As many of you know, Dan and Daria Absher and Jamie and Sue Colbourne launched Refuse To Quit in April 2022, to support Ukrainian families, particularly women and children, who have been displaced from their homes due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In April 2022, the Colbournes spent time in Romania volunteering and meeting people who could help us with RTQ’s mission. In July, the Colbournes and the Abshers went to Romania and Ukraine to continue the volunteer work and meet other people who could assist in helping the Ukrainians. The four of us had hoped to return to Romania and possibly Ukraine in late November/early December this year to continue our volunteer work. However, due to Putin’s recent bombing throughout Ukraine (including a town 85 miles away from where we delivered supplies in July), we have decided to postpone our visit until next year.
We appreciate all the donations we have received to date. The following is a synopsis of how the funds donated to Refuse to Quit have been used since our July visit.
1. Donated $10,000 to MOM plus ME, a charitable foundation based in Ukraine whose mission is to help children, particularly orphans. This Ukrainian foundation used the donated funds for diapers, baby food, and medicine.
2. Donated $10,000 to City of Goodness, a Ukrainian foundation that helps homeless mothers and their children. City of Goodness used the funds for housing and a car for women and children displaced by the war.
3. Our friends Cristi and Igor have set up a supply chain to deliver food and other supplies to Ukraine. We recently purchased $12,000 worth of vegetables and other food supplies, which Cristi and Igor delivered to refugees in and around Chernivtsi, Ukraine. In the past few months, this network has organized and personally delivered supplies and food to nearly 1,000 displaced people living in western Ukraine.
A portion of the supplies Cristi purchased and delivered to Igor for distribution to Ukrainian families in need. We are currently looking at funding another delivery of food supplies and possibly clothing to Cristi for delivery to Ukraine.
In this photo, our Ukrainian friend Nataliya is working in an underground metro in Kiev during an air raid on October 10, 2022. Without Nataliya’s help, it would have been nearly impossible to accomplish what we have done so far. Her guidance and connections have been invaluable.
Although we wish we could return to Romania and Ukraine this year, we believe the prudent thing to do is to monitor the situation and send funds to organizations and individuals who can best help Ukrainians impacted by this brutal war. Thank you for your ongoing support.
Dan and Daria Absher
Jamie and Sue Colbourne
https://www.refusetoquit.org/
