A Volunteer Trip to Poland Spurs Dave to Launch DEAN
Earlier this year I did several volunteer trips on the Polish-Ukraine border. Rachel, DEAN’s Co-Founder, took me to a refugee shelter in Ukraine so that I could see for myself how bad things were.
It was quite an impactful trip. After seeing the conditions of a refugee shelter, which housed 95+ women, children and elderly, I went back to Poland to raise money from my network and try and buy them the basics- Laptops for the kids so they could keep up with their education in remote school, shoes, clothing, and non-perishable goods. The types of things they never thought would be in question before February 2022. I also contracted someone in Ukraine to fix their kitchen, which was in squalor. Later on, the church that was lending them the building ran out of money to pay their bills, so DEAN committed to covering the bills through the end of the war.
Supporting Shelters and Hospitals
Fast forward and I am now supporting three shelters with 400+ women, children and elderly. I have raised enough money to supply them all with bi-weekly deliveries of non-perishable goods for several months. Each shelter also has a 40 KVA generator, ensuring that they will not lose heat and electricity in the cold winter months.
Rachel Vaughn and I started DEAN to help raise money to help more people impacted by the war. DEAN’s latest project involves four hospitals in Kherson, which was recently liberated by the Ukrainian military. There are two General Hospitals, one Cardio Hospital, and one Children’s Hospital. They are all in desperate need of generators, and I am doing my best to raise as much money as possible to make it happen. I have already connected with a Dutch company that can deliver generators in mid-January. I will be self-funding my travel back to Ukraine and delivering the generators myself.
With your help, we can provide this crucial equipment so that the residents and patients can stay warm and be cared for properly.