Under the terms agreed, Ukrainian Action has agreed to take advantage of potential synergies in working with Ukraine Friends to provide more impactful relief in response to the needs of Ukraine’s citizens and its refugees.
“It’s a win-win for the people of Ukraine,” said Brock D. Bierman, the president and CEO of Ukraine Friends. “Essentially we agreed that to achieve more successful relief efforts in Ukraine we should work together more closely to determine the details of proposed relief plans and the distribution of those efforts.
Under Ukraine Friends’ Volunteer Ambulance Corps program, the collaboration includes working together to fund the acquisition and delivery of ambulances in Ukraine, in a fashion similar to the efforts of the American Field Service during World War I. “Russia’s army is destroying our every ambulance we deliver to the front lines on average every 60 days,” Bierman said, speaking from Kyiv. “It simply boggles the mind as to why Putin is choosing ambulances as military targets.”
Ukrainian solider with supplies donated by Ukraine Friends.
Since the outbreak of hostilities between Russia and Ukraine in late February, Ukraine Friends has focused on providing humanitarian aid to the citizens of Ukraine by providing ambulances, medical equipment and supplies, winter clothing and other types of on the ground aid and support.
Founded this year, Ukrainian Action is a mission-driven NGO dedicated to supporting the survival and development of the Ukrainian people. Using volunteers, Ukrainian Action delivers medical and humanitarian supplies, vehicles as well as water purification systems across the war-torn country. They also engage in building projects such as window replacement to help cities rebuild.
The two organisations plan to utilise their own relationships and social media efforts to amplify the visibility of their collaborative efforts. They have agreed to utilise each other’s respective logos to communicate their joint activities, but not interfere with their respective donor relationships.
“Our plan is to work more closely with Ukrainian Action to acquire more ambulances and other supplies,” Bierman said. “By combining funds for relief efforts is a net win for the people of Ukraine, as it allows efforts and combined funds to be distributed more quickly and efficiently for the people of Ukraine.”
Story and images:
