Many of our supporters and followers ask the same question – who are Razomers? And we, as always, answer that Razom is our volunteers, Razomers, whose hearts ache for Ukraine, who give their time, expertise and energy in pursuit of a common goal – a strong and independent Ukraine!
All of our photos show only a fraction of Razom volunteers. Today, Razom is comprised of:
200+ active volunteers in the US (and a few hundred more who help periodically)
20+ volunteers in Canada
20+ volunteers in Poland
50+ volunteers in Ukraine
dozens of partner organizations
procurement teams, logistics, sorting, warehouse platform developers, warehouse operators, drivers, communicators, financiers, donor support team, advocacy team, lawyers, protest and charity concert organizers, and an entire team responding to endless emails and phone calls
Our teams’ intense cooperation and hard work have resulted so far in:
more than 200 tons of cargo sent to Ukraine: tactical medicine, hospital medicine, civilian drones for safe medical delivery, walkie-talkies, telephones, rations
delivered goods to Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Dnipro, Zaporizhia, Mykolaiv, Odesa regions
hundreds of events in support of Ukraine in the United States and Canada
hundreds of advocacy interviews in the US and Canadian press
and a great desire to win the war!
We are deeply grateful to all our volunteers for their dedication and tireless work!
Багато хто задає те саме запитання – хто такі Razomці? А ми, як завжди, відповідаємо, що Razom – це і є наші волонтери, Razomці, у яких болить серце за Україну, які віддають свій час, знання та енергію заради спільної мети – сильної та незалежної України!
На всіх наших фотографіях – лише частина волонтерів Razom. А загалом, наразі під час війни Razom – це:
200+ активних волонтерів в США (і ще кілька сотень таких, що допомагають періодично)
20+ волонтерів в Канаді
20+ волонтерів в Польщі
50+ волонтерів в Україні
десятки партнерських організацій
команди закупівель, логістики, сортування, розробники платформи складу, оператори складу, водії, комунікаційники, фінансисти, команда підтримки донорів, адвокаційна команда, юристи, організатори протестів і благодіних концертів, команда, яка відповідає на чисельні емейли і телефонні дзвінки
Інтенсивна співпраця та наполеглива робота наших команд наразі вже привели до наступних результатів:
понад 200 тон вантажів відправлених в Україну: тактична медицина, госпітальна медицина, цивільні дрони задля безпеки перевезень, рації, телефони, сухпайки
доставлені вантажі в Житомирську, Київську, Чернігівську, Сумську, Харківську, Луганську, Донецьку, Дніпровську, Запорізьку, Миколаївську, Одеську області
сотні подій на підтримку України в США і Канаді
сотні адвокаційних інтерв’ю в пресі США і Канади
і величезне бажання виграти війну!
Ми щиро вдячні всім нашим волонтерам за самовідданість та невтомну працю!
Below you’ll find updates from Razom Health team, a volunteer fundraising impact story grown out of WI, and a list of the latest events across the country for you to go and support Ukraine.
Dear Razom community,
The sorting and packing in our New Jersey warehouse doesn’t stop and that’s thanks to all of your (and our partners’) donations and our teams’ procurements that continue to pour in. Each of the steps you take, big or small, are a part of a chain of support that makes a difference in Ukraine. Today we want to shine a light on two different teams at Razom – the hospitals team and the US migrant task force team.
Razom Health team (hospitals@razomforukraine.org) is a segment of our Emergency Response project that coordinates and partners with global health and major disaster relief organizations to collect in-kind donations of hospital supplies and medicines for Ukraine. Those partners include MedShare, PartnersforWorldHealth, Americares, and Afya Foundation. Thanks to our on the ground partners Zdorovi and Patients of Ukraine (Пацієнти України), we have access to five warehouses across 3 different cities in Ukraine to be able to reliably distribute aid to hospitals in need. Here’s what they’ve accomplished so far:
MedGlobal x Razom x UMANA x Ministry of Health in Ukraine are partnering to facilitate the first of several week-long medical missions by bringing a team of 10 trauma surgeons to Lviv, traveling with 160 suitcases of medical supplies and portable butterfly ultrasounds. They will provide trainings for Ukrainian doctors on poly trauma surgical procedures/diagnostics/surgeries, on operating portable butterfly ultrasounds (donated by MedGlobal), and educating doctors on how to prepare (and act) in case of chemical warfare.
