What You Can Do For Ukraine

Dear Friends – I returned from my fifth trip to Ukraine, having witnessed Putin's relentless shelling of infrastructure to break the will of the Ukrainian people.

It's not happening.

Their resolve to win this war and maintain their national identity and freedom is something every democratic country should emulate. Ukrainians understand true freedom is not about individuality, but a collective cooperation to ensure and respect the rights of all. They have a national unity we Americans should strive for, rather than buy into false, destructive narratives pushed by media and politicians to divide us.

I'm closing this fund today, but that doesn't mean I'm done in Ukraine. I'm planning a trip in the summer to volunteer with other former American military medics to train Ukrainian frontline soldiers in proper tourniquet use and other field practices that save lives.

Your donations this time around helped support several of these medics, who have been here for months on their own dime, and went toward the purchase of high-quality tourniquets.

We also bought several industrial-sized rolls of fleece fabric that Ukrainian volunteers are sewing into thermal underlayers for soldiers at the front, and I came to Ukraine with a carload of store-bought thermal gear.

We funded trips to Lviv and Odessa with military supplies and humanitarian aid and donated money to former British soldier Andy Den, who runs a non-stop operation delivering both all over the country. During my total of five months in Poland and Ukraine, I've more than a few trips with Andy.

Once again, we helped fund a warehouse operation connected to the UACCNJ of Whippany, where I worked all summer and on this trip, unloading, sorting, loading and delivering aid.

We also helped two families with cancer victims, make a modest dent in their medical bills.

I can't thank you all enough for the generosity and kindness you have shown the people of this war-torn nation. As I've written before, your greatest gift to them is hope. They now know the sane world is behind them, and they will not be forgotten or handed over to Putin. For Ukraine, this is more than enough to keep fighting.