Ways to Help the People of Ukraine

Anyone else having a very difficult time not doom scrolling? I know I have, the news seems to get worse by the day, since the start of the war in Ukraine, led by the leader of Russia, my least favorite person right now, Putin. Just watched a documentary recently about how he completely rigged the results of the Olympics. I had no idea about how they hid the use of doping in Russia, all so that they would get most of the gold medals. Ironically, I watched this right before the attack on Ukraine, almost as if Netflix knew this was coming. It is called Icarus, and I highly recommend watching it. It shows the magnitude and lengths Putin will go. He clearly thinks he is better than everyone else on this planet, and he has WAY too much power. No one person should have that much.

If you have any extra money to donate to help Ukraine, I highly encourage donating to one of the many charities. My friend Kate McCulley, who graduated with me from Reading High school, encourages donating to the army of Ukraine, which makes good sense. She is an avid travel blogger, Adventurous Kate, and has many contacts that have begged to do this.

1. Donate to the Army of Ukraine here.

2. For military support, donate to Come Back Alive.

3. For humanitarian aid, donate to Nova Ukraine.

4. To support the press, become a Patreon supporter of the Kyiv Independent.

If you do not have excess money to donate, perhaps you can donate some items in your home. Does your city have a refugee donation center? This one is located across Massachusetts, called the Refugee and Immigrant Assistance Center (RIAC).

Other ways to help: You can contact your political representatives and urge them to accept more refugees -- from all countries, not just Ukraine. You can march, protest, and amplify news to your community. Keeping up with the news as a way of staying present, and being aware of the disparities between Ukranian refugees, and brown and black refugees.

I started a series of sunflower paintings last week, reflecting on all that is going on in Ukraine, since it is their national flower. It symbolizes peace, and the hope of the sun shining through again. See this story about a brave Ukranian woman, who stood up to a Russian soldier with sunflower seeds, demanding that he put them in his pockets, so they would grow from his laying body. The beginning of the article talks about the entire history of sunflowers, which began in North America in 3000 B.C. I think this is why we from the U.S. have such a kinship to them. I know that I do. It couldn't come out of my paintbrush fast enough!

Sunflower by the Aiken Bridge

Sunflower for Peace in Ukraine