Photo from United24
In February 2022, Russia sent hundreds of thousands of soldiers into Ukraine. The invasion sent millions of Ukrainians scrambling for safety, has caused billions in damage and caused a humanitarian crisis not seen in Europe in decades.
Alexandria resident Mary K Leonard felt compelled to help after seeing millions of Ukrainian refugees flee to Poland, where her family is from. By mid-March, she was on the ground at the Ukrainian border helping families cross and helping them find places to stay and continues her humanitarian work now inside of the war-torn country.
"It’s not like I can take care of everybody, but I want people to know that the United States is in there and helping because I know a lot of people feel like right now the United States hasn’t done enough," Leonard said at the time.
Since then, the United States has given billions in funding and military equipment to the Ukrainian government, and Leonard continues to go back and forth between her home in Alexandria and Kyiv, Ukraine, where she now keeps an apartment.
Leonard has also founded UA Giving of Alexandria, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and has connected with Northern Virginia-based Ripley's Heroes, which is collecting and distributing much-needed good to those affected by the war with Russia.
The distribution of aide will begin in January 2023 from the Ukrainian offices of both UA Giving and Ripley’s Heroes.You may follow the journey of the aide distribution via the Twitter accounts of representatives from both organizations: James Vasquez of Ripley's Heroes and Mary K Leonard of UA Giving. Vazquez is currently on his last combat mission in Ukraine before returning to humanitarian efforts.
An American, Vasquez, volunteered at the start of Russia's war against Ukraine and has since helped to liberate the cities of Bucha and Izyum. Leonard is currently in Alexandria continuing her fundraising activity prior to returning to Ukraine in January 2023 to start to distribute winter supplies with Vasquez and Ripley's Heroes.
How to Win an Azovstal Steel Bracelet
Fundraising for aide distribution begins Dec. 5, 2022. Five bracelets made from the last batch of Azovstal's steel plant in Mariupol, Ukraine are being given away — two in December, two in January and one in February. You may enter the giveaway through Feb. 22, 2023 by making a donation to UA Giving.
The Azovstal steel plant was the site of a major battle early in the war. Eventually, the Russians took the steel plant, but the plant was destroyed in the process.
The bracelets are made from the last steel to roll out of that plant and have themselves become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance. The bracelets are in limited supply and very difficult to get in the United States.
On February 23, 2023, the final Azovstal bracelet will be given away along with a one-hour Q&A session via video live from Kyiv with Vasquez and Leonard, with additional guests who will talk about their experiences in Ukraine since the start of the war.
