This is the time of year when many organizations ask for donations for their end-of-year fund drive.
This is not one of those.
Instead, I’m sharing two opportunities for you to donate that will make a clear and definite difference in people’s lives. Read on for more info, and click the link to donate. (I already have.)
Help erase medical debt in Kentucky
Kentucky Voices for Health is using half of any donations made this month to get rid of medical debt for Kentuckians. Here’s the kicker: a $1 donation purchases over $100 of delinquent debt. So, if KVH can hit their goal of raising $11,000, it will be used to eliminate $1.8 million in medical debt owed by Kentuckians. This will make a huge difference in people’s lives, especially those struggling to meet basic needs.
Help protect Ukrainians from Russian missiles
Dr. Timothy Snyder (author of On Tyranny) ran a campaign last year to set up a passive drone detection system to help protect Kyiv. This Christmas, he is trying to expand it to cover other cities. Here’s the details, from an email from Dr. Snyder:
This winter, like last winter, Russia is trying to destroy Ukrainian critical infrastructure so that Ukrainian civilians will lack electricity and water. Russia launches cruise missiles and Iranian-made (or Iranian-style) Shahed drones at these civilian targets day after day. Russia also uses drones and cruise missiles to target Ukrainian grain meant for export to Africa and the Middle East.
Last winter, as an ambassador of United24, the Ukrainian presidential fundraising platform, I ran a campaign to help establish a passive drone detection system, which helped to protect Kyiv and some other areas. Thanks to you, it succeeded. This fall Russia has moved to attack cities in other regions.
Our response this fall was Safe Skies: a fundraiser to expand the drone detection system to four entire Ukrainian regions. I can announce that we reached the goal of $950,000, and that the drone detection system is being extended now to Sumy, Odesa, Mikolaïv, and Kherson regions. This happened fast – in six weeks. Thank you!
I think we can do this again. I think we should do this again. Another $950,000 would mean protecting four more regions — Kharkiv, Kirovohrad, Poltava, and Cherkasy — from drones and cruise missiles. These are places where I have been, where I have colleagues and friends.
About six million people live in these four regions. We can help keep them safe. So please join me to extend Safe Skies. Let's double down on sheltering people from terror.
The system works. I have seen it. It detects every single target, allowing Ukrainians to shoot most of them down. What you are supporting is purely defensive: it simply locates flying weapons in Ukrainian airspace. This saves lives. And it prevents suffering.
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