PartnersforWorldHealth has sent over 26 pallets of medical supplies to Razom, 7 of which we shipped by air and the rest by sea (based on priority of needs in Ukraine).
MedShare is finalizing its first sea container of medical supplies to go to Ukraine next week, and has invited Razom to its 10th Annual Share the Good Gala on April 4th to raise funds for humanitarian aid efforts in Ukraine.
Americares is sending its 3rd large shipment of urgent medications next week via Razom for our partner in Ukraine Patients of Ukraine (Пацієнти України).
We’ve also coordinated and received in-kind donations from hospitals and individual medical works that have collectively included:
8 pallets of medical hospital supplies from UMass Memorial Medical Center
1 woundvac and 5 boxes of surgical / central line catheters from private donations
6 boxes of surgical supplies from Rhode Island Doctors donated to our tactical medicine efforts
FIGS donated 21 pallets of new hospital scrubs to military hospitals in Ukraine to boost morale of the overworked medical professionals.
Help Heroes of Ukraine has been a major transportation partner for us, volunteering to deliver many pallets of aid on our behalf to our Meest warehouse in New Jersey.
We are so grateful to be building long-term relationships with these organizations as they are key to Razom being able to respond quickly and at scale to needs in Ukraine. There’s good reason we named ourselves Razom, which means “together” in Ukrainian #RazomAccelerates.
Thanks to the work of the Door County Candle Company, there’s now a little bit of Ukraine lighting up homes in all 50 states in the U.S., including Puerto Rico. Second generation Ukrainian-American, Christiana Gorchynsky Trapani, channeled her feelings of helplessness over what’s happening in Ukraine by putting her talents and resources to good use, and inspiring her community to do the same. This artisan candle shop located in Sturgeon Bay, WI in Northern Wisconsin’s Door County Peninsula, has raised over $300,000 (and counting) for Razom’s Emergency Response by selling over 40,000 “Ukraine” candles. That’s double the amount they’d usually sell in a year!
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.
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. You don’t have to do everything, but you can do something, and together, that can be extraordinary.
Finally, here’s a list of events we’d like to bring to your attention and encourage you to support:
On Saturday, April 2nd theUkrainian Bandura Chorus Concert of North America will be performing a Save the Ukrainian Voice Charitable Concert in Michigan with all proceeds benefiting Razom.
On Saturday, April 2ndrefnight.com (who goes to a hockey game every year to cheer for the referees and raise money for charity) has chosen Razom for an evening at a New Jersey Devils hockey game.
All the proceeds from a Charity Gala Event on Sunday, April 3rd at the Oceana Theater in Brooklyn will be going to Razom’s Emergency Response project. The event will be performance-based, with the acts varying from music (performances from KAZKA and Alyosha amongst others), children’s choir and dance, speeches, and video blocks (feat. Okean Elzy, Jamala, and Max Barskih).
NYC Moms For A Cause will be hosting a Cocktail Reception to Benefit Ukrainian Families on April 12th, 6:30-9:00pm at the Ukrainian Institute of America. The evening will include live performances, a silent auction, and heavy canapés and flowing drinks, all in support of Razom’s Emergency Response.
April 30th from 3:30-7:30pm theHudson Valley Relief Benefit will feature guest speakers, music, food, and a silent auction. Get you tickets and join Novellas Restaurant in New Paltz, NY to support Razom’s Emergency Response project!
As always, thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter and continue to #StandWithUkraine.
This is our regularly scheduled newsletter with important updates about our Emergency Response Project, advocacy work, and a list of the latest opportunities to support Ukraine.
