Nine organizations that are giving Ukraine aid
True to its mercy heritage, the Salve Regina community has often come together to offer support and assistance to regions or countries facing unfathomable challenges. Like many University communities, Salve Regina has ties to Ukraine through student, faculty and staff relationships.
Below is a list of organizations helping Ukraine that members of the campus and the greater Newport community can support.
1. Article 26 Backpack
What it does: From the University of California, Davis, Article 26 Backpack is a free and confidential service that enables students, refugees and other displaced people to virtually store and share personal records essential to protecting them and reestablishing their lives. Users can upload and store documents in the password-protected, cloud-based service. The online tool is available in Dari/Farsi, English, Arabic, French and Spanish.
How to help: Use social media or other means to spread awareness of this service with friends and relatives in or fleeing Ukraine.
2. Polish Christian Ministries
What it does: Members of the Salve Regina community continue to serve with Polish Christian Ministries in Poland and Ukraine. They sponsor a Ukrainian kids camp each year and are currently using the camp to house refugees – most of whom are children. Currently they have over 130 campers and a few of their mothers at the camp.
How to help: Their website outlines ways to get involved, but as with most aid efforts at the moment, monetary donations are needed. The average cost to provide growing services needed to support those being housed is $20 per person a day.
3. Heritage Ukraine
What it does: Heritage Ukraine is an organization founded to serve foster and adoptive families in Ukraine. The founders, Alyona and Slavik Puzanov have stayed behind to serve their city of Odessa and surrounding villages. Their focus at the moment is helping evacuate children and foster families from Kyiv.
How to help: Their organization has ways to give toward food, transportation to safety or evacuation to borders, and other medical or physical needs through their website:
4. International Committee of the Red Cross
What it does: The Red Cross’ humanitarian work aims to help people rebuild their lives and cope with the wider consequences of conflict.
How to help: A monetary donation can help most at this time as services will be needed long-term.
5. UNICEF
What it does: UNICEF’s Humanitarian Action for Children appeal helps provide conflict- and disaster-affected children with access to water, sanitation, nutrition, health and safety services. Catherine Russell, the organization’s executive director, said the original appeal for Ukraine sought to raise $15 million, but the new ask is $66.4 million to respond to the most recent crisis.
How to help: A donation will help UNICEF continue trucking safe water to conflict-affected areas and prepositioning health, hygiene and emergency education supplies as close as possible to communities near the front lines. Funding also supports UNICEF’s mobile teams.
6. International Rescue Committee
What it does: The organization responds to help restore health, safety, education, economic well-being and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. The International Rescue Committee is in Poland assessing humanitarian needs.
How to help: A monetary donation will help the organization provide food, medical care and emergency supplies to refugee families from Ukraine.
7. Revived Soldiers Ukraine
What it does: This organization funds medication and medical supplies for field and army hospitals at the front lines of eastern Ukraine. Revived Soldiers Ukraine was founded in 2016 and has since brought 50 wounded Ukrainian soldiers to U.S. hospitals for care.
How to help: The organization’s president, Iryna Vashchuk Discipio, said they urgently need monetary donations to buy medication and to repair a car used to rush injured soldiers away from the front lines.
8. International Medical Corps
What it does: The Los Angeles-based organization provides emergency relief to those struck by conflict, disaster and disease. When an emergency has ended, the organization shifts its response to long-term medical support and training. The organization has been operating in eastern Ukraine since 2014, delivering primary healthcare and mental health services to communities affected by the ongoing conflict.
How to help: A monetary donation will help International Medical Corps as it prepares to deploy mobile medical teams to provide emergency and primary health services, mental health and psychosocial support.
9. Direct Relief
What it does: The Santa Barbara-based organization distributes donated medicine and medical supplies. Direct Relief has supplied Ukrainian healthcare providers with more than $27 million in medical aid. It recently sent a large shipment of diabetes supplies and is offering its Ukrainian partners IV fluids, antibiotics, medications for anesthesia, sutures, and cardiovascular medication, among other supplies.
How to help: A monetary donation will support Direct Relief’s efforts to send medical supplies to Ukrainian healthcare providers.
There are countless national and local aid organizations. The above are just a few that are known and have been researched. Additionally, privation foundations such as the Obama foundation have established links for ways to help.
Featured image by Getty Images/Nikita Burdenkov
