World Vet Volunteer Series: now raising for Ukraine

This fundraiser supports a different organisation doing hands-on work for animals with each mission. From today, every new dollar goes to my work with Global Animal Rescue and Response in Ukraine, where I’ll be volunteering as an emergency vet before the year is out. The fundraiser dates aren’t linked to when I’ll be in Ukraine. GARR is a registered charity in Ukraine.

A quick note on the total you see above

Everything raised before this switch went to The Happy Herd Farm Sanctuary. Their fundraiser closed at $3661, and that’s our new zero. Anything above $3661 goes to Ukraine. For example, if the page shows $4661, $1,000 has been raised for Ukraine so far. (GoFundMe sets the goal on the page automatically, so ignore that number.)

Who I’m working with

Global Animal Rescue and Response partners with local vets, shelters and even human medics to help both animals and the people caught up in the conflict. That can mean treating injured animals on the spot, getting a patient to a clinic that’s hard to reach, carrying out higher-risk evacuations, or delivering food and other supplies to local clinics, shelters and the communities around them.

For safety reasons I cannot announce the places we are going to until we have already been and provided support. Gofundme, if you're reading this - happy to provide that information privately (they gave a warning when I posted this that they are vetting all Ukrainian donations).

Our goal: $30,000. Wildest dream: $100,000.

The dares (because you know I’m doing them):

$5,000: Ice bath

$10,000: Meet white tiger cubs and learn how exotic animals are cared for in a war zone

$15,000: Eat a 100-year-old egg

$20,000: Let my friends haze me

$25,000: Learn and film a Ukrainian hopak dance

$30,000: Still deciding, so send me your ideas!

If we smash $30k, I’ll add more.

What we’ve organised so far

Thanks to generous supporters and some organisation on GARR and I's end, we’ve already secured:

400 doses of rabies vaccine

A laryngoscope kit for airway emergencies

Sedation medication for a partner clinic in Ukraine

Muzzles and torches for safe handling and night work

Want to send supplies instead?

Money is the most helpful thing you can give, because it lets the team buy what’s needed on the ground as things change. For anyone who’d rather send something physical, I’ve listed a limited number of items on an Amazon wish list for my personal trauma kit, the gear I’ll carry to treat injured animals in the field. Anything that’s needed more on the ground, I’ll leave behind with local clinics and shelters. You’ll find the link in my Instagram bio (@thecharlieforde).

Where your money goes

In a conflict zone, needs change day to day, and the team often can’t know exactly what’s most urgent until they’re on the ground. I’ll post updates here and on my socials showing where the funds went, and you’ll hear from the team directly about how they work and how they keep safe. For safety reasons, we won’t be sharing travel dates publicly.

Thank you, Happy Herd supporters

To everyone who gave to The Happy Herd, thank you. You made a real difference for those animals, and you can see what your money did in the updates.