Cultural Club:
At the start of the academic year, the Ukrainian Cultural Club didn’t officially exist at Northeastern University. We were an informal group of 5-10 Ukrainians who met up occasionally for social and cultural events (like cooking varenyky and creating pysanky). Most of us were from the Ukrainian diaspora, and many of us knew each other before college through Plast.
The night the war started, we all knew we had to do something. The thought of sitting through lectures or work as if nothing had changed was just unbearable, so we decided to hold a rally and fundraise the very next day. Each of us took a day off from work or classes. In the morning, we made signs and printed leaflets to hand out; at noon, we gathered in a central location on campus.
Our original group was small, and although we tried to publicize our event, we didn’t expect many participants on such short notice. But we were shocked – students showed up from all around the Boston area, from BU, Suffolk University, Berklee, and Tufts, to name a few. Many were Ukrainian, but we were also joined by students of various other backgrounds, stopping by between classes to hold a sign and support us.
Our initial fundraising goal was $1,000, and to incentivize donations, our group decided that we’d collectively match any donations we received that day. We ended up raising almost $4000 (not including the matching donations)!
After that, we decided two things: that we would continue holding fundraisers, and that we should become an official club. We wanted every Ukrainian student at Northeastern to know that they are not alone, that they have support. With the help of the Center for Intercultural Engagement, we were able to obtain official club status at Northeastern.
So the next week, we did the same thing. We prepared our signs, took a day off, and continued fundraising. Our members made leaflets, posters, stickers, origami flowers, and flag pins to help fundraise. One of our members organized a fundraising fair, and reached out to local businesses for product donations which we could sell. We were joined by the Art Blanche club for the fair, where we sold food and art, played Ukrainian music, and handed out leaflets about the war in Ukraine (and how people can help out). On April 7th, we coordinated a national vigil with over 20 Ukrainian organizations in American universities. Standing on the steps of the central building on campus, with the flag of Ukraine alongside the American flag on the rooftop, our members spoke about Ukraine’s history, its people, and their suffering.
Along the way, various other organizations at Northeastern reached out, asking how they could help. Alpha Epsilon Pi, BURSA (Burmese Student Association), Active Minds, Studio Art Club, Art Blanche, AMSA (American Medical Student Association), and others all held fundraisers for Ukraine, and asked us for advice on potential recipients of these donations.
We’re glad that we’ve managed to connect with so many Ukrainians, including fellow students, in the Boston area as a result, although we wish it was under happier circumstances. Everyone helped out, and everyone supported one another. At the start, there were few of us and we were disorganized; now, we’re an official club with many new members, and we plan to continue fundraising for as long as there is a need.
We are excited to share with you our series Razom Says Dyakuyu. Dyakuyu means “thank you” in Ukrainian. Our work supporting Ukraine and getting humanitarian aid on the ground where it is needed most, would not be possible without generous donors. With this series we are highlighting some of the amazing donors and fundraisers that have supported Razom.
Walking into elementary school P.S. 340 in Manhattan, our Razom representatives knew exactly where to go for their meeting with third graders who had raised funds for our Emergency Response project. The bulletin board next to one classroom displayed pictures of blue and yellow squares with Razom’s logo along with peace signs, Ukrainian flags, and multi-color hand drawn calls to action, “Help Save Ukraine,” “Peace to Ukraine,” and “Support Razom Together.”
Invited by the school’s principal, Razom volunteers came to visit the young students and accept a check for $2,103. The students wanted to hand their donation to us directly and learn about the ways the funds they collected would help Ukraine.
When the kremlin began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, families across the United States sat down with their children and discussed what individuals could do to help Ukraine. There is always something people in a position of safety can do to help those in imminent danger. Ellie, one of the students, and her family started having conversations on how they could help. They came up with the idea of collecting money that could be donated to help people in Ukraine. Within a few days, Ellie proposed an event and planned it in collaboration with her class.
“The whole school made bracelets and had a fundraiser sale in front of the school,” said a parent of one of the students who participated in the charity sale. Bracelets full of blue and yellow beads were arranged with white beads spelling out the words “peace,” “love,” and “Ukraine.” The bracelets didn’t have a set price. They were offered up for sale to the school community at whatever rates people wished to donate. Parents, teachers, and a wider community participated in the sale. Several hours later, the students counted over $2,000 contributed from the compassionate crowd.
