Ukraine Direct Action - Week 7 Update

It's time for another update on what your generosity?enabled - the outpouring of support to help those fleeing this war has been nothing short of incredible. A special thanks to those who heeded the call in the last message for a second donation, your funds immediately?made a difference in the lives of 9 Ukrainians - more on that a bit later.

While the flow of those fleeing Ukraine has slowed in recent weeks, unfortunately, that doesn't mean that all have made it to their permanent place of refuge. Those who left early were able to seek refuge in countries closest such as Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, and the Czech Republic. As the war has dragged on and those countries have become saturated, those who are in need of housing and jobs have begun to look further afield for a permanent?solution. Canada and the UK both developed efficient?programs for visa issuance and have become common destinations. This is only half the battle though getting to a town in England or Vancouver Island isn't always affordable or within the reach of those seeking the refuge. That's where solutions like the?Transport a Sister?come in and fill the gap and why we've been so dedicated to partnering with them from the beginning.

Once again, we've spent a full 100% of donations received to date. To those who haven't yet donated, or who might have the ability to continue to contribute, I'd ask you to consider sending some additional funds; any amount is meaningful. Simply put, the need is tremendous and the current phase of helping with transport is a costly endeavor. Should you want to donate, you can do so via credit card here:?https://fundly.com/ukraine-direct-support, or should you want to send via PayPal or another service to send cash, you can reply to me directly to coordinate.

?First a quick update from the?Transport a Sister?initiative. Your generous donations have fueled a significant portion of their overall impact below. It's simply stunning to think that the work started by Natalia, Ola, and a few other dedicated moderators on the Facebook group has had a life-changing impact on 250+ fleeing the conflict.

Turning specifically to the donations you sent us since my last message, here's what we've been able to directly accomplish:

• Olena fled her home for the second time, back in 2014 she left Lugansk for Dnipro and now had?to?leave the country. She was approved for a visa to Canada, so we?helped her get from Istanbul to Rome via plane as a?kind-hearted flight attendant agreed to?meet her and share her standby pass to get her to Vancouver.?
• We helped Tetiana get from Warsaw to London-Stansted where she received an offer of refuge in Gosport in Hampshire, UK. It was the first time traveling alone for Tetiana and she was apprehensive?but thankful volunteers were meeting here in Stansted, and that we could help her check-in for her flight and handle all the online aspects.

• Maryna & Mariia had been staying in Warsaw for some weeks and were able to secure a sponsor in the UK. We helped them with tickets from Warsaw to Luton airport. At first, they were almost confused as though we could only help them with how to buy a ticket and they were concerned about how long it might take them to secure the funds to get them out of sleeping in gyms and group accommodation?in Warsaw.?When they learned we were booking them a ticket with no expectation of funds in return we received the messages below.

• Finally, we managed to help a family of 2 adults and 3 children with tickets from Rzeszow in Poland to Eindhoven in the Netherlands by partnering with other donors from the?Transport a Sister?initiative. It was nearly 11 pm the night before the flight which left in the morning when we noticed their ask was still not fully funded and were able to close the gap with the last of your donations and the tickets were booked!

Lastly, thank you to those who shared this with your friends & contacts. Feel free to do so if you haven't already via email, on Facebook, or on LinkedIn. Let your friends know about this campaign by sending them to this page:?https://fundly.com/ukraine-direct-support!

Slava Ukraini! (Glory to Ukraine) Heroyam slava! (Glory to the Heroes!) And as so many have said to me, I say to you - you are all the Heroes!