13 charitable organizations to support and help the people of Ukraine

[Feb 27, 2022: Gabrielle Ulubay]

This week, Russia escalated its near-decade-long aggression against Ukraine by declaring all-out war and invading from the east. The capital city of Kyiv is reportedly being demolished; over 50 Ukrainians have been confirmed as dead; and an estimated over 100,000 people have been displaced, worsening an already dire European refugee crisis.

It's easy to feel powerless during moments like these—but we aren't. While I can't promise that making a simple donation or sharing a link on social media will single-handedly end this conflict (it won't), it can do something. Think about it: One donation of $30 can feed a family or provide Ukrainian soldiers with clean drinking water. Five dollars can buy a child the book or toy that they need to psychologically escape the trauma around them. Not to mention, your donation can change someone's entire world—when you support people in need, you're not just supplying them with much-needed resources, you're telling them that you care.

Founded 101 years ago and comprised of over 4 million members, the Ukrainian Red Cross has consistently shown up to aid Ukrainians during natural disasters, humanitarian crises, and, of course, civil conflicts. In addition to organizing educational services on a regular basis throughout the country, they also provide sanitary materials and coordinate blood donations during devastating times like these. Learn more on their website, and you can also donate.

You can also donate to the International Committee of the Red Cross, which is also ramping up its efforts in Ukraine.

Related News

Voices of Children is an organization that provides no-cost psychological support to Ukrainian children who are impacted by armed conflicts like this one. Their services include art therapy, traveling psychologists who specialize in trauma, and assistance programs for individual families. You can donate to this essential foundation, and we encourage you to also check out their digital storytelling project, in which Ukrainian children talk about what it's like to grow up in or near a war zone.

Razom is a nonprofit that was specifically created for Ukrainian emergency response missions. They acquire first aid kits and other medical supplies in order to help those most directly impacted by the violence in Ukraine. You can donate via Facebook, and Razom is also providing frequent, sometimes live updates on their Facebook page.

For the better part of the last decade, international organization UNICEF has been working across eastern Ukraine to provide medical aid, food, and psychological support to an entire generation of children that has been traumatized by violence with Russia. Learn more about their efforts in the region, and donate.

United Help Ukraine provides humanitarian aid to people in need in Ukraine, focusing on distributing clothing, medical supplies, and other basic materials to people impacted by the conflict with Russia (both past and present). They also help rehabilitate wounded and traumatized soldiers. Donate via PayPal.

I personally get squeamish about the idea of supplying anybody with weapons, but Army SOS focuses on providing military supplies so that the Ukrainian military (which is in such dire need that it has resorted to crowdfunding for resources) can defend itself against the daunting strength of the Russian armed forces.

Caritas is an international Catholic organization, but they are indiscriminate in helping those in need. Founded in response to Russian hostilities in 2014, the organization has over 30 offices across Ukraine with over 1,000 employees and volunteers. They regularly conduct scientific research on medicine, unemployment, and homelessness, and focus many of their efforts of aiding orphans, disabled people, and refugees. Currently, they are focused on aiding those in eastern Ukraine along with those who have fled westward. You can support Caritas.

Territory of Kindness' focus is bifold: Assistance to children, and assistance to the military. Their military-focused donations primarily go towards medical supplies, protective equipment, and technology for armed forces. Meanwhile, their work with children supports orphanages and provides clothing, books, toys, and hygienic supplies to children displaced by the conflict. Here's how to donate.

This organization does quite a bit. From providing analytical and technical assistance to the military (think: microchips, radar, engines, and data) to supporting media coverage of the crisis as it unfolds, Save Life is committed to supporting the people on the ground in eastern Ukraine. They are also 100 percent transparent about what they do with all of their donations, posting meticulous reports on their website of all their spending on a yearly basis. This is how to donate.

This Czech organization is incredible. They help a number of countries in crisis, but their work in Ukraine focuses on providing food, clean water, and hygienic products to those impacted by Russian aggression. In light of COVID-19, they have ramped up their medical-related efforts. In addition, People In Need provides coal for houses that have lost their access to heat, and they repair damaged pipes and homes.

Their humanitarian aid doesn't just stop there: People In Need supports those healing from the crisis as well by offering psychological and psychosocial support to those who have been traumatized. They also provide grants to Ukrainian small businesses and help farmers recover from lapses in production; you can donate to them.

Founded in responses to the massive devastation of World War I, Save the Children provides support through public health, education, nutrition, advocacy, and emergency relief for children in need. They have worked in Ukraine continuously since 2014, and are preparing to provide food, water, cash transfers, and warm shelter to children and families fleeing Russian violence. You can support them via their website.

CARE has been a prominent humanitarian organization since its inception during World War II. At the moment, it's devoted to providing Ukrainians with immediate aid, with a particular focus on distributing food, hygienic materials, clean water, and cash assistance. They also provide psychosocial services to survivors.

CARE has a goal of raising at least 20 million dollars for direct aid, which you can contribute to on their donation page.

We can all agree that freedom of press is a crucial tenet for any sovereign society. Ukrainian journalism, in particular, has been under attack by Russia for about a decade, with Russian operatives planting disinformation intended to destabilize Ukraine much in the way those same actors have been meddling with American politics since 2016. Now that Russian forces have physically invaded the country, many Ukrainian journalists now feel unsafe and are scrambling to escape the country, which could leave a vacuum where valuable journalism once was.

For these reasons, and because Russia is actively stemming the flow of honest journalism about their attacks this week, it is more important now than ever to support reliable Ukrainian journalism.

To do so, consider supporting international organizations like Free Press Unlimited and the International Press Institute, both of which are devoted to protecting journalists and journalism more generally on an international scale. You can also donate directly to Ukrainian publications like the Kyiv Independent and the Ukraine Crisis Media Center.

Note: Materials provided above by Gabrielle Ulubay. Content may be edited for style and length.

Like these kind of feel good stories? Get the Brighter Side of News' newsletter.

Tags: #Global_Good_News, #Ukraine, #Kindness, #Helping_Hand, #Compassion, #Charity, #Donation, #Humanity, #War, #The_Brighter_Side_of_News