“Everyone was very supportive. Some people gave us all the cash they had with them at the moment,” said one of the students when called on by a teacher to share their impressions with Razom volunteers.Gathered in a semi-circle in front of us, the students one after another posed questions and expressed their thoughts.
Razom and all the people who we’ve been able to support on the ground in Ukraine during the war say “dyakuyu” to P.S. 340 for their support!
We are excited to share with you our series Razom Says Dyakuyu. Dyakuyu means “thank you” in Ukrainian. Our work supporting Ukraine and getting humanitarian aid on the ground where it is needed most, would not be possible without generous donors. With this series we are highlighting some of the amazing donors and fundraisers that have supported Razom.
It is with deep gratitude for solidarity and support that one of the representatives of Razom for Ukraine traveled to JFK airport on 12 July to accept the kind donation of $31,000 from the Terminal 4 team.
The contributed funds had been collected by John F. Kennedy International Airport JFKIAT through the coin collection program of Terminal 4. Within this program, for a period of two months, several coin collection boxes were installed throughout the concourse to provide the passengers and employees with an opportunity to make their contribution towards Ukraine’s achievement of decisive victory. The strategically placed boxes offered people to donate to Razom as well as to learn of additional ways of supporting our organization’s humanitarian relief efforts.
Throughout March and April, the passengers of “one of the most active air terminals in the New York area” made their charitable donations and familiarized themselves with Razom. Having strived to achieve justice for our shared humanity through many other philanthropic actions — such as employee volunteering and community outreach — the JFKIAT team acted on their charitable financial contribution experience and matched the gathered funds for an even greater impact.
“We are devastated by this war and the detrimental impact it has been having on millions of people in Ukraine,” said Roel Huinink, President and CEO of JFKIAT. “We stand with the people of Ukraine, and we hope this donation will help to provide relief and support.”
If we think of the hundreds of thousands and maybe even millions of people that had learned about Razom having passed by the coin boxes with the organization’s logos at the JFK terminal, it is safe to say that JFKIAT’s fundraising project is the gift that will keep on giving.
With Razom volunteers working tirelessly on achieving the speedier victory, we are grateful and say dyakuyu to JFKIAT for their trust in us as an organization to turn their support into the aid to the people of Ukraine!
We are excited to share with you our series Razom Says Dyakuyu. “Dyakuyu” means “thank you” in Ukrainian. Our work supporting Ukraine and getting humanitarian aid on the ground where it is needed most, would not be possible without the generous donations made by donors. Within this series we will be highlighting some of the thousands of amazing donors and fundraisers that Razom has been very fortunate to gain support of.
Razom for Ukraine was truly honored to be selected as one of the recipients of the Humble Bundle’s “Stand With Ukraine” charity effort and was awarded $5.07 million. It was to-date the largest single donation we have ever received at Razom.
Since russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, Razom has been an awe-struck witness of all the different and creative ways businesses have raised and donated funds to support the Ukrainian people. Humble Bundle, a digital storefront for games, e-books, and software, strongly focused on charitable work, joined forces with game creators, publishers, and software makers who donated their items putting together an online “Stand with Ukraine” bundle with 100% of proceeds going to humanitarian relief in Ukraine.
“Like others around the world, we’ve been dismayed by the invasion of Ukraine and the resulting tragedies… together with our industry partners, we were able to bring in over $20 million for Ukraine – the single largest donation we’ve been able to make in our 11-year history. We’re extremely grateful to our community for their care and action in supporting this important cause. Even though it can’t undo the pain and devastation caused by the invasion, the funding will go a very long way in feeding, sheltering, and providing medical care for millions of refugees who have fled Ukraine since the start of the war.” – Kamini Tiwari, VP Social Impact, Humble Bundle shared in a feature article in Forbes.
Humble Bundle introduction to Razom came through one of its co-founders John Graham and his wife Olga. After a quick conversation facilitated by a common friend with one of Razom’s volunteers during the early days of March, they were inspired by Razom’s mission and concrete actions. John and Olga thought of this opportunity to help Razom raise funds and connected the dots with Humble Bundle. John worked tirelessly to enable this bundle on the back end and it certainly delivered most impressive results.
