On February 24, 2022, the world held its breath as Russia invaded Ukraine.
Today, our news feeds flood with videos of families ducking underground while their neighborhood is hit by an air strike. Newspapers and magazines launch front-page photos of children on trains wearing ripped jackets and bruised cheeks.
It can be crushing to feel so helpless from so far away. The good news is that there are things you can do to support those impacted by the Russian Invasion of Ukraine.
Donate to Helpful Organizations
Over 10 million Ukrainians have fled the country. Many of these refugees are looking for help to cover their basic needs. Looking for organizations that can help on the ground? Here’s a handful you can send donations to:
- UNICEF: Heavy firearms in Ukraine have destroyed imperative housing and plumbing infrastructure, keeping clean drinking water out of reach for many Ukrainian families. UNICEF’s emergency teams and partners are responding by offering mental and physical health support, food, clean drinking water, and education for children. Your donation would support these efforts.
- Doctors Without Borders: Doctors Without Borders (also known as MSF which stands for Medecins Sans Frontieres, or Doctors Without Borders in French) has been in Ukraine since 2014 helping citizens with HIV, tuberculosis, and other chronic illnesses. Since the war began, they’ve shifted their efforts to providing emergency services and expanding teams to several nearby countries. Your donation would help them receive urgently needed medical supplies, ranging from war-related surgeries and traumas to key medical supplies to which citizens with chronic illnesses no longer have access.
- Voices of Children: Reduce the effects of war trauma on the lives of children by donating to the non-profit, Voices of Children. Your donation will go towards mental health treatment, rehabilitation, and easing the everyday concerns of their families.
- Care: This 75-year old organization is aiming to touch the lives of 4 million displaced Ukrainians. Your donation goes toward providing critical first aid and recovery, food, clean water, hygiene kits, and more to family refugees.
- Revived Soldiers Ukraine: Many Ukrainian citizens are choosing to move their families to safety, then stay and fight for freedom. Support them with a donation to Revived Soldiers Ukraine, an organization dedicated to providing medical and humanitarian support to soldiers in need of expensive emergency care and rehabilitation.
Got an AirBnB? Offer it to Ukrainian Refugees
AirBnB has already arranged housing for over 20,000 Afghan refugees and is on the road to housing 20,000 more. At the end of February, AirBnB announced they’re also offering support to house 100,000 Ukrainian refugees.
If you own an AirBnB, you can host a refugee family through their partner nonprofit, AirBnB.org. As long as you have an AirBnB account, you also have the option to donate to help refugees’ stays to be completely free.
Support Journalists Reporting from Ukraine
Independent publications from Ukraine send their journalists into the heart of the war. These brave storytellers report from bomb shelters, train stations, and crumbled neighborhoods. Educating the world about what’s really happening in Ukraine will lead to more donations and assistance.
By donating to journals like The Kyiv Independent or The New Voice of Ukraine, you can help Ukrainians be heard. You can also share their stories to keep the people around you educated.
Keep Yourself Healthy so You May Help Others
Brené Brown, a social work researcher, academic, and speaker, recently found that the variable that highly compassionate people share the most is whether they have (and uphold) personal boundaries.
It’s now proven by research that the fuller your cup is, the more you can give to others. Support yourself during this crisis by prioritizing your mental health and starting therapy with me.
