Christmas Gift Bags

Every winter, we prepare twenty-four packs for our embedded contact to give to soldiers who can’t go home and don’t expect to receive anything for the holidays. Each pack includes the most in-demand items: high-quality wool socks, a cotton t-shirt, body wipes, hand warmers, and peanut butter packets. They also contain other high-protein snacks and sundries like hydration packets and personal care products. This year’s shipment will be distributed to members of the 12th Special Forces Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine.

Material Support

In addition to care packages made for individual soldiers, we also send other supplies for general distribution to the broader unit. Shipments have included the usual asks like powdered drinks, instant coffee, high-protein snacks, boxers, and warmers, and more specific requests like quality sandbags. This year, the team asked for freeze-dried camp meals, the sort hydrated in and eaten directly from the pouch. These meals can be drone-dropped to soldiers in isolated positions.

Video Games for PT

This is probably the coolest undertaking we’ve taken on for Ukraine. Through Protect a Volunteer (an amazing organization), we were put in contact with an American soldier who had lost a leg in combat and was in recovery in a hospital in Lviv. There wasn’t anything for wounded soldiers to do at the hospital, which taxed their spirits and mental health. Thanks to generous friends in the video games industry, a request for a video game console to help pass the time turned into a whole rec room used for both entertainment and physical therapy.

Food and Medicine for Seniors

A wonderful woman named Julia Subbotina makes the rounds in Kyiv and neighboring cities, delivering food, medicine, and other essentials to seniors who would otherwise go without. In the winter, extra donations are collected to supply emergency light and heating supplies.

Ongoing Monetary Support

Endless war means endless needs, and we provide monetary support to the 167th Separate Mechanized Brigade UAV Company, the Unmanned Systems Battalion of the 42nd Separate Mechanized Brigade, and the Anti-Tank Company of the 117th Separate Heavy Mechanized Brigade. Their requests range from Starlink units to used pickup trucks to Ecoflow batteries and everything in between. We also pick up the tab for the Starlink subscription fees of the medical corps of the 25th Airborne Brigade of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces.

In addition, we contribute to the fundraisers held by other volunteers, such as the Old Curmudgeons for the Steppe Wolves and the Traveling Colonels.

Feeding our Furry Friends

Pets are the unsung heroes of the Ukrainian battlefield. They are rescued and cared for by the soldiers, and they provide companionship and comfort in return. Every shipment to Ukraine includes treats for the dogs and cats that the soldiers encounter at the front.

NAFO

NAFO started when a group of online strangers decided to wield avatars of meme-fied shiba inu and dunk on Russian propagandists. It has since evolved into a decentralized organization that is heavily involved in pro-Ukraine advocacy and fundraising. It has been recognized by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and has partnered with United24, the official fundraising platform of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.