People around the globe purchased the Stand with Ukraine bundle that featured games, including Metro Exodus, developed by 4A Games (which has a studio in Kyiv), books, including Pathfinder 2nd Edition Core Rulebook, and software, including GameMaker Studio 2 Creator.
Humble Bundle’s effort from March 18 to 25 raised over $20.7 million with 473,945 bundles purchased. Razom for Ukraine received a fourth of the funds – equaling over $5M. As Dora Chomiak, Razom President, said: “From all of us at Razom, our wholehearted thank-you goes to Humble Bundle for your so not-humble, but extremely generous, support of our work. Your donation had a major impact enabling us to scale our efforts in providing critical, life-saving aid to the people of Ukraine.”
Thanks to our incredible donors, including the outstanding support of Humble Bundle, Razom for Ukraine:
Shipped hundreds of tons of tactical medical equipment and critical medical supplies to Ukraine:
Assembled more than 43,000 individual first aid kits (IFAKs) and over 900 medical backpacks.
Made hundreds of trips carrying tactical medicine cargo (fulfilling over 1000 deliveries) prioritizing hot spot cities and regions where Ukrainians are actively repelling russian invaders.
Evacuated 31 families (totaling over 500 people) with children with special needs to safety.
Partnered with more than 40 organizations on the ground to provide tens of thousands of hot meals, distribute thousands of grocery packages to the elderly and disabled, support families of veterans, renovate homes for displaced families. We have deployed over $1.6M for these programs to date.
Humble Bundle continues supporting Ukraine and Razom through their work contributing a portion of the proceeds from their other bundles.
Razom and all the Ukrainians who have received much-needed help say, “dyakuyu” – Ukrainian for thank you – to Humble Bundle.
This post is part of our series Razom Says “Dyakuyu.” Dyakuyu means “thank you” in Ukrainian. Our work supporting Ukraine and getting humanitarian aid on the ground where it is needed most, would not be possible without generous donors. We will be highlighting the work, donations, and stories of several individuals and organizations who have agreed to be publicly featured on our website.
Our amazing volunteers and donors all over the world have responded in creative ways to support Razom for Ukraine and this solidarity has taken different shapes – including that of a tasty Ukrainian dumpling, varenyk. Or more precisely, thousands of varenyky.
Inspired by their Baba, the Ukrainian word for grandmother, New York-based sisters Natalka and Yulia Horbachevsky, along with some of their cousins, organized a varenyk sale in the New York City, Westchester, and Orange county areas. A family-run pop-up fundraising initiative was born along with an Instagram account and a website called “Baba Aid for Ukraine.”
Over the course of a week, they prepared over 1,600 beautiful, half-moon potato-stuffed dumplings for friends and colleagues to purchase. In addition to all the varenyky, the Horbachevsky family cooked up 50 pounds of tsybulya, fried onions (a delicious topping for the dumplings that are also sometimes called pierogies). Proceeds from the sale went toward Razom’s Emergency Response fund. It was a big undertaking by a single family focused on providing vital support to the many families in Ukraine separated and impacted by russia’s brutal war.
Despite the massive quantity of varenyky produced, no sooner had the fundraiser been announced, the “sold out” phrase was splashed across their webpage. To anyone ever exposed to a Ukrainian baba’s cooking, this isn’t a big surprise!
And it wasn’t only the taste of varenyky with tsybulya that drew supporters, people sent money to the Horbachevsky’s account without expecting any potato dumplings in exchange. Varenyky or not, people rushed to take part in this initiative to support Razom’s humanitarian relief efforts.
“Our sales, coupled with very generous donations, far exceeded our expectations for this drive,” Natalka told Razom when she reached out asking how they could transfer $18,500 of collected funds.
Razom and all the people who we’ve been able to support on the ground in Ukraine during the war say “dyakuyu” to the Horbachevsky family for their support and the incredible cooking initiative!
This post is part of our series Razom Says “Dyakuyu.” Dyakuyu means “thank you” in Ukrainian. Our work supporting Ukraine and getting humanitarian aid on the ground where it is needed most, would not be possible without the generous donors. We will be highlighting the work, donations, and stories of several individuals and organizations who have agreed to be publicly featured on our website.
