How to Help - Master List
There are several excellent lists circulating that highlight top-notch organizations that are providing essential assistance to Ukrainian military personnel, refugees, and IDPs. These organizations are worthy of any contribution you could make.
Unfortunately, this is just the start. Even Ukrainians that have been spared physical violence and displacement have seen their livelihoods threatened and their institutions put under unprecedented pressure. I’ve pulled together the list below, which highlights some of the local organizations and initiatives that I respect and trust that need your support. I will feature these opportunities as I learn of them in my newsletter.
In the coming months, this list will grow longer and longer. If you’re committed to helping, I recommend identifying a manageable amount and contributing whenever a cause resonates with you. Remember that Western currencies go a long way in Ukraine. Wise.com is an easy way to transfer funds to international bank accounts.
The Arts
Buy A Tale of Ten Thousand Letters, a Ukrainian-English children’s book by Ukrainian poet Dzvinka Torokhtyshko, which is illustrated by my cousin’s daughters. Proceeds go to the Ukrainian army.
Sign a quick petition asking Amazon.com to create a separate category for Ukrainian literature and poetry (it is currently characterized as Russian literature and poetry)
Donate to the Ukrainian Emergency Art Fund to support Ukrainian artists, curators, and cultural workers.
Donate to help Ukraine’s largest film archive, the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Center in Kyiv, weather the war.
Buy a book from the excellent Kyiv-based Osnovy Publishing (some good options: Ukrainian railroad ladies, Kyiv guidebook, “the crazy 90s”). Osnovy writes that, due to the war, “our publishing house cannot fully function. But we want to pay salaries to our team. Now it’s needed as never before. … We cannot ship your order right now, but we will do it as soon as the war is over. And it will have a very special significance.”
Donate to the Emergency Support Initiative run by the wonderful Kyiv Biennale to support artists and cultural workers who remain in Ukraine.
Donate to leading Ukrainian art gallery Asortymentna Kimnata, which is organizing the preservation and evacuation of artworks across Ukraine.
Donate to a fundraiser for Ukrainian female photographers.
Volunteer to help archive Ukrainian cultural heritage online.
Donate to support the publication of Ukrainian-language children’s books in Poland.
Journalism
Support a variety of independent media outlets in Ukraine.
Contribute to protective gear for Ukrainian journalists who are covering the invasion.
Housing
Donate to help renovate housing for IDPs in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine
Humanitarian/Miscellaneous
Donate to the local Ukrainian nonprofit Voices of Children, which is providing psychosocial and humanitarian assistance to Ukrainian children.
Rent an AirBnB in a Ukrainian city under siege (Mariopol, Kharkhiv, Mykolaiv, Kyiv) to provide direct support to Ukrainians, but read this before you book.
Text random Russian phone numbers with the truth about the Russian invasion.
Contribute to the Ukrainian government’s humanitarian fund.
Report Russian propaganda outlets to their online platforms so that they are taken down.
Support U.S. Ukrainian Activists, a small, highly-regarded nonprofit providing medical and humanitarian supplies to Ukraine
Volunteer to teach Ukrainian children English online via the organization Ukrainian EnglisHouse (write asundalova@englishouse.com.ua for more)
Buy a commemorative stamp with the infamous “Russian warship, go fuck yourself” design via the Ukrainian Postal Service’s official Ebay store (yes, this is real)
Donate to Ukrainian artist Denis Minin, who has been personally evacuating residents of Mariupol. You can send him some cash via paypal at denisminin1@gmail.com.
Donate to a local aid group out of Odessa that is providing medication and food to vulnerable residents. You can send them cash via paypal at vorobini66@gmail.com.
Donate to Livyy Bereh (Left Bank), a local aid group out of Kyiv that is providing diverse kinds of assistance (construction, food, transport) to Kyiv oblast (Paypal: baindeminuitstore@gmail.com)
Donate to Mariupol’s Friends, an NGO providing direct assistance to Ukrainian refugees in Estonia, many of whom have come to the country after being deported to Russia from occupied cities like Mariupol
Donate to longtime Donbas aid worker Brian Milakovksy, who is assisting eastern Ukrainians who are evacuating
If you’re in London, the wonderful Ukrainian Institute London is looking for volunteers. “We particularly need support to set up an English conversation club as part of our language school, help with social media, design, newsletters, website updates, running our in-person events…”
Animal Welfare
Donate to the European Associations of Zoos and Aquaria to provide food and care to zoo animals in cities under siege. You can also buy tickets at the Kyiv and Mykolaiv zoos to support them directly.
Several animals at Kharkhiv’s zoo have been killed by Russian shelling; donate to bring the survivors to safety
Military
Directly support the Ukrainian military.
Note: The image at the top is “A Dove Has Spread His Wings, Wants to be on Peaceful Earth,” by Ukrainian artist Maria Pryyimachenko, from 1982.