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“Your donation will provide a direct lifeline to those living in the Ukrainian crisis.”

Providing shelter, food, transportation, and more for a Ukrainian family in need.

CRISIS

The Crisis

The crisis encompasses many things, but on a humanitarian level we are witness to an entire country encompassed in a war zone. Where more homes and landmarks litter the landscape every day and the words civilian death are inadequate in every way to describe the trauma. The impact on the families split apart and the final outcome of the millions of woman and children who have become refugees unknown.
 
Already the magnitude of need is overwhelming. More uncertainly lies ahead. However, hope lies with the collective response to suffering.
 
Just days after the invasion, the Ukrainian Care Fund was formed and was mobilizing. We have already assisted many women and children across the difficult border crossing and are now providing them safe shelter in Warsaw. Our goal is to provide personal assistance to many more during this entire crisis.

Your donation will make a direct immediate difference to those in need.

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"We know only too well that what we are doing is nothing more than a drop in the ocean. But if the drop were not there, the ocean would be missing something."

- Mother Teresa

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How To Donate

Care for a Ukrainian Family for a Day or Two or More!

$135 @ Day cares for Shelter, Food and Transportation and more! 

1 Day

2 Days

3 Days

1 Week

1 Month

$      135

$      270 

$      405 

$      945 

$   4,050 

Thank you for caring!

The Ukrainian Care Fund was incorporated as a non-for profit organization under IRS EIN number is 88-0933847 in tax year 2022. Tax deductions will be applicable from then when 501c3 status is granted and your contribution will be deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Photos and Videos

Our goal is to provide a personalized connection between those we sponsor and our donors. All of the photo content on this site is from refugees who are under the care of the UAcare.org. These images and videos provide just a glimpse into their world, but we hope you are able to see the impact of our invention, as well as the struggles of their journey. As these individuals get more settled, and others join our Ukrainian Care Fund family, their stories will be shared in more depth.
 

Live

We will remain unwavering in our vision, to make a personalized difference in these times of crisis and chaos by showing compassion and humanity. The human connection and support of others is invaluable, and no matter what your donation ability we encourage you to follow and uplift our UAcares.org family abroad and invite others to join our network.

Our Stories

Good afternoon!

            I'm from Ukraine. From Mariupol. Our country and my city are now a target for the nation that we called brothers. Why did you come to us with the war? After all the hell and genocide you did in Mariupol, we will never be brothers again. It's been more than a month since our lives have been destroyed! Everything that we did, built, dreamed about - everything was destroyed in one day!

            A month ago, we did not even imagine that we could be hostages to the sick pride of one person, who is supported by a nation drugged by propaganda. Can you imagine that getting water is life-threatening as the Russian soldiers amuse themselves by shooting at us as if they were living targets. People came to our land, in which the basest instincts awakened! They walk the streets of Mariupol, stepping over the corpses of the people they killed earlier. They rob houses, rape women.

             Do you know about this reality show... "stay alive"?  So, this is no longer a show!!! For the people of Ukraine, this has become a reality. Our children are sitting in cold basements, women are giving birth under windows flying out from the bombing, and men are fighting the new plague of this century, but now it is not fascism, we call it rashism. This is a new word that appeared a month ago... RASHISM!

             Russia, represented by Putin, is so vicious in its impotence that it can only bomb our cities and invent myths about biological weapons. You can't conquer Ukraine, Mr. Putin! We value freedom and the whole civilized world is on our side! 

             Glory to Ukraine! GLORY TO HEROES!

 

A Story from Olga Zhylyaeva of Mariupol:

It all started on February 24, it was the birthday of my neighbor.. we woke up because of a powerful explosion, and just in case we collected things that caught our sight first, and then there was a lull .. We heard shots somewhere in the distance, it was scary, but I still continued working and believed that it would not affect me. 

 

We slept in the corridor, still hoping that everything would pass in a few days.