Razom for Ukraine was honored to be selected as one of the recipients of the New York Jets donations to aid Ukrainian relief efforts. Razom was awarded $100,000 in May as part of the Jets overall $1 million donation to support Ukraine that will be split among different organizations over the course of this year.
For the well-known National Football League franchise, supporting Ukraine during this brutal war is personal for the Jets owners, the Johnson family. Suzanne Johnson, wife of Jets Chairman Robert Wood Johnson, is Ukrainian-American and grew up in a Ukrainian neighborhood in New York.
Mrs. Johnson’s family story echoes that of thousands of Ukrainians who now proudly call the United States their home. Mrs. Johnson’s mother, Marie, was born to Ukrainian immigrant parents and her father, Stefan Ircha, immigrated all by himself to the United States from the western city of Ternopil at the age of 21 following World War II.
“He came to this country for opportunity after the war. He went through Red Cross, then to a local Ukrainian church that aided him in getting an apartment and brought him into the community,” Mrs. Johnson told the New York Post. “He met my mother [Marie] at a Ukrainian dance, got married and had their family. When I grew up, I grew up in a very solid Ukrainian community.
Mrs. Johnson was introduced to Razom through shared connections in the Ukrainian-American community. She said it was important for her to help provide aid and bring awareness to the war.
“The money, they’re going to need for a long time for rebuilding and for the aid. It’s going to be there. So I just hope we could start something going. The world has been quite generous and I just hope it continues to be that way,” Mrs. Johnson told the Associated Press in April when the donation effort kicked off.
“These donations will positively impact Ukrainian refugees and their families with essential supplies,” said New York Jets Chairman Robert Wood Johnson. “The need for resources is continuously growing. Our thoughts continue to be with the innocent lives who have been affected and all those who are suffering.”
Additionally, the Jets have offered to take a group of displaced Ukrainian families from the tristate area to a football game in August, giving them VIP treatment and the opportunity to experience an American football game.
Along with the donation to Razom, the Jets are matching all medical supplies donations given by their staff. The Jets have also supported friends of Razom including Plast Scouting – USA and the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America (UNWLA) as part of their donation efforts.
Razom and all the people who we’ve been able to support on the ground in Ukraine during the war say, “dyakuyu,” to the New York Jets.
A third weekend of May is the time when East 7th Street turns blue and yellow and New Yorkers are heading to the annual St. George Ukrainian Festival. The festival celebrates culture and beauty of Ukraine featuring a variety of traditional food, clothing, arts and crafts, music and so much more.
After three years of quarantine, our famous yellow couch and Face Box were back at the Razom Lounge. Face Box by celebrated cartoonist Sashko Danylenko was a unique opportunity to get a portrait created with the help of unique biological intelligence technology all while helping Ukraine through your donations. While the yellow couch this year hosted congresswoman C. Maloney with Consul General of Ukraine O. Golubov and everyone who dropped by to experience Razom’s atmosphere.
This year Razom Lounge featured the Individual First Aid Kits (IFAK) and guests were able to add a personal note to the heroes at the frontlines that went into a postcard inside IFAKs. As Ukraine is a winner of the 2022 Eurovision song contest, at Razom Lounge one could meet and converse with our volunteers, who were working at the Eurovision’s press center amplifying the voice of Ukraine to the world.
While at the Lounge one could pick up a custom made in a bomb shelter art piece, a sticker, postcard, poster, pin or a t-shirt. And have a blitz game of chess with the young prodigy. Engage in dialogues with the special guests and the Razom team, and so much more.
With the help of 30+ volunteers and everyone who stopped by we were able to raise around $10,000 for the Emergency Response. We thank all the friendly faces and all volunteers who worked many hours under the New York City’s sun – fueled by Veselka‘s raspberry lemonades and Plast NYC cold borshch – for the beautiful weekend full of love and laughter, all for a great cause of standing with Ukraine. We hope to see you at our upcoming events and the Razom Lounge next year.
Razom Lounge is an annual traditional event organized under our Razom Culture initiative, which promotes Ukrainian culture and spirit in the US and around the world.
