Support the people of Ukraine

I am now in Ukraine, a country I formerly visited during another difficult time in my life (post-divorce, about a decade ago) and where I was welcomed with love and kindness. It's a different Ukraine I'm experiencing this time around - one that has been battered by a war that many of us struggle to fully comprehend.

I'm engaged in a lot of causes and I try hard not to tap into the generosity of my friends too often, but it's been a couple of years now since my last fundraiser, so I'm hoping you consider donating. As in the past, none of the donations will go towards my personal expenses. I'll continue to pay for my own transportation and living expenses. I'm creating this fundraiser simply to extend the amount of money I can spend on the ground to directly help the people of Ukraine. Winters in Ukraine are cold, and a lot of the infrastructure for power and heat has been deliberately bombed, so we will aim to provide warm clothes and food that is easy to cook with little or no electricity. We will also be delivering emergency aid to areas affected by the war that are unable to rebuild or repair already-destroyed infrastructure. If you have specific wishes for how your donation is spent, please do let me know.

I will continue to cover the GoFundMe fees using my own funds so that your donations may be whole, as I have done with my previous fundraisers.

Those of you who know me are aware that I've never been much of a political person. It's not that I don't care about politics (I do!) and it's not that I don't have political views (I do!) but when it comes to volunteering, my efforts are never politically charged; and outside of volunteering, I've never seen much value in drilling my views into others. In my volunteering world, I see a need, and I try to address that need. Maybe it's a simplistic approach, but human suffering hurts my heart to the core. If I can alleviate some of it, I will do my best to do so, and I appreciate your donations so I can extend my reach.

I flew out on November 18 to Poland, then joined forces with my friend Paul as we travel to Ukraine. I will return to Phoenix on December 5. While I will be traveling to different areas in Ukraine, my main base will be in Kyiv.

I met Paul while volunteering in Haiti doing disaster response after Hurricane Matthew in 2016. He was there with Team Rubicon and we found ourselves in the same hostel on our last night in the country. We've kept in touch since. Paul has already been in Ukraine for some time now and he will be a very precious resource for me to maximize my efforts during my limited time on the ground. He has made connections and done a lot of ground work to identify needs already. He is in Ukraine primarily to build a mental health service for people with post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) and other mental health challenges. He has extensive experience (more than 20 years) in this field, having built an educational program for psychologists and doctors in Europe, and is currently the chairman of the Norwegian Self-help Forum (Selvhjelp.no), which is a national competence center for self-help groups in Norway. Paul spent 6 years as a soldier in various war zones. He has volunteered in various relief missions around the world, and was the head of the largest transit center for refugees in Poland at the start of the war. This will be my 71st volunteering trip, but my first one in an active war zone.

We will try to provide to orphanages and the elderly, and there is a project on the horizon to help a family that needs to rebuild their home. A lot of this will be better defined once I'm on the ground. In addition to this, Paul has been involved in returning urns of ashes from Ukrainians who have fled the country but later passed, back to their families in different parts of Ukraine. He started this effort a few weeks ago, and I expect to be involved with returning 5 urns during my stay.

As I typically do, I'm setting a low goal... because I don't have a goal! However much I can raise is great, and no donation is too small. However you wish to be involved, whether it is through a monetary donation, helping me spread the word by sharing the fundraiser with others, or through good thoughts (I'll take those, too!), thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

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