My name is Ben Harrison. I’m a Junior at Monte Vista High School, and I’m proudly half-Ukrainian. I’m heartbroken by the actions of Putin and ache for the Ukrainian people who are fighting for their freedom and lives. I have a cousin my age in central Ukraine who was leading a normal life and in school just like me only a week ago. Now he’s forced to worry for his life and wait to face Russian soldiers. Those as young as 18 years old are no longer given the option to flee and are required to stay in the country, while they see the homes and opportunities of those around them crushed. I want to do anything to support Sergey and the many Ukrainian people like him whose lives are being destroyed by this devastating war.

Please pray for my cousin to help him rise above his fears while he is fighting for Ukraine. Pray for Ukrainian children, forced to flee to safety while hearing explosions around them and worrying about their fathers who stayed behind to fight. Think of the handicapped retirees who can’t easily come down to the bomb shelters and women who have to make a choice between escaping the bombs and giving birth to their child a the hospital. This all happened last week in March 2022.

Putin and his army have launched a full-scale invasion on Ukraine and is currently bombing cities filled with peaceful civilians. Over 1.5 million Ukrainians have already become refugees, and as the situation continues upwards of 4 million people are estimated to escape the country. This conflict is quickly becoming the biggest humanitarian crisis since WWII, and this is OUR CHANCE TO ACT!

Last week my family and I completed a humanitarian aid drive and collected an entire truckload full of medical supplies, food, clothes, and other necessities to send to the Ukrainian border, which will be arriving to refugees and people at the front lines by the end of the week of March 6th, 2022. I am also working towards spreading awareness at school to all my classmates and teachers, and there are already plans on doing more drives once more cargo planes become available.

JOIN ME IN MAKING A DIFFERENCE. I'm raising money to benefit Nova Ukraine, a local non-profit dedicated to helping Ukrainians since Russia first invaded Crimea in 2014. I chose this organization because of its reputation, leadership, and the fact that all funds will go to help the innocent people of Ukraine. Money raised will go directly to purchasing medical and humanitarian supplies for people in cities experiencing active combat (Kharkiv, Kherson, Kyiv, Dnipro. Zhytomyr, Chernihiv). Nova Ukraine has raised over $3.5 Million in donations and is operating almost entirely off of volunteer work, with countless fundraising projects over the last 7 years.

Thank you for contributing to this cause that means so much to me, my family, the Ukrainian community in the East Bay, and the country of Ukraine. Slava Ukraini!