Volunteers for Ukraine was born and received donations after creating a website and getting high-profile media coverage. The team spent about six weeks on the ground in Ukraine setting up a volunteer assistance program that paired people with combat medic experience and tactical skills with areas in Ukraine that needed those skills.
Major cities were receiving big chunks of aid, Ribardo said, but there were lots of small villages in the middle of nowhere that were also in harm’s way.
“That’s where we began to really focus our efforts,” he said, adding that Volunteers for Ukraine helps provide food, water, and other sustainment items to those areas.
Army veteran and Volunteers for Ukraine CEO Dane Miller had been working with another organization helping those in the country before getting involved with Volunteers for Ukraine through mutual friends and connections.
Dane Miller, who moved to Poland after the invasion and visits Ukraine every month, was also contracted to work with insurance companies in Ukraine that help with relocation and resettlement.
Smaller groups have been filling the holes that larger non-governmental organizations and the government itself could not fill, he said.
In addition to supplying resources to those on the ground and helping volunteers get to where they’re needed, Volunteers for Ukraine also sponsors Ukrainian soldiers who need medical treatment, including prosthetics.
Anyone can reach out to Volunteers for Ukraine to learn more about the war and how they can help, whether it’s donating money or even airline miles and hotel points for volunteers who want to help in person.
Volunteers for Ukraine has also partnered with the Kaplan Public Service Foundation to help support U.S. veterans and displaced Ukrainians.
