7 ideas to help Ukraine in the distance:
Community initiatives.
The starting point is the city itself: local shops and bars are organized to help.
Direct donations.
Large organizations are on the ground with medical teams, food and assistance.
How to choose one?
Art, cryptocurrencies and Airbnb.
Online shopping as a way to send money to Ukrainian families.
Call political leaders.
From letters to Congress and the White House, to direct calls to representatives: how to get your opinion across.
Help the local press.
Being informed is key and there are independent journalists putting their lives at risk on the ground.
Immigrants here and there.
Thousands of refugees need immediate help in Ukraine, but the war hits those in the US too.
Take to the streets
.
Protests around the world for an end to violence are another way of putting pressure on politicians to act.
Since
Russia launched its attack on Ukraine
on February 24, more than 1.5 million people have had to flee the country, thousands have taken refuge in makeshift bunkers in the subway and underground, and hundreds have died.
The conflict broke out on another continent, but the images of the families and children affected by the war have shocked those who live in the United States, triggering multiple solidarity actions in support of direct donations to activism in the streets.
A girl looks out of a bus window after crossing the Polish border from Ukraine to flee the Russian invasion;
on March 6, 2022. LOUISA GOULIAMAKI / AFP via Getty Images
1. Community initiatives
The community or city itself is a good starting point.
A pilates center in Chicago has listed on Amazon to send supplies, and there, too, a Ukrainian-owned company is producing blue and yellow candles, the colors of the Ukranian flag.
What he gets from its sale goes 100% to humanitarian aid.
In Brooklyn, the Gatsby Social Club bar has been transformed into a hub where
canned food, flashlights, painkillers and baby formula arrive from all over the city
.
“Hundreds of people are calling me to ask what they can do, what they can bring, how they can help,” Natalya, a 26-year-old Ukrainian volunteer at the club, told The Washington Post, who withheld her identity for security.
[Russia invades Ukraine: the bombing does not stop and thousands flee the country]
Before and after the war: images of the dramatic transformation Ukraine is undergoing
March 5, 202200:36
You can also find foundations at the local level that have a direct connection with affected families and see firsthand the work they do and what they need.
Global Empowerment Mission, based in Miami, is for example in the town of Medyka, Poland, helping refugees buy train and plane tickets.
2.
Direct donations
To make a direct donation to those on the ground there is an extensive list of options.
Experts say that anything helps, whether it's $5 or $500, but make sure it's a legitimate place.
"Don't donate to the first
crowdfunding
campaign or charity that asks you to," Laurie Styron, executive director of CharityWatch, tells The New York Times.
Very moving campaigns can be scams
, so do your research before donating.
Charity Navigator lists accredited organizations, and Great Nonprofits and Give Well have reviews of nonprofit groups.
Polish hospitality towards Ukrainian refugees touches the entire planet
March 6, 202201:43
To provide
medical aid
, there are organizations that have already been
working on the ground since before the invasion
and have a high score on these pages, such as Direct Relief, which is putting together a list of 500 emergency packages, and Doctors Without Borders, a winning organization of the Nobel Prize with medical teams in Ukraine and neighboring countries.
International Medical Corps, International Rescue Committee and the Red Cross, as well as Razom for Ukraine have also helped since the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014. Locally, there are more small non-profit groups like Sunflower of Peace that are buying tactical first aid backpacks
Don't donate to the first campaign or charity that asks for it."
Laurie Styron director of CharityWatch
Others are
assisting refugees
like Mercy Corps, which sends volunteers to the border, or GlobalGiving and Care, which raise funds for food, water, shelter and other assistance.
There are also celebrities in the affected areas such as the Spanish chef José Andrés, who has set up his World Central Kitchen on the border between Ukraine and Poland.
"Your heart breaks," he told Noticias Telemundo.
The Save the Children Foundation
is giving food, hygiene kits, funding and more to families and children who are victims of the conflict.
And the local Voices of Children
is providing emergency psychological assistance to affected Ukrainian children.
3.
Art, cryptocurrencies and Airbnb
Help can also come through online purchases, whether from Ukrainian businesses, art or local products, on the Etsy platform for example.
At Airbnb, an unexpected movement arose: people began to book stays in the Ukraine that they were not going to use to send money to the premises.
Sarah Brown, who lives in Salt Lake City, created a Facebook group for Airbnb hosts and rented an apartment in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev.
