Supporting Ukraine: Email Summary

On April 1st, 2022, we sent out the following email to all those who contributed to our fundraiser supporting Ukraine, in partnership with TLU Students with Ukraine while Midori and I were spending a month in Tallinn, Estonia. Having the privilege of stewarding contributions from our community and putting them to work in support of refugees impacted by the war in Ukraine was the highlight of our time in Estonia. We’re sharing the email below to thank our community and showcase the impact we collectively had.

Hi everyone,

Two simple words to start: THANK YOU! We’re now in the 5th week of the war in Ukraine and it has been incredible to see the world unite in support of the Ukrainian people. Being in Tallinn, just 750 miles from Ukraine, has shown us the power sustained, collective effort can have on people in need. 

In the spirit of showcasing impact, we’re thrilled to share that with your support, we raised $720 USD for TLU Students with Ukraine who are supporting the refugee relocation effort out of Ukraine.

Every day, they collect and arrange supplies for 5-7 buses (60 buses/week at the peak!) headed to Warsaw, Poland, and a number of other Polish-Ukrainian border towns. The purpose of these buses is to rescue and relocate thousands of displaced Ukrainians fleeing the conflict in their homeland. It’s a massive effort involving the cooperation of multiple governments, logistical support on the ground in Estonia and Poland, and donations from a number of private individuals and corporations.

Midori and I spent a few days over the past three weeks helping assemble supplies and prepping pallets to be loaded onto buses (see photos below).

We’re so grateful for the money you all donated. So to show you the impact it had, here’s how we put it to work:

Food supplies for refugee buses ($317.50)

• 108 (2-pack) Nature Valley granola bars
• 12 Nature Valley protein bars
• 5 Nestle cereal bars
• 24 packs of lean-meat jerky
• 25 packs of Kalev and Selga sweet digestive cookies
• 12 packs of Tuc salted cookies
• 4 packs of 16 Oreo cookies
• 10 packs of assorted nuts
• 10 dried fruit bars
• 240 packs of Nestle instant coffee
• 80 packs of Jacobs instant coffee

Wellbeing supplies for refugees buses ($68.50)

• 4 packs of 2-set pacifiers
• 8 coloring + sticker books for children
• 8 sets of six coloring pencils

Frontline defense emergency supplies ($334)

• 4 first aid kits total
  • 1 vehicle first aid kit
  • 2 first aid kits for groups under 25 people
  • 1 first aid kit for groups over 25 people
• 4 tactical headlamps

All of what we purchased was based on real-time feedback from organizers and bus drivers who have the best pulse on what passengers need the most during the arduous journey out of Ukraine. Having witnessed these supplies be assembled and loaded onto buses, we’re confident everything listed above will be put to good use.

It was incredible to see our community come together around a cause like this. Midori and I feel privileged to have been geographically close enough to the crisis to help in such a direct manner — and to be stewards of your donations and put them to work for the affected population in Ukraine made it all the more worthwhile.

So we’ll sign off the same way we kicked off this email, capturing the spirit of gratitude we feel for your support and the collective impact we’ve had on Ukrainians in need. Thank you!

In awe of your generosity,
Midori & Akaash

Thank you for supporting Ukraine and please feel free to reach out if you have any additional partnership ideas.