School Run to Dnipro!

Hello, my name is William Grow and I'm the driver of the Dnipro Express. This August, we're returning Ukraine to finish our promise to Dnipro’s Regional Prenatal Center!

Last April, we collected an AMAZING amount of supplies and delivered Easter gifts to our 50 refugee children currently taking shelter in Dnipro. Along with those gifts, we brought a much needed digital microscope set and an equally important blood pressure monitoring system to the Regional Prenatal Center in the area that sent us a request for aid.

When delivered, the Doctors at the center were absolutely besides themselves with excitement and could not thank us enough for our assistance!! Just getting them to stand still long enough for this photo was almost impossible!

We’re absolutely certain that those devices are exactly where they need to be in this world right now, and we could not think of a more deserving or appreciative group of people to donate to.

And that’s why we’re going back.

In our last trip, we did a wonderful job but were unable to raise enough funds to deliver all of the UV disinfectant lights that the prenatal hospital asked for. It was a tall order, and we knew that going in.

In that fundraiser, I mistakenly stated that these UV would be used to provide clean air and drinking water to the hospital. What I did not know at the time, and what I was later informed, was that these lights are used in the operating rooms as a sanitation method (and I couldn’t think of anywhere more important than the operating room at a prenatal center for these to be). Here are two that we were able to deliver in our last run:

So here goes. Our delivery of the remaining 50ea UV disinfectant lights begins right here. To give us the best chance of success, we’re starting this fundraiser early so be sure to tell all your friends! Sharing is absolutely free, and is the best way to get as many eyes on this as possible (and we’ll need all the help we can get!).

Here are the details

We plan on having this fundraiser open for donations from now until Friday, the 11th of August. Once closed, we will use all donated mone to purchase the following items:

1) Bactosfera EKRAN Jalousie 30 UV Disinfectant Lights (3ea requested)

2) Bactosfera EKRAN Jalousie 15 UV Disinfectant Lights (46ea requested)

3) School supplies for 50 refugee children from 33 families currently taking shelter in Dnipro

Any funds in excess of what’s required for the above-listed items will be used to purchase toys, children’s supplies, or any other requested items from the mothers or prenatal center. Absolutely nothing will be held back.

(In the event we don’t raise enough to purchase all of the above lights, we will split the money equally between the refugee children and the Prenatal center until the needs of the refugee children are satisfied. After that, all remaining funds will go towards the purchase of as many lights as possible for the prenatal center)

From there, everything purchased will be loaded in the back of our Toyota and driven straight to the front steps of the building. Nothing collected here will go to anything else. Things like fuel, food, vehicle maintenance, admin expenses... They are our contribution to this drive, and one that we are proud we can make.

Ok. So, why Dnipro?

Dnipro's central location, with regards to the crescent of fighting that surrounds it, makes it a prime location for families to seek refuge. It also makes it a prime target for Russian terror strikes. Many have hit already, some while we were still in the area! To put this into perspective, this building is walking distance from where our hospital supplies will be delivered:

It was hit in January, after our Christmas run. People still live there.

As we go forward I will be updating this fundraiser so please be sure to check in often. The updates will tell the story, one that you're a part of! This is all part of a much larger effort and I would love it if you were able to see everything that goes on in the background. During the driving, I will go radio silent for a while but when I get back I will post the same sort of run-report that I think we’ve all become used to.

Speaking of run reports, I know we have a lot of repeat donors on here and I want you to take a second to reflect back on some of the great success we’ve started these efforts

Easter in Dnipro, April 2023: https://gofund.me/da7af4ea

Christmas In Dnipro, December 2022: https://gofund.me/eeae7f7a

Christmas in Dnipro Slideshow: https://youtu.be/4nalj6erILI

School Supplies to Dnipro, August 2022: https://gofund.me/1a1f73fb

School Supplies to Dnipro Slideshow: https://youtu.be/QM4GtlSYj_s

If you'd like to follow along on other social media platforms, we have started an Instagram page for the truck here: https://www.instagram.com/dniproexpress/

If you're on Facebook, I've recently made a similar page for the truck here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/510575651154518

But the best format we've found to clearly convey the story is still the "Grassroots Motorsports" magazine forum where this all started. Feel free to read it in part, or in its entirety, here: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/ukraine-refugee-assistance/192402/page1/

(See pages 6, 12, 20, 21, 25-27, 35-37, 46-48 for trip reports)

A few things to note before we go:

1) If we purchase every UV light on the list then we’re looking at about $5876USD, but the dollar amount listed as the "goal" for this campaign is completely arbitrary. We're driving to Dnipro with anything and everything we collect.

2) We do not sell anything and do not profit from any of the links you see posted here. You can click without fear of spam, sale attempts, or subscription notifications. You're already a part of this, I promise I will not be pestering you for more money afterwards.

3) We do not take pictures of the people receiving aid, as we believe they deserve their privacy. All pictures of children that you see (or will see) were sent to us by their respective mothers and were shared with their permission.

4) We do not take pictures of anything involving the Ukrainian military and do our best to keep things like departure times and route info intentionally vague. This is for their safety.

So raise a glass, because we’re going in again! Here's to the uncrushable spirit of the Ukrainian people. Here's to getting help to the people who need it and deserve it the most. Here's to helping the people of Ukraine find the peace they deserve.

And always, to any Ukrainians or to anyone reading this from inside Ukraine: We see you. We're with you. Stay strong. We're coming.

#DniproExpress

#DniproStrong

#SlavaUkraini

#Ukraine