Destination Ukraine: a Christmas Project

What we're doing, and how you can help.

My primary focus with this substack has been analysis and commentary, not original reporting per se. But I’m making an unusual exception: a friend and I are headed into Ukraine this week on a special project.

Here’s what we’re doing, and how anyone interested can help:

Mission #1: Power Supplies

Frequent electricity cuts have left many Ukrainians—including crucial local reporters—with spotty ability to keep their laptops and phones powered up.

We’ve connected with a local journalist and will be bringing in as many power packs as we can carry, which they’ll distribute to those who really need them.

Mission #2: Christmas for Kherson

Most of Kherson—down between Odesa and Crimea—was liberated just last month. The lucky were left with their lives, their resolve, and a long rebuilding project.

We’ll be taking some volunteers shopping in Kyiv to assemble care packages for families in Kherson, including toys and other small luxuries for kids there. No one should go without Christmas gifts—especially after having lost so much.

(Like many Eastern European countries, Ukraine has two Christmases. Orthodox Christmas falls on January 7th.  So while these gifts won’t quite make it for Dec 25th, they’ll still be distributed during the broader Christmas season there.)

Mission #3: Amplify Voices

There are terrific journalists doing excellent reporting in Ukraine. Their work deserves to be amplified, and for their heroism to be profiled. 

We’ll be compiling a photoessay of sorts for this substack—featuring the everyday people we meet, but also the journalists and volunteers who deserve wider praise.

How you can help

We’re covering 100% of the costs of our own trip, and contributing our own money towards these missions. But we’d like to make the most impact we can, so we’re also taking donations from anyone with spare cash and a desire to scale our efforts.

If you’d like to help, here’s my PayPal. (I only have Canadian bank accounts, so I can’t accept Venmo. But you can Venmo my travelling companion Daniel.)

All donated money (less FX fees where unavoidable) will go to purchasing supplies for the above. Nothing else. We’ll publish a full accounting after alongside our recap. 

Also, if you have questions you’d like to see us ask in our interviews, please leave comments down below. Our interest is in profiling people in the vein of Humans of New York—ie. capturing the human dimension of what it’s been like to live, work, fear, hope, and endure in a time of war. 

A PS about appropriateness / safety

We agreed that we wouldn’t go unless we could be sure that (1) our presence would be seen as positive by locals, (2) we wouldn’t tax limited local resources.

• In the first case, we’ve been assured by locals that our presence will be a nice sign of normalcy and support.

• In the second case, our hotel has its own generator and shelter. So we’re adding money to the local economy while only relying on the city at the margins for water supply (which we’ll limit our use of if it becomes scarce).

We’re also fully insured with a war policy and have made appropriate arrangements to ensure we’re easy to identify and relocate as need be.

Happy holidays,
Jeremy