Dear Razom Community,
At Razom, we believe that one of the most effective ways to support the heroic efforts of Ukrainian defenders on the ground in Ukraine is by equipping them with tactical medical supplies. This was the form of humanitarian aid that we focused on from day one, and it continues to be on the top of the list of most requested aid from hotspots that are actively repelling russian occupiers across Ukraine.
Razom volunteers were able to act fast in procuring these types of supplies largely because of their gained experience from 2014. Canada-based Tonia Kumko, founder of IntoMath (before she became one of our resident tacmed experts) is one of the leading volunteers on the tacmed team, says she never would have thought she’d be using that prior experience again. Today it allows her team to make decisions and find supplies faster.
Up until this point, we’ve maintained a fairly high degree of transparency with you about our logistical chain and where our tactical medicine shipments land across Ukraine. Given the developments of the past week however, it’s become increasingly more risky for us to share which regions (territorial defense units and hospitals) we are serving in Ukraine when it comes to delivering tacmed aid. But rest assured that we are working hard to prioritize regions of Ukraine where this aid can make the most impact in saving lives. In the meantime, here’s what Razomers on the other side of the Atlantic have managed to achieve:
Over $5M has been spent on tactical medicine and tacmed equipment.
Razom is averaging procuring 10,000 tourniquets per week (worth over $250,000/week) from the most reputable suppliers buying CAT, SOF-T and/or SAM brands. In life-or-death situations, tourniquets stop arterial bleeding so the quality of this single-use device matters. They continue to be the most sought-after and requested forms of aid across Ukraine.
Thanks to our strong ties to communities and professionals on the ground in Ukraine, we’re able to learn of exact needs quickly and act on some specific (if not esoteric) requests that can make a big difference. A good example has been SAM splints (procured over 3,100 of them for $56,100), designed for immobilizing bone and soft tissue injuries in emergency settings. What’s more, we work hard and smart with your donation money by researching the best possible supply chain deals. Aside from the 80 SAM splints that we secured for free, our best negotiated discount so far was 60% off!
We’ve purchased over 10,300 chest seals for over $58,000. Ukrainians in the U.S. and Canada have really stepped up to the plate in procuring these because the supply of chest seals has been completely depleted in North America…through July. So Razomers found contacts in Australia and the U.K to buy over 6,000 of these, which are due to arrive in our warehouse in western Ukraine later this week.
A group of about 15 volunteers worked around the clock to sort and pack aid for shipment overseas. In one week’s time they put together 2,000 IFAKs in our New Jersey warehouse. These are not your regular first aid kits – they’re designed to treat traumatic injuries and severe bleeding, life-saving materials that in one week were worth collectively over $200,000.
With all of the determination and attention to detail Razomers put towards sourcing the best tactical medicine supplies for Ukraine, a small group of volunteers decided to build an IT system from scratch that enables Razom to account for this aid when it flies overseas and lands in our warehouse in western Ukraine. With accurate tracking, we’re able to be much more efficient in distributing tacmed supplies based on our availability and quantities needed in different hotspots across Ukraine. That IT system is constantly being maintained, updated, and refined as we grow our operations.
Never forget that you have the power to not just donate money to help Ukraine, but your time and talents too. In New York City last week, our community has gone above and beyond in its advocacy work by organizing a second Mothers’ March across the city, a #SaveMariupol flashmob in Grand Central Station, and a flag raising ceremony at Bowling Green. You can read more about the significance of that ceremony and New York Mayor Eric Adams’ speech here. The Ukrainian flag at Bowling Green won’t come down until Ukraine is victorious, and Ukraine will be victorious. Make it happen sooner: keep showing up when it matters.
Yesterday (Sunday, 3/27) Razom co-hosted (along with United Help Ukraine, the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, U.S. Ukrainian Activists, and the Renew Democracy Initiative) a rally at the Lincoln Memorial in D.C. to commemorate one month of Russia’s merciless invasion of Ukraine. We later met with Ukrainian Ambassador to the US, Oksana Markarova, and Kateryna Smagliy, First Secretary at the Ukrainian Embassy to the US, as a kick off to a round of meetings on the Hill with decision makers this week.
