In the fifth installment of this newsletter, you’ll find a Razom Emergency Response project impact story we haven’t yet shared with you – evacuations. You’ll also learn the latest on how to continue to help Ukraine.
Just as we’ve worked hard to move humanitarian aid (tacmed, hospital med) across borders and into Ukraine, we’ve simultaneously developed an evacuation system for some of the most vulnerable in times of war — children and children with disabilities. It started with children with SMA (spinal muscular atrophy) that Razom is connected through the “Dity, My Vstygnemo” – “Children, We Will Make It” project, launched in 2021 as a civic movement and advocacy campaign to improve healthcare access for Ukrainian children suffering from SMA.
In times of war, children with disabilities need to be evacuated early before they are in danger of missing out on special care and assistance needed to thrive and survive. Razom (in a group with 12 incredible volunteers across the US and Ukraine) have evacuated children from 9 cities and regions, including Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odessa, Zhytomyr, Dnipro, Irpin, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, and Kryvyi Rih.
Our long time partners at BUR are helping to coordinate evacuations on the ground along with the help of Mykola Kuleba. We worked with the All Hands And Hearts nonprofit to help procure minivans, and have partnered with the Polish SMA Foundation to take care of these children once getting them across the border.
Please consider donating to Razom’s Emergency Response project and/or BUR for us to continue to scale this operation.
There are lots of upcoming events and rallies that you can support:
- Today, (Thursday March 10th) at 8pm there’s A Benefit For Ukraine hosted by Gogol Bordello at City Winery NYC, with profits going to Come Back Alive Foundation (Povernys’ Zhyvym) in Ukraine.
- Bring a blue or yellow umbrella and join a performance protest at Times Square on Saturday, March 12th at 1pm to continue to put pressure on the world to #CloseTheSky in Ukraine.
- In Brooklyn on Saturday, March 12th at 1pm there will be a workshop on Ukrainian folk songs led by Asia Mieleszko at the Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Brooklyn. All are welcome to learn the extraordinary, everyday music of Ukraine’s villages. There’s no knowledge of Ukrainian or music necessary to participate.
- In D.C. on Sunday, March 13th, join the Vigil For Ukraine at the White House from 4-8 pm to commemorate the innocent people killed by Russia’s war in Ukraine and honor those who are defending Ukraine right now. As of March 8th, 52 children have been confirmed killed.
- On Sunday, March 13th at 5-9pm, Dacha 46, Gertie, and Huertas (with special guest Leah Koenig) combine forces to bring you a Ukrainian Jew-ish feast to help raise funds for Razom’s Emergency Response. 357 Grand Street in NYC.
- In New York City on March 18-20th you can discover the Ukrainian Contemporary Music Festival a platform for the performance and discussion of the complex and unique contributions of Ukrainian composers to contemporary music.
Last, but most certainly not least, your gift to these fundraisers can make an enormous difference for Ukrainians in Ukraine:
- Razom’s Emergency Response Project works to deliver only the most urgent humanitarian aid in war torn parts of Ukraine, which includes tactical medical supplies, hospital needs, and supplies that enable the safe and efficient distribution of that aid (like med tactical backpacks, GPS devices, satellite phones, and drones). We are agents of delivery on the ground, funneling humanitarian aid in one direction and evacuating children, children with disabilities, and their families in the opposite direction.
- UACC’s fundraiser to export helmets and armory vests to Ukraine and get them in the hands of territorial defense units across key parts of the country urgently needs your support. They’ve been able to ship 660 body armors and 500 helmets thus far.
- With the heavy flow of supplies going daily across the ocean to Ukraine, it was only a matter of time until Razom’s partnership with Meest America, Inc. shipping company would require additional support. We are raising money to ensure that the donations you’ve delivered to Meest, that go beyond tacmed and medical supplies, get shipped across the ocean to Ukraine efficiently.
P.S. – we have an urgent volunteer opportunity for TODAY, Thursday 3/10 at our warehouse in New Jersey to sort and pack shipments of humanitarian aid for Ukraine. If you’re able to help, fill out this Volunteer Intake Form asap.
