As a team, we were all devastated when we heard about the war in Ukraine. Many of our co-workers grew up in Ukraine and have family and friends there. We knew we had to do whatever we could to help the country in times of need.
We decided to throw a fundraiser and raise money and collect non-perishable food, clothes, and supplies we can send over. The fundraiser was a massive success. We had raffle ticket prizes, games for kids, speeches by Alek, and food catered and paid for by Royal Passage, a local Ukrainian restaurant. Together, we had a massive turnout and raised over $7,000.
The $7,000 was divided into multiple Ukrainian charities that our team felt would benefit Ukraine the most. We used a portion of the money to buy military equipment for the soldiers in need, we bought medicine and vitamins, clothes, and blankets. To this day, we continue to sell our custom-made Stand with Ukraine shirts to collect funds and help in any way we can.
We came together and were able to make a huge impact. Together, we are strong.
A Message From Our Owner
On February 24th, 2022, Vladimir Putin ordered his army to invade Ukraine, thinking that in a few days he would reach Kiev, Zelenskiy would flee or be killed, and the people of Ukraine would happily welcome Russian troops into their territory. What happened is already history, a very dark history, and it is still shocking to me till this day. That something like this happened in 2022—maybe in 1522, but not now—this looks like an old history/horror movie.
I was born in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Before now, most of you have never heard of it, even though it is the second largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1.5 million people.
Some interesting facts about Ukraine: It is the second largest country in Europe by size, losing only to France with all of her islands; otherwise it is first. Texas is bigger than Ukraine, which tells you how massive Texas and America are. There are only six cities in America that are bigger than one million people. Kharkiv has a greater population than Philadelphia, where our current company is located. Kharkiv’s Freedom Square is the biggest in Europe and one of the largest in the world, losing only to Tiananmen Square in China. Barabashovo flea market is one of the largest in Europe—it is so big, it’s like a small city in itself.
So, let’s imagine now that Philadelphia gets bombed daily with tactical bombs that leave holes in the ground that are 50–60 ft deep. Let’s imagine that all of the old city and Independence Hall gets destroyed. Let’s imagine that 1.5 million people are left without power and kids’ school is now inside the subway station. Crazy, right? No, insane. Not to count thousands of civilians dead and more than million displaced.
As a team, we were all devastated when we heard about the war that started in Ukraine. A lot of our co-workers grew up in Ukraine and have family and friends there. We knew we had to do whatever we can to help the country in times of need. We decided to throw a fundraiser and raise money, collect non-perishable food, clothes, and supplies that we can send over. The fundraiser occurred on March 5th and was a massive success. We had raffle ticket prizes, games for kids, speeches by Alek, food catered and paid for from Royal Passage, a local Ukrainian restaurant. Together, we were able to have a massive turnout and raise over $7,000.
The $7,000 was divided into multiple Ukrainian charities that our team felt would benefit Ukraine the most. We used a portion of the money to buy military equipment for the soldiers in need, we bought medicine and vitamins, clothes and blankets.
After the initial fundraiser, it was unfortunately evident that the war would not end soon and the people of Ukraine, especially soldiers, need our and everyone’s support. We continued to use company funds and resources to support our efforts.
Here is some highlights of efforts since the fundraiser:
Our biggest shipment to date was in May of 2022 with over 600 lbs worth of military equipment, military boots, military backpacks, hydration systems, tactical medicine, knee pads, elbow pads, etc. It was shipped and successfully received and then immediately distributed to the front line in Kharkiv. The shipments alone cost over $2,000 and the whole effort was over $10,000.
In June, we successfully shipped 2 parcels of tactical medicine each one was over $3,000, consisting of carb gels for recon teams, combat gauze, tourniquets, burn shields, special medical tactical kits, titanium scissors.
In the beginning of August we made another shipment. This time the concentration of funds went toward Mavic drones to help the Ukrainian army. The second part of the parcels were winter preparation items such as rain ponchos, toe warmers, foot warmers, hand warmers, and an enormous amount of burnshields.
So how can you help, and why? I am writing this exactly for this reason. There are a lot of funds that ask for donations. I, personally, am skeptical about many of them. Why would you ask? You have no idea where your funds are going. Do they even reach the destination and what impact do they make?
What we are doing is directly affecting the front lines. Everything that we send gets documented with photo and video evidence, and a lot of times, guys from front lines send thank you videos. One thing to say about the quality of American military gear is that it is of the highest quality, and I mean the highest.
So, I encourage you to get involved. Get in touch with us, look at our website. We have a special page about our efforts in Ukraine. For $50, you can save someone’s life.
Big items that are needed now are winter gear and vehicles. If you have any pick-up trucks that you want to donate, they are in huge demand. Right now, Ukrainians are buying right steering wheel cars from Britain, as there is almost nothing left in Europe.
We will be sending a few of our pickup trucks and are preparing shipment of winter gear, sleeping bags.
To read more, click here for my LinkedIn article.
Get involved and stand with Ukraine. You can always Venmo your donations to us, our Venmo is simply @Synergy3