Tuesday, 3/29 at 8pm at Carnegie Hall, Ukrainian-American pianist Irena Portenko will perform an evening of music of resilience and spirituality to benefit the citizens of Ukraine who are fighting for their families, their country, and their lives. All proceeds will go to Razom’s Emergency Response and United Help Ukraine.
All the proceeds from a Charity Gala Event on Sunday, April 3rd at the Oceana Theater in Brooklyn will be going to Razom’s Emergency Response project. The event will be performance-based, with the acts varying from music (performances from KAZKA and Alyosha amongst others), children’s choir and dance, speeches, and video blocks (feat. Okean Elzy, Jamala, and Max Barskih).
April 30th from 3:30-7:30pm the Hudson Valley Relief Benefit will feature guest speakers, music, food, and a silent auction. Get you tickets and join Novellas Restaurant in New Paltz, NY to support Razom’s Emergency Response project!
Thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter and continue to #StandWithUkraine. After one month of war, don’t let apathy set in.
Razom has been calling on international leaders and U.S. elected representatives to #CloseTheSky, get #PlanesForUkraine, and #IsolateRussia. To all of you that have come out to a rally, a picket, dialed through a telethon, tweeted up a storm, or engaged your friends and family in discussion on how they can stand with Ukraine, we are immensely grateful. Thanks to our network of volunteers and partner organizations in Ukraine, we promise to continue to keep our ear to the ground to advocate for what will make a difference in healing the humanitarian crisis brought on by russia’s invasion.
As of March 27, there are over 130 children that have been killed as a result of russian bombs and missiles targeting civilians in Ukraine. Let that number sink in. Ukraine is paying a high price in its continued fight for freedom that is a fight for the entire free world. The Mothers’ March took place in New York City over two days the week of March 21 to raise awareness about children being targeted by russian bombs and missiles. Mariupol, a city in southeastern Ukraine, in particular has been a poignant example of this after the Drama Theater (sheltering over 1,000 women and children) was targeted and bombed by russian forces and left without food or water for days due to continued shelling in the area, making rescue operations nearly impossible.
#SaveUkrainianChildren Mothers’ March on March 19 2022#SaveUkrainianChildren Mothers’ March on March 26, 2022
Razom volunteers organized a flashmob at New York’s Grand Central Station during the same week to bring attention to the death toll in the city of Mariupol, a port town similar in population size to Virginia Beach in the U.S. We showed up to deliver our message to #SaveMariupol so that it was carried home across the tristate area by everyone who walked by.
Flashmob at New York’s Grand Central Station on March 23, 2022
That same day on March 23rd, the Mayor of New York City, Eric Adams and Ukraine’s General Consul in New York, Oleksii Holubov, joined us for his address to the Ukrainian-American community and friends of Ukraine at the raising of the Ukrainian and American flags at historic Bowling Green in lower Manhattan, a location that holds a lot of historical significance for the United States’ own fight for independence. From Bowling Green, General Washington witnessed the last British troops leave American soil and the American flag raised on its own. Bowling Green later became the first public park in the U.S. It’s the only place in New York City where flags are raised from all over the world, as has been done hundreds of times since 1996.
After a little over a month of this war, don’t let apathy set in. The Ukrainian flag at Bowling Green won’t come down until Ukraine is victorious. And Ukraine will be victorious. Make it happen sooner: keep showing up when it matters.
New York has the largest Ukrainian population outside of Ukraine and we are proud of that energy and spirit. Any conflict that plays out on a global scale, plays out on the streets of New York City… Today we are united, we stand with you, we are part of the Ukrainian people in saying that we will never surrender, never give in.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaking at the raising of Ukrainian & American flags at Bowling Green
We start this newsletter with a moment of gratitude for all of you, followed by an update on the latest impact stories, and ending with a list of community engagement and advocacy resources.
Dear Razom Community,
From all of us, thank you wholeheartedly every donor for the support of Razom’s work in this trying time of crisis. Your donations are going toward providing critical aid relief, support for displaced persons, and amplifying Ukraine’s story and the voices of Ukrainians. In a couple of months we’ll be able to acknowledge and write to each and every one of you. Your support gives us hope and strength. But right now, we ask for your patience as we work tirelessly to transform your money into support in the right hands in Ukraine.
You can now become a part of the Razom procurement team by buying humanitarian aid items that are urgently needed but not impossible to find off of our Amazon Custom Gift List. Razom volunteers will deliver and sort the items in our New Jersey warehouse with Meest before shipping it out Ukraine.
An Americares donation of the most critically needed hospital supplies has been delivered to the Cancer Institute of Kyiv in Ukraine that includes 9.5 pallets with 921 cases totaling 6,283 pounds of supplies that will be distributed to several more hospitals in Kyiv.
Razom’s procurement of a defibrillator, insulin, and other important medicines like metformin, glimepiride, levothyroxine was delivered to the Ukrainian Diabetes Association in Kharkiv, Kyiv, and Luhansk regions. We accomplished this in partnership with volunteers at AWO Ortsverein Reischach – AG and Ukraine-HILFE Berlin e.V.
Razom volunteers have made a total of 7 trips carrying tactical medicine cargo to various volunteer civilian defense corps prioritizing cities and regions where Ukrainians are actively repelling russian occupiers.
Razom has secured 50 drones across the Polish border that will be used to ensure the safe delivery of medical and tactical medical supplies by our volunteers traveling across hotspot areas in Ukraine.
Razom issued a grant to long-time partner BUR (Building Ukraine Together) to support their programs helping internally displaced people in Ukraine by renovating infrastructure, building shelter camps for IDPs, and offering humanitarian aid across Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Chernihiv. We continue to support and collaborate with them.
Thank you to all of the volunteers who work on the “second front” of this war! None of this impact would have been possible without your unwavering determination to getting the work done.
Medical supplies preparing for shipmentTacmed delivered to a volunteer civilian defense corpAmericares’ DonationRazom volunteers at the sorting warehouse, preparing the next shipment
This week there are a number of events and rallies for you to join to help advocate for Ukraine and/or fundraise for Razom’s Emergency Response Project. We hope to see you there!
Please join Mayor Adams along with the honorable Oleksii Holubov, Ukrainian Consulate General, and Prominent Ukrainians, Ukrainian-Americans and Friends of Ukraine to raise the Ukrainian Flag in Bowling Green Park today, Wednesday, March 23rd at 4:30 pm. The Ukrainian flag will fly every day beside the American flag until Ukraine is victorious and the russian invaders are gone.
Later that same day, join us at Grand Central Terminal at 6:30pm to witness or be a part of a Flash Mob Protest to #SaveMariupol. Mariupol has been under near constant siege for several weeks and seen some of the worst attacks in the war, including deadly strikes on a maternity ward of a hospital, the bombing of a theater housing over a thousand civilians (the losses from which are still unknown), amongst other horrific events. For more details and to become a part of the Flash Mob Protest, please join our Signal group https://bit.ly/SAVEMARIUPOL
Sunday, March 27th will be a National Day of Action to #StandWithUkraine including a rally at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. Let’s seize this moment to call on the world to act now to help Ukrainians continue fighting for freedom and democracy and for Ukraine’s right to thrive and survive.
All the proceeds from a Charity Gala Event on Sunday, April 3rd at the Oceana Theater in Brooklyn will be going to Razom’s Emergency Response project. The event will be performance-based, with the acts varying from music (performances from KAZKA and Alyosha amongst others), children’s choir and dance, speeches, and video blocks (feat. Okean Elzy, Jamala, and Max Barskih).
