THE beginning
On January 21, 2014, a Facebook post called for the Ukrainian community of Cleveland to come to a town hall style meeting and discuss the frightful turn of events at the Euromaidan Revolution in Kyiv. In response, the community came together and collected funds to be sent directly to Kyiv, and would aid with the purchase of food, warm clothing and medical supplies at the Maidan camp.
As the Revolution drew on, the Ukrainian community continued to gather, at first every day, then every other day, and once a week, collecting funds and sending them to Ukraine, while also organizing demonstrations and fundraisers in support of the Euromaidan Revolution in Ukraine.
supporting the heroes
The Euromaidan Revolution entered its most critical point on February 19 to February 22, 2014, when special forces began shooting live rounds at protesters, killing 112. These fallen heroes would from then on be known as the “Nebesna Sotnya” or “The Heavenly Hundred”.
After the shootings, the Ukrainian community in Cleveland began to focus on sending aid to the families of the Heavenly Hundred, supporting 72 of the 112 identified victims.
MAKING IT OFFICIAL
In March of 2015, Cleveland Maidan Association officially became a 501(c)(3) tax exempt charitable organization, allowing us to do more in the sphere charitable aid and fundraising for our cause, while also having the added benefit of all eligible donations being tax exempt.
sending medical aid
As financial aid continued to be sent to families of the Heavenly Hundred, in April of 2014, a conflict arose in eastern Ukraine under the guise of a separatist movement. As the fighting escalated, the conflict grew into a full-blown war before the Ukrainian Armed Forces and Russian-backed fighters, and has continued and escalated until today.
Due to the rapid onset of the war, many Ukrainian hospitals were not prepared to attend to the large number of military and civilian victims being brought in. It is at this time, that Cleveland Maidan Association turned its focus to sending medical aid to Ukraine through a partnership with MedWish International, through which we were able to obtain re-purposed medical supplies and equipment at low rates and ship them to various hospitals in Ukraine.
MEDICAL AID BY THE NUMBERS
Four 40’ Containers with Medical Supplies and Equipment:
Container Number One: Five tons of equipment valued at $170,000 (November 2014)
Container Number Two: Five tons of equipment valued at $155,000 (March 2015)
Container Number Three: Five tons of equipment valued at $160,000 (June 2015)
Container Number Four: Five tons of equipment valued at $200,000 (February 2016)
Thirteen Transport Vehicles:
With the funds raised within the Cleveland community, the CMA was able to purchase and ship thirteen vehicles to eastern Ukraine (nine ambulances and four pick-up trucks), providing medical transport to injured soldiers and supply delivery to refugees that lived in remote locations with inadequate emergency care.
Over Five Hundred Parcel Shipments:
The CMA sent over five hundred parcels filled with warm clothes, sanitary supplies, and medical equipment to various hospitals and non profits in Ukraine, which were struggling to obtain the materials needed to support the displaced residents of the conflict regions, as well as provide emergency medical aid to wounded soldiers.
Ramping up our efforts
On February 24, 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, Cleveland Maidan Association quickly mobilized and increased our efforts to aid Ukraine. We have focused our efforts on providing critical medical and humanitarian aid to Ukrainian civilians, hospitals, and refugee camps. With volunteers both in the US and on the ground in Ukraine and in Poland, we work to make sure that aid is delivered to where it is most needed quickly and effectively.
To date, we have delivered over 155 tons of medical aid other humanitarian aid to Ukraine and have donated over $475,000 to nonprofit organizations and charitable foundations doing work on the ground.