The host, Ekaterina Martiusheva, told NPR that she has been a great help.
“
These days we don't have any income
”, she counted.
The idea spread in recent days and for now, Airbnb is not collecting its fees in Ukraine.
On Wednesday and Thursday, more than 61,000 nights were booked in the country, he said.
The accommodation company Airbnb will help Ukrainians who have fled the Russian invasion
Feb. 28, 202200:22
Elliptic, a company that tracks cryptocurrency transactions, further said that as of Friday, $56.2 million in digital currencies had been donated to the Ukrainian government and
Come Back Alive
, a Ukrainian organization that says it trains and supplies ammunition to the military.
Scammers also seem to be trying to cash in, but there are options to avoid them.
“If the government raises the funds directly through a public appeal, or if the funds are raised through a reputable third-party organization that is known to be active, that is probably a safer bet,” said Chris DePow, regulatory and compliance expert at Elliptic.
4.
Call political leaders
To direct your concerns to decision-makers in the United States, you can use your ZIP code to find a local US representative on the Congress page.
There appears contact information to express opinions about the Russian invasion.
Americans can also communicate with the White House.
The Action Network also started the
Stand with Ukraine campaign
from New Jersey to send letters with specific demands to the federal government.
5.
Help the local press
The Russian invasion has the potential to create the worst humanitarian crisis Europe has seen since World War II.
Experts highlight the importance of the reports that come out of the area to denounce crimes against humanity and the needs of those most affected.
For these complaints to sink in, it is necessary for the public to be aware of the conflict, its importance and the consequences of the decisions of the authorities (now and in recent years).
[“Russia does not respect the truce and continues to bomb”: Ukraine suspends the evacuation of civilians]
"Run!": NBC News reporters record heavy bombardment by separatists in eastern Ukraine
Feb. 23, 202201:52
At the local level, reporters who are risking their lives to report what is happening are asking for support.
The independent outlet Kyiv Independent is raising funds to continue its coverage of bombings and ground invasions from within the conflict, as is New Voice of Ukraine.
There are also numerous GoFundMe pages to support local media.
Some indicate that they need funds to relocate to neighboring countries and continue covering the conflict.
6. Support for immigrants here and there
Countries bordering Ukraine are receiving thousands of refugees who have been forced to flee their homes.
There are organizations or institutions based in Poland, some of which have been supporting migrants since 2005, and in Hungary, and helping women, transgender and non-binary activists.
Some have focused on combating racism at the border.
[Africans denounce racism and discrimination while trying to leave Ukraine to flee the invasion]
While families are expected to arrive in the United States seeking asylum, and there are local organizations where help can already begin to be prepared, there are many migrants who have been in the country for years.
The United States grants TPS to Ukrainian citizens in the country
March 4, 202200:21
More than 60,000 Ukrainians reside in New York City, according to Census data,
among nearly 355,000 nationwide
, with significant numbers in California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Florida, Washington state and Illinois.
And more than 1 million Americans have Ukrainian ancestry.
These families also need support.
I keep watching the news and crying.
That's my country
Marina Shepelsky Ukrainian immigrant
“I keep watching the news and crying.
That's my country,” said Marina Shepelsky, a 45-year-old lawyer from Brooklyn, who was born in Ukraine.
More than 7,000 immigrants and refugees have called her office for help, she told The Washington Post, in the US and Eastern Europe.
The blow has also been felt in the Russian community in the US, with many of its members who oppose the invasion, and in the neighborhoods where citizens from both sides of the conflict live together.
7.
Take to the streets
You can also show your support at the local level by participating in protests or special events like demonstrations and art exhibits.
The exhibition
The Memory on her Face
(The memory on her face) in Miami brings together works by Ukrainian artists that reflect what has been experienced in the country in recent years.
"
It became our peaceful protest against the war
," Julia Voloshyn, one of those responsible, told the NBC6 channel.
[Russian vodka thrown into the sewers in protest of the invasion of Ukraine]
Tens of thousands of people gather in the Tiergarten park to protest the ongoing war in Ukraine on February 27, 2022 in Berlin, Germany. Sean Gallup/Getty Images
There are websites where you can check upcoming protests around the world and the US, and some of the fundraising groups also have street campaigns like the non-profit organization Razom.
"We're finding a lot of little things that we can do that add up to bigger things," Razom's Maria Genkin told The Associated Press.