On March 1 the hell began, we didn’t sleep at all, houses of our neighbours were shelled and every 8-10 minutes something was burning, the sky turned orange, and the air stank of burning (the morning market was burning, neighbors’ houses, Bavaria shop). And then I realized that this would affect everyone, I went through my backpack, took creams and perfumes out of it and put 1.5 liters of water, some cookies, a flashlight, a knife, medicines and portable charger. I took a bag with things for the child, looked out the window, and asked: "It won’t fly at us, will it ..?" and a minute later before my eyes a column of dust and whitewash, the ceiling slid down and all the moldings fell off, a scream was heard. As it turned out, a shell flew into the adjacent apartment, pierced the roof, ceiling and floor up to the 8th floor (3 walls!) And made a panoramic view of the neighbors from below, the windows in the apartment flew out.

 

I grabbed the baby bag and ran downstairs, spitting whitewash out of my mouth. Frightened neighbors were crowded downstairs, we did not know what to do and decided go to our parents, who lived not far away. We threw stones from the roof of the car and drove off, avoiding the branches of the trees.

We parked in the middle of the yard and ran to the entrance as the volleys of Grad* were heard.

 

(*translator's note: The BM-21 "Grad" (Russian: БМ-21 "Град", lit. 'hail') is a Soviet truck-mounted 122 mm multiple rocket launcher.)

 

The shelling continued, my parents gave me a sedative, but it did not help much, we spent the whole day in the vestibule, rarely leaving it. There was a hit in a neighbor’s private house, then in a house nearby, two cars exploded, the roof of one flew off into a tree, the windows in our room were broken. Then grad hit the 6th floor of a 9-story building, which can be seen from the window. There was a terrible rattle and noise. The house was burning like a torch, no one extinguished it, the upper floors were burning all night.

 

I didn’t go to the windows .. fear made everything dark in my eyes, I felt sick and I thought that I would vomit. For two days I didn’t sleep and didn’t eat, my nerves began to fail and I said that we were here in a mass grave in this vestibule and we had to go to the basement.

 

We took old carpets, a mattress and a candle .. There was still a space for us  and I felt calmer despite the vibration and noise. I lost track of time, every day we woke up from the sound of flying shells.

Two neighbors died during that time, my heart could not stand it. People were buried in the front garden and near the house. Then frost began, the thermometer showed -12.5 С at night.

The basement was getting colder and colder. Another person died because of hypothermia. They did not allow him to be buried, because he didn’t have documents.

 

Every day we had to get firewood, water, the area around our house was shelled. It was getting scary in the basement.Because of the sound of a flying plane, it again began to darken in the eyes .. There was a hit in the house, the upper floors burned down and people died there, no one began to bury them either. It became more and more dangerous to go outside.

Street shootings began. It was impossible to replenish the supplies of water and firewood. Cooking outside was dangerous.

 

People of DPR (orig. – ДНР, a self-proclaimed state entity located in the internationally recognized territories of Ukraine.) settled in our house. They checked the men, every apartment and basement. They said not to be afraid, and that the aircraft would not shoot at us. It turned out that in the opposite house was a sniper from Azov.

 

A special detachment was brought in and ran to the rooftops with mine-throwers. We and the residents of the 12-story building were herded into the basement and told not to go out. A terrible shootout began.

 

Then there was a lull. People went out into the street and three shells flew into our yard, killed 1 military man, 1 resident of the house, wounded 2 more military men, stunned the rest and cut them with shrapnel.

 

Everyone was terrified. Then we were told that Kadyrovtsy (tr. note - their leader is Ramzan Kadyrov, president of Chechen Republic) drove into the end of the house (in the store) to destroy a sniper, who seemed to have been destroyed, but .. another sniper took this position.

I decided that by any means it was necessary to escape from here.

 

We did not know how to leave, because the shelling was almost neverending. At our own peril and risk, we tied white towels on the cars, loaded the bags, and on the morning of March 17 drove out in a column of 7 cars.

 

It was calm, we got into cars and drove downhill to Orlyonok (children’s summer camp), then the shelling began, the cars barely drove up the stairs, time dragged on ..

 

On the descent, poplars and fir trees were knocked down, we got out of the car so that they drove around the curbs and alleys. I saw black destroyed houses, corpses lay near the fence, a shot and overturned white minibus ..

 

Finally, everyone moved down and we drove on. The road was full of potholes, craters, branches. We drove through Vinogradnoye village, and in Pionersky district we were registered and checked by the military in the Severny camp, then we went to Sopino village, at the checkpoints there was also a check and a search of things.

