Help Volunteers in Ukraine More Directly
A personal fundraiser by
Ether BezuglaMIT students raising money for humanitarian aid organizations and volunteers local to Ukraine.
$22,820
raised by 105 people
$25,000 goal
Goal Increase!
Thank you all for your incredibly help. We are currently working on transferring the initial amounts to each of the efforts listed - some of the money has already arrived. We have also upped the amount on the fundraiser to support them even further. We really appreciate all of your help!
Our Fundraiser
Our names are Margarita Davydova and Ether Bezugla. We are both students at MIT and have families in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Some of our relatives have fled Ukraine and are now war refugees in Europe, but many of them - as well as millions of other people - are still trapped. Our hearts and souls are there with them.
Why support smaller-scale efforts? Large organizations are currently struggling to deliver aid to Ukraine's most impacted cities due to the incredible danger associated with transportation and the time needed to scale up operations. The next few weeks are critical for those trapped in cities of vulnerable regions, as they face hunger, lack of medicine, harsh weather, and continued war. In the short term, donations to local organizations and volunteers in the area will have the greatest impact, as they are already located and active in the affected regions. Many of these volunteers risk their lives on a daily basis to help others, and do it using their own resources. The least we can do is support them financially.
These are not some random efforts: some of them we have known personally for a long time and others we came in contact with since the war started. The details can be found below; the funds will be dedicated to humanitarian aid to civilians only.
After the fundraiser is over, we will publish a page summarizing how the funds have been used and photo- and video-documenting the efforts. Regardless how much money this fundraiser raises, we will donate all of it, keeping the ratio of how much we distribute to each effort fixed.
And, most importantly, thank you for your help to the people of Ukraine during this terrible time.
Warm wishes and many thanks,
Margarita, Ether, and Ukraine@MIT
You can also choose to donate directly! The full information can be found in this Google Doc: [link]
Who Are We Fundraising For?
You can find a short summary in the tables below. Each effort has committed to providing a financial breakdown, photos, and video reports to us.
| Name |
Details | Link/ contacts |
Current spending | Aim |
| Сharitable foundation “Station Kharkiv” |
A nonprofit organization established by the father of a deceased friend of an MIT undergraduate. They are supporting struggling people in bomb shelters in Kharkiv by delivering food, medications and neccessities daily. |
facebook |
Will be updated | $1,500 |
| Family of Anastasiia Rusetska |
Our close contact; they have organized a network of ~20 volunteers, who transport food, medications and necessities, help hospitals, and help to evacuate people in Kharkiv. |
anastasiia rusetska @gmail.com |
They are spending on average approx. $5,000 a day on humanitarian items for civilians and hospitals. |
$1,500 |
| Nonprofit Rotary Club "New Level" |
A friend of Margarita’s grandmother works in this nonprofit. They acquire, deliver to Kharkiv, and distribute humanitarian aid (approx. 4 tons a day!), food and some of the necessities. |
[facebook] |
They spend more than $2800 to buy and transport food in a day. They also sow around 500 warm blankets in a week to provide warmth in the damp bomb shelters, costing $20 a blanket. |
$2,250 |
Organizations and volunteers in other parts of Ukraine:
| Name |
Details | Link/ contacts |
Current spending | Aim |
| Kate Slinchenkova’s fundraiser |
A close contact of Margarita, whose grandfather works at the ICU in Dnipro. The majority of funds transferred to her will go directly to the hospital to save lives. Some of the funds will go to a children’s hospital in Dnipro and some will go to local shelters run by other members of her family. |
[more information] |
The average medication/tools order from the hospital is~$10,000/week, and they are experiencing severe shortage in funding. Humanitarian aid to refugees at the shelters costs at least $150 a day. |
$2,250 |
| Angels of Ukraine (entire Ukraine) |
They distribute food, medications, and necessities; they help evacuate people from many cities across the country. |
AngelsOf Ukraine2402 @gmail.com @Angelsof Ukraine2402 |
They have committed to provide a financial breakdown, photos, and video reports to us. One shipment of humanitarian aid to Kharkiv (includes food, medications, clothes, necessities, and fuel for transportation) costs around ~$3500 for them. |
$1,500 |
| Our friends, Anastasiia Dyubua and Maria Babovich, volunteers in Lviv |
Margarita’s old friend Anastasiia currently works with many volunteers in Lviv meeting people arriving on evacuation trains, providing them with food, taking them to shelters, and helping to transport them across the border. Maria runs a refugee shelter for thirty people to supply them with food and necessities, and helps out with other local shelters. |
maha.maxach @gmail.com humanbotanishe @gmail.com |
Providing humanitarian aid and shelter costs $1,000 a week for Anastasiia and Maria combined. |
$1,000 |
A personal fundraiser by
Ether Bezugla