As always, keep in touch with us via this newsletter, our blog, and our social media channels where we share more real-time info you need to know to stand with Ukraine. Consider making a gift to Razom or our partner organizations (like BUR!) for us to continue to do this work. We are awed by your tremendous support.
We’d like to share an important update from our partner Building Ukraine Together (BUR) about how they have adapted their activities to support internally displaced persons (IDPs) since the russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24th 2022.
Thousands of displaced families are in need of your help. Schools and community halls are being made available, but there is an immediate need for basic items – beds blankets, cooking utensils, and personal hygiene products. You can support BUR’s work by donating below. As a Razom partner, these donations are 501(c)3 deductible.
Cooperating with organizations to meet the needs of their volunteers who are at the forefront of defending Ukrainian freedom.
Communicating with volunteers who remain in the combat zone about humanitarian needs and evolving situation in the country.
Organizing the logistics of delivering supplies from Lviv to different Ukrainian cities.
In the early days of the full-scale war, Razom issued a $50,000 grant to support this work. Below is an overview of how those funds were used:
Procuring and delivering humanitarian aid – ranging from food, medicines, to sleeping bags – in Lviv, Kharkiv, Skadovsk and Kherson.
Preparing and delivering food for territorial defense units (civilian volunteers) and hospitals in Kharkiv.
Vehicle rentals for the transportation of this aid and evacuations of civilians (specifically from Kharkiv to Dnipro).
Purchasing of chainsaws for territorial defense units (civilian volunteers) and Emergency Services of Kharkiv to dismantle debris from the destruction and rescue people from rubble.
You can find updates from BUR on their social media:
Building Ukraine Together (BUR) is a program of the “Ukrainian Educational Platform“, which creates opportunities for youth to make changes in their country through volunteering. Ukrainian Educational Platform is a charitable organization (2000-2021 – Lviv Education Foundation). It has impacted positive change with more than 10 years of experience in social transformations. They believe in Ukraine, they unite, educate, and support people with leadership potential who create vibrant local communities through volunteer, educational, and social projects.
On Tuesday 22 March, put aside 15 minutes to call your Representatives in Congress and demand more support for Ukraine. It’s easy, but the impact is real. Join us!
On Tuesday, March 22, call your representatives in Congress and demand more support for Ukraine. Click here to join the Facebook event. Mark your calendar now!
Here’s how:
Set aside 15 minutes in your day on Tuesday 22 March between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm.
Call each of your Representatives at the listed number. Yes, you must call each one of them.
If there is an option to leave a message – leave a message. If someone from the Representative’s office picks up, ask to leave a message for the Representative.
Here’s the script:
My name is __________, my zip code is _________, and I am calling as a (Ukrainian-American) constituent of Representative ____________ who is concerned about russia’s violent war against Ukraine. I demand more support for Ukraine on any and all levels possible so that Ukraine can win the war and protect the values of liberty, freedom, and democracy for us all. The US government should be doing everything possible to help Ukraine win the war. Russia’s assault on Ukraine is an assault on us all.
As my representative I strongly ask you to advocate to:
1. Increase military spending for military planes, anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons for Ukraine. Support Ukraine to protect its airspace and defend itself.
2. Increase targeted sanctions against Russian oligarchs and elites who stash assets and money in the US.
3. Increase monetary, military, and humanitarian support for Ukraine, and work with Ukraine’s strategic partners around the world to increase this support multilaterally.
All of these actions are critical for our country’s security. Thank you for representing my concerns in these urgent issues.
(Feel free to customize the script as you see fit. Feel free to tell a short, personal story.)
Call or text a friend and ask them to call their Representatives in Congress, too. Give them these instructions.
Post on social media that you’ve just finished calling your Representatives in Congress and demanding more support for Ukraine. Use the hashtags #StandWithUkraine and #PlanesForUkraine.
That’s it! You’ve probably saved some lives by just making a few phone calls.
