Our Story

On February 20, 2022 the country of Ukraine was invaded by Russia causing the worst humanitarian crisis in Europe since the end of World War II. Millions of women, children, and elderly people have been forced out of their homes. Entire towns have been destroyed and thousands have been injured or killed. Conservative estimates have put the rebuilding of Ukraine at nearly $500,000,000,000 (½ a trillion dollars).

We are the founders of NY4UKRAINE. We are history teachers on the east end of Long Island and Chris is a US Marine Corps veteran. We have both studied, researched and taught the causes, effects, and most importantly the horrors of war and decided early on that we could not stand by and watch as innocent people, especially children, continue to suffer in this war of aggression against the free country of Ukraine.

In early March of 2022 we decided that we needed to get directly involved in humanitarian aid efforts to assist the citizens of Ukraine. We began by researching exactly what was needed and where the greatest need was. We stumbled upon a news clip about some U.S. citizens who had traveled to Ukraine in order to provide humanitarian aid and to fight alongside a group of volunteers in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv. It turns out that one of the men in the clip, JC (name withheld for security reasons), is a US Marine Corps veteran and the three of us immediately clicked. JC conveyed a very clear picture of the desperate situation in and around Mykolaiv. Less than 20% of the volunteer soldiers in