Razom has brought so many people together that we’ve gotten into the habit of calling all of the volunteers stepping up to do what they can to help Ukraine as the “second front” of the war. Everyday people from all walks of life, professions, creeds, ethnicities, and worldviews unite to do one thing to help Ukraine, and it’s so beautiful. Small actions can have a big impact when we do things razom (meaning “together” in Ukrainian). It’s one of the many reasons Ukraine will win.
We want to shine a light on one such story, which is the story of a second generation Ukrainian-American who channeled her feelings of helplessness over what’s happening in Ukraine by putting her talents and resources to good use. In Sturgeon Bay, WI located in Northern Wisconsin’s Door County Peninsula, Christiana Gorchynsky Trapani began making blue and yellow candles at her small artisan shop called the Door County Candle Company to raise awareness about what’s happening in Ukraine in her community and raise funds for Razom’s Emergency Response project.
Christiana is the cousin of long-time Razom volunteer Taras Ferencevych. You might remember him selling Turbat camping gear at the Razom Lounge in 2018 at the 7th Street Festival in New York City. Razom’s success has always hinged on our ability to unlock the potential of a group of volunteers, and we are forever grateful for how they continue to show up.
In three week’s time, she sold over 40,000 “Ukraine” candles, raising over $300,000 (and counting) for Razom. Expecting to sell around 300, 40k is double the amount of candles the shop would sell in a year. They’ve delivered candles to all 50 states across the country. To be able to get this done, Christiana got her father, an ER doctor helping when he’s not on shift, her Door County community of volunteers, and even the previous owner of the shop, who came out of retirement to help streamline the process. People drive up from hours away to be a part of the volunteer effort pouring and preparing candles or making lunches and coffee for the team.
Even Christiana’s 82 year-old grandmother, who immigrated to the U.S. from Ukraine as a child during World War II, is helping to sticker the packages. When Christiana talks about watching her grandmother relive the war in Ukraine from when she was a child, she tears up. Christiana born in the U.S. with Ukrainian as her first language, has family in Ukraine today. What keeps her focused is remembering the bigger picture – that she, and the community she inspires, can make a difference for people fighting for their freedom in Ukraine. You don’t have to do everything, but you can do something, and together, that can be extraordinary.
Christiana and her BabtsiaDoor County Candle Company’s donation as of 5 days ago and still counting!
People all over the world have had some beautifully creative ways to fundraise for Razom’s Emergency Response Project and we are truly awed and inspired by their support. The latest independent initiative comes from a group of arts professionals who’ve launched ART FOR UKRAINE, an online benefit art sale of contemporary works where 100% of proceeds from the sales will be donated to Razom. Natasha Schlesinger (ArtMuse and Space2Curate) together with arts professionals Yulia Dultsina (Cultural Producer), Leily Soleimani (Independent Arts PR), and Terry Zucker (Art & Design Consultant) have created a platform for artists to generously donate their work and bring the power of the arts community to help raise essential funds for our critical response.
“We are shocked and appalled at what is happening in Ukraine, and could not sit by on the sidelines,” said Natasha Schlesinger, Founder of ArtMuse. “As arts professionals we were compelled to engage in the way we know best, by reaching out to our artist and gallery friends.”
Artworks for sale include pieces by Alexandre Arrechea, Chellis Baird, Christopher Boffoli, The Bruce High Quality Foundation, Norbert Brunner, Tom Burckhardt, Stanley Casselman, Andrew Casto, Peter Dayton, Marc Dennis, Jonny Detiger, Susan Dory, Nevil Dwek, Adriana Echavarria, Damian Elwes, Zaria Forman, Josh Friedman, Nir Hod, Catherine Howe, Roxanne Jackson, KACE. (Stanley Casselman and Naeem Khan), Kim Keever, Gene Kiegel, Wole Lagunju, Heidi Lanino, Wheaton Mahoney, Yassi Mazandi, Tatyana Murray, Jen Ray, Samantha Rosenwald, Analia Saban, Suzanne Scott, Shura Skaya, Katrín Sigurdardóttir, David Smalling, Julia Santos Solomon, Boris Torres, Pedro Tyler, Thomas Witte, among others. Artists are continuing to join the initiative on a rolling basis with the sale being updated regularly.
We are grateful for this platform, for the artists donating their works, and for those acquiring them. You all continue to put meaning into what the word “razom” stands for, “together” for Ukraine.
