Medical and other humanitarian aid for Ukrainians

My name is Steven Rothberg. I live in Minneapolis, Minnesota with my wife of 29 years and my hyper-bonded dog.

 

I'm the Founder of College Recruiter, a job search site that believes that every student and recent graduate deserves a great career. I'm proud to say that we help five million students and recent graduates a year find part-time, seasonal, internship, apprenticeship, and other entry-level jobs.

 

I also have a long history of serving on committees and boards of non-profits, including disaster response organization, Nechama, that prior to 2015 had helped clean-out dozens of homes and small businesses impacted by tornadoes, floods, and other natural disasters within driving distance of Minneapolis. That August, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck the Gulf Coast of the United States, devastating one of the world's great cities, New Orleans, and making homeless millions from Florida to Alabama to Mississippi to Louisiana to Texas.

 

As a member of Nechama's Board of Directors, I volunteered to fly down to Mississippi to see if we could find a place where the homes or businesses were damaged and in need of clean-out but salvageable while being in an area with good enough electricity, fuel, water, food, and security for 200 volunteers. I was successful and the work of the organization's volunteers over the next couple of years helped to give hope back to thousands of residents. The horrors that I saw and experiences that I had were forever life-changing, but pale in comparison to what Russia's war has caused to Ukrainians.

 

I've partnered up with my dear friend, Andrew Stetsenko, who is currently busy helping Ukrainian citizens affected by Russia's invasion. Before the war, Andrew was a technical recruiter and entrepreneur. He founded HR-Tech startups like Relocate.Me (a job platform for developers willing to move abroad), GlossaryTech (a tool for recruiters to learn tech), and CV Compiler (an automated resume reviewer).

 

Now, Andrew has only one identity: he is a Ukrainian.

 

Andrew currently resides in Ukraine near the Solotvino (Ukraine)/Sighetul Marmației (Romania) border. It is one of the least crowded borders today.

With the assistance of the team at the Romanian non-governmental organization (NGO) Asociatia Suntem Vocea Lor, Andrew is working to help displaced Ukrainians, orphanages, hospitals, and animal shelters. Andrew has driven refugees from Ukraine to safe border crossings. His days are primarily filled by purchasing medical and other humanitarian supplies, receiving them at the border, and then driving those supplies in his van to where they're needed. This fundraiser will help ensure that Andrew can continue his work, which is quite literally helping to save the lives of thousands of his fellow Ukrainians.

Within a couple of months of the start of the war, he had purchased thousands of dollars worth of supplies and driven them more than 3,000 km / 1,800 miles in his van.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So far, Andrew's on-the-ground efforts have resulted in:

 

 

 

 

 

Andrew purchased and then delivered nasal drainage sets and other expendable medical supplies to the hospital in Brovary, which is near the City of Kyiv.

I started this fundraising campaign to collect money for:

 

• 100 sleeping bags - $32 per each

• 100, 30-liter backpacks - $26 per each

• 5 TopiVac wound therapy devices and expendables for hospitals - $2,560 per set

• 2 portable ultrasound devices for field medics - $2,665 per each

 

At the moment, we’re fundraising for thermal clothing.

Our goal is to purchase 1,000 sets of thermals (tights, long-sleeve shirts, and fleeces) before the weather gets cold in Ukraine - the month of November.

350 sets are already in Andrew's hands.

Andrew played it safe and already asked a large sporting goods retailer in Romania to reserve 650 more sets while stocks last. The amount of money needed to buy them is $22,750. (The cost of one set is approximately $35).

Please consider donating so we can complete our goal!

Every donation, may it be big or small, counts! If you could give even just $10, it would mean that we could purchase another pair of thermal tights or a basic long sleeve shirt. Many a little makes a mickle!

Would it make sense for you to donate $35 for a full set of thermals?