 

While driving, I saw the destroyed Leningradsky district, the Church of Michael the Archangel, and the worst thing was a column of vehicles marked "Z". And then I understood the scale, I was afraid for the parents and relatives who remained. The was no connection since March 2, it was impossible to inform/ warn them to escape at any cost.

 

We stayed in Bezymenny village for 1.5 days, sleeping in a sitting position in a local club. We were looking for familiar faces there, then met neighbors from the entrance that who walked to the checkpoint in Vinogradnoye village and were taken out by bus, they said their parents were the only ones who left. Again, the unknown: did they mad ot or not ..

 

On March 19, my parents found us by themselves as they were standing with their neighbors at the registration in Bezymyanny. They said they miraculously escaped.

On the night we left, they were locked in the basement and told not to come out. They couldn’t fall asleep because of the shelling, in the morning the DPR people said that they would leave and they also had to leave.

 

Parents packed their things .. the car was in the garage. As it turned out, there was a hit in the opposite garage and ours was blocked with the gates. My dad and a neighbor pulled them away .. the locks were bent by an explosive wave, they barely opened the door. It's good that the car was intact.

 

When they drove out to the yards for my mother and a neighbor, the shelling began again. They ran into the store and the four of them hid in the freezer. They heard tank noises and automatic bursts, a shootout began .. the minutes dragged on, there was a fear of losing the car and staying in the city. Suddenly there was silence, dad went behind the wheel and slowly drove downhill, mom and neighbors ran/crawled, they heard bullets whistling.

 

They went down, there was another tank, dad turned on the emergency gang and drove slowly. They said goodbye to life several times .. I burst into tears .. I'm so glad they survived.

 

15 people from the house who left on the 19th did not reach the checkpoint, as it turned out - they got under fire and no one survived.

 

Until now, tremors in the hands and pain in the heart .. Surving all this horror that never seemed to end .. seeing the destruction of your hometown, your houses, apartments .. seeing so many deaths and saying goodbye every time you count to 5 after volleys of heavy guns .. here it is Russian roulette.

 

We survived, but the future is unknown ..

The Path from Ukraine To Poland

Hello! Our first attempt to cross the border with Poland started on February 26 from Lviv. We were 5 women and a 2 year old baby. We decided to go on foot so as not to stand in a car in line for a week. But when we found out that the distance to be covered was 32 km, we immediately changed our plans. My niece and daughter returned to Odessa, and we went.

 

So, we started our journey! We managed to walk 17km to the ATB supermarket. The people of the local villages were very helpful. We were fed, given hot tea and moral support. There was still about 15 km to the border with Poland, the control point is Shegini-Medyk. And then, as if by magic, a minibus with volunteers stopped near us and offered a ride to the border. Thus began our 9-hour wait for customs control at -3 degrees with sleet from time to time, without food, water and the presence of a toilet. But everyone around us was positive, in an atmosphere of mutual assistance and understanding. All mothers with children were let through without a queue. As soon as we crossed the border, we immediately felt the kindness and hospitality of the Polish people. Hot food, drinks, warm blankets, transportation wherever you want, free accommodation for the first time. In total, our journey took 22 hours. And this is not the most difficult option, as it turned out!

For our children, we chose, as it seemed to us then, an easier path than the one that I did with my sister and her 14-year-old daughter.

My daughter with her cousin and a 2.6-year-old girl were traveling in a hot, 3 times overcrowded train from Odessa to Lviv. The train station in Lviv is so crowded with people that the exit to the city took an hour and a half instead of 5 minutes. Around crying children, tired mothers, a lot of animals that the owners took with them.
 

When we arrived at the customs point of Krakivtsi, it turned out that there was a queue of 57 buses in front of us, and this is about 2 days of waiting. And then our girls decided to walk, which turned out to be a big mistake. People who have stood in the cold for about 15 hours are already beginning to lose sympathy not only for each other, but even for small children. After standing for 4 hours with a 2-year-old child, at the risk of their lives, our children got out of the tired and already aggressive crowd back to the bus.

They started their journey on March 6, and we met in Krakow on March 8. Our little girl slept for almost a day. Now we hope that within a maximum of a month it will be resolved and we will be able to return home, to Odessa.

A Heartbreaking Story from Alevtina Shvetsova of Mariupol:

“On February 24, 2022, hell began.