In this newsletter, you’ll find a bunch of ways to advocate for Ukraine and help make an impact for Ukrainians in active war zones across the country. We’ll also guide you to places where you can discover more amazing Ukrainian culture.
Maybe not all of us can be showing up at Times Square everyday to rally the US to #StandWithUkraine and #CloseTheSky, so Razom bought out a billboard there to remind people about this everyday.
In the meantime, continue to participate in the many advocacy campaigns, rallies, pickets, and events that raise awareness about the devastating destruction happening in Ukraine or showcase Ukrainian culture. We must call on various government bodies, companies, people in power, and the public at large to use their resources to influence positive outcomes in Ukraine and curtail the current humanitarian crisis.
Get out of bed now and make your way to 388 Greenwich St (if you’re in NYC!) to #BoycottRussia at CitiGroup HQ. They’re the US bank with the biggest footprint in Russia and there’s no time for major banks like Citi to continue funding Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Here’s a comprehensive list of major brands and corporations that haven’t taken any action to isolate Russia, with an explainer on why it’s important to put pressure on them right now and how to do it.
Not in New York? Get yourself on twitter and participate in the #PlanesForUkraine Twitter Storm this Wednesday morning at 10am EST. You can get all the info and instructions on how to do it here. Hint: it’s ridiculously easy when compared to the kind of impact this advocacy can have.
On Friday night (3/18) Scandinavia House in New York will be screening a 2021 documentary National Museum, about the Ukrainian National Museum in Kyiv exploring what is cherished and revered by Ukrainians. Q&A with director Andrei Zagdansky will follow.
On Saturday night (3/19) you can go to Honey’s in Brooklyn for a Ukraine Fundraising Borscht Dinner and Dance Party where all proceeds from the dinner and donations at the door will go to supporting two charitable orgs in Kharkiv that provide aid for internally displaced persons.
On Sunday (3/20) you can take a fundraising walking tour of Little Ukraine in the East Village. You might run into a Razom volunteer on their way to another working session at our office there.
This weekend (18th – 20th) in New York City you can discover the Ukrainian Contemporary Music Festival featuring a number of artists currently in Ukraine fighting for their lives and their country. It will happen despite the current challenges with the hope of showcasing Ukrainian artists and music in a time when it matters most. Part of the proceeds will go to Razom.
On Monday (3/21) The Brick Theater in Williamsburg will host Brickflix – Benefit For Ukraine featuring Spoken Word by Yara Arts (sharing work by acclaimed Ukrainian poet Serhiy Zhadan), animated short Denis the Pirate, and film Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors. The Two Boots Pizza is free and all proceeds will go to Razom.
On Saturday (3/26) the Bohemian Benevolent Literary Association and Diverse Filmmaker Alliance in New York are hosting a benefit screeningofThe Long Breakup, a feature-length documentary on Ukraine’s struggle to escape Russia’s embrace and become a truly independent nation. A Q&A with the director Katya Soldak will follow. All proceeds will go to Razom.
Thanks to your donations, Razom has shipped 144 pallets of the most critical humanitarian aid to Ukraine thus far from the US, Europe, and Canada. If you go to Razom’s Blog you’ll find out about how some of the very first aid shipments of tacmed that we sent in the first days of the war, finally made their way into the hands of Ukrainians in Kyiv, Brovary, Zhytomyr, Poltava, and Sumy.
Please continue to support and raise awareness about this work so that Razom, and the incredible people involved in carrying out our Emergency Response Project, can keep providing critical humanitarian war relief and recovery in Ukraine depending on the most urgent needs as they evolve.
Today a brave group of volunteers delivered much needed tactical medicine supplies to Sumy, a city in northeastern Ukraine about 30 miles from the Russian border. It’s a city that’s been sustaining shelling and urban fighting since the moment of Russian invasion. Maybe we’ll get an extra hour of sleep knowing that Ukrainian people have the necessary medicine to defend their city.
Meanwhile halfway across the world, a group of Canadian Razom volunteers have built out partnerships and a logistical chain to be able to procure and ship tactical medical supplies from Toronto to Ukraine. They’ve partnered up with the Markham Rotary Club Foundation and NKS Health to fundraise, buy, and ship 13 pallets of tacmed so far. Check out how they do this work in more detail below:
Last but not least, we’ve grown our Razom team of volunteers at the Kryla Nadiyi warehouse in Lviv to 8 people (and soon more), who come to us from the Ministry of Veterans Affairs in Ukraine, and who will be working there daily to accept Razom’s aid shipments that are arriving more consistently now. They’re sorting and organizing aid for further distribution so that we can get these supplies into the hands of Ukrainians as fast as humanly possible.
Razom Emergency Response project continues to grow and develop at an incredible speed thanks to the support of our donors and dedicated volunteer network in the US and Ukraine. The war and resulting humanitarian crisis has only continued to escalate over the past week, putting our logistics operation on the ground in Ukraine into stark focus.
The first shipments of humanitarian aid procured by Razom delivered to Berdychiv in Zhytomyr Oblast on March 9th
The reality is that delivering aid past the warehouse of our partners at Kryla Nadiyi in western Ukraine is an extremely difficult task. The very first shipments of tactical medicine (purchased & shipped on day two of the war) made it into the hands of civilian defense corps in Kyiv and Zhytomyr oblasts on March 9th. It was four days later, on March 13th, that more aid made the journey east – this timeby two mini buses heading to Kyiv (including Brovary) and Poltava (with an extra leg to Sumy) oblasts.
Russian forces are actively shelling and endangering transportation infrastructure across the country therefore safe routes are constantly changing. In addition, humanitarian needs on the ground change just as fast, if not faster. Speed and boots on the ground are of the essence. Razom has both, which gives us a unique chance to deliver the aid acquired abroad to the end user in Ukraine, knowing that your donations are in the right hands.
Aid is packed into small vehicles allowing volunteer drivers to maneuver more nimbly. Coordination with civilian defense corps (the ultimate volunteer network in Ukraine today) via satellite phones, which offer the most reliable form of communication, strengthen our logistics chain on the ground in Ukraine. There’s also a verbal verification system in place that ensures volunteers know they’re putting the delivery in safe hands. When available, small civilian drones are another important tool for our volunteers to scope out safe passage routes and share valuable information in real time. These tech enabled emergency response supplies have made a big impact on our volunteers’ ability to work effectively in executing the logistics chain in Ukraine. We are enormously grateful for the brave and trusted group of the people who carry out this work.
Tactical Medical Aid being prepped and loaded for distribution in Ukraine. Markings read “Sumy” and “Poltava”
As we celebrate each and every delivery of humanitarian aid that makes it into the hands of Ukrainians, we continue to follow a repeatable logistics process for procuring and delivering aid from abroad to warehouses in Poland and western Ukraine. Euromaidan Warszawa is our trusted partner in Warsaw that receives shipments procured throughout western Europe and delivers them to western Ukraine. Meest America is delivering shipments procured from the United States directly to Ukraine. So far, approximately $4M has been spent on tactical medical supplies, communications supplies, and logistics support. All of our aid is received in western Ukraine by our partners Kryla Nadiyi (Wings of Hope). They warehouse, sort, and prepare orders of aid that then gets distributed further. A small group of engineers, in collaboration with two Razom volunteers (in the US and Ukraine) have developed an online system to help track requests submitted by a centralized network of civilian defense corps central command. These requests then get cross referenced to active hotspots and prioritized based on safe routes.
The many faces of Kryla Nadiyi volunteers accepting, sorting, and organizing humanitarian aid for distribution across Ukraine
We are incredibly grateful to the volunteers and partner organizations who work daily on this project (most days staying up until 4am!) coordinating information, connecting volunteer networks, and helping to take in, protect, and distribute shipments donated through Razom. To our donors, your continued support ensures we can make an impact across more parts of Ukraine. We can’t wait to keep sharing those stories with you as they develop.
