We cannot stop the war but we are not helpless.
Recently a friend asked me, “What can we actually do as an average American to support Ukraine?” My response went like this.
Just because we cannot change the world, it doesn't mean we have to stand by and watch it burn. It's my opinion that the best thing Americans can do right now is to help the Ukrainians who are still in Ukraine. Here are three ways to do so right now. Please share these tangible ways to show support.
1. Support Ukrainian local grass-root humanitarian organizations by donating to www.ShareUkraine.org.
You will be shocked to see how far your dollars will stretch. Volunteers in Ukraine exclusively operate them. They figured out how to combine free government distributed resources and purchased goods to improve people's lives. They enable communities to take care of their own. They feed, house, medicate their neighbors, and give people hope and support. The money that comes to ShareUkraine funds a grassroots organization that is 100% volunteer-based that I learned about it through my connections. This food pantry is in Kharkiv. I would find more organizations like "Simply People." (I hope your Facebook settings auto-translate their pages) in other hot zones if we had unlimited funds.
2. You can also support mid to large organizations operating in Ukraine at https://standforukraine.com/.
In addition to humanitarian causes, some collect money for drones, protective gear, night vision devices, communication systems, armored ambulances, logistics vehicles, etc. Please support them. Come Back Alive is one of those organizations. They may not be tax-deductible organizations to you, but you can figure out how to do the right thing.
Because of my connections, I find grass-root efforts to help the war effort personally. Several weeks ago, my family spent $2,400 on armor-plating a minivan in Poland that made its way to the front lines. It was used only for nine days until it got hit by an RPG and was destroyed. BUT NO ONE lost their life. It did its job.
3. Sponsor a family or several families, a community, or whatever your time and money allow you to.
I started the matching process ten days ago. So far, the one pair of families I connected have had a rewarding experience. I have six more in the queue, and I would love to see this initiative go viral. Millions of affected families can use our help and personal support and care.
Please share these tangible ways to help. There are countless ways you can make a difference. The ones mentioned above are the ones I found to be passionate about. The main thing is to be committed to making a difference.
My friend also asked, “How do we get our government to take support for Ukraine seriously and, more importantly, influence EU countries to stop buying Russian oil and Gas?”
Which gave me an opening to speak my mind.
The bottom line is that our actions have consequences. We elected bureaucrats to represent us and not leaders. As it was 100 years ago, we are led by Chamberlains of today and not Churchills. The proof is that the most popular world leader today is Zelensky.
In recent days, the United States finally committed to helping Ukraine win a decisive victory over Russia. This is good news, but the fact remains that Ukrainians will continue to die to protect our way of life.
Ukrainians will win this war as long as they know that the world is with them. After all, they will because they must. They don't have a choice. The involvement of millions of freedom-loving people will help to clearly show that the world is with them, and not in just words.
I thank those who helped me in the past, and I ask all of my friends for your continued help and support.
Sam Rozenberg
Glory to Ukraine.