I went to the 23rd micro-district to congratulate my brother on his 12th birthday and stayed there for 13 days.

 

From the Vostochny district, my husband, Boris Shvetsov, had his parents and grandmother moved to the apartment next to the underground crossing (we thank Sergey Makarov for taking grandmother Sveta out of Vostochny).

 

On the day when the shelling in my hometown didn’t stop for a minute, the windows were blown out and our favorite parrot Chicha died. The children buried her in the yard under a tree, and all of us (two children aged 8 and 12, my parents, Borya and me) sought safety in the center of Mariupol under fire. There was a bomb shelter in a house on Myru Ave., and we thought we’d be safe there.

 

On March 16, 2022, we reached the center of Mariupol, Myru Ave., 75b. The house with a clock (a well-known house for the people of Mariupol) has become a shelter for many men and women of Mariupol. The place was full not only of people who lived there but of many others from different districts too. Maria (the head of the condominium) took care of everyone: duty was organized so that looters won’t damage the car; a fire for cooking was maintained throughout the day; there was a friendly atmosphere and warm communication, distracting from the harsh reality. In one of the photos, we smile and joke that in peacetime we’ll gather every Saturday for a picnic.

 

March 16th at 12:30 PM. I took the little ones to the apartment on the 4th floor to get plates for lunch; all of a sudden the house shakes with extraordinary force, the ceiling cracked, there is dust in our noses and throat, and I shouted "DOWN, FAST!". I ran first, then the children, mom, men… there was a crowd downstairs, shouting "PEOPLE ARE PRESSED DOWN". Vadym (his feet are covered with ground and bricks) and Galya (unconscious, breathing with blood) are being pulled out from under the rubble.

 

Boris Shvetsov and other men started clearing debris to get to the people while I took children to the shelter and returned to them. That’s when we saw Vanya. My friendly neighbor, always smiling. We started digging with our bare hands. There was no pulse. A broken body with not a single unbroken bone. In the first photo, a woman sees Vanya's body... Galya's husband said that many did not survive.

 

We left Mariupol on foot that day, and after the shelling of the house, it became clear that everyone needed to get out of the city immediately.

 

In 5 minutes, we decided to walk to Melekino. Boris Shvetsov, his parents, and his grandmother grabbed their backpacks at once, while my parents and brother… still remained in the basement under fire.

 

My mother has back problems, and she said she just can't walk. My brother and father said they wouldn’t leave her alone. It’s a painful memory, but we had to leave. I was crying incessantly. After all, we were under fire, with the sound of attacking planes. However, more than walking like this, I was afraid that I would never see my mother, brother, and father again.

 

 From the underpass, we went down to Primorsky Blvd., headed to Pishchanka (Mariupol beach). Everyone was motivated by Borya’s 78-year-old grandmother. However, it became clear that we wouldn’t reach Melekino that day. Instead, we got to Pishchanka around 4 PM where Tatiana sheltered us for the night. Elena from "Dolphin"(café on the beach) fed us.

 

In the morning we hugged Tatiana and went to the road across the cliff, walked past the Russian checkpoint, and moved to the Portovske village.

 

There was not a single second that I didn’t think about my relatives left in Mariupol.

 

When we entered Portovsky (a village occupied by enemies), I saw Denis Bolgarov first (he worked for the studio "Morning of Mariupol"). When I asked if he knew someone who could help get my family and others out of Mariupol, Denys told me "I went there three times yesterday, maybe I'd go today." I begged him to take me with him, and an hour later he called and said "Let's go."

 

We crossed the bus station at Mariupol’s entrance and drove to the registry office. Denis said "quickly!" and I ran to my home’s entrance. There was smoke around and the city was on fire. I was afraid there would be no one to save…

 

I opened the door to the basement… and there they were, my relatives with frightened eyes. I said “THREE MINUTES, MOM”…and in a moment grabbed some bags and just jumped out to the street – and suddenly the shelling began. The guns are being fired at the Registry Office.

 

We miraculously hid in the entrance of “Zhemchug” (a jewelry shop) while Denys was hiding in a neighbor’s entrance, his car’s glass everywhere.

 

Ultimately, we managed to break out and return to Portovsky village. I’m just so glad my family is in a safe place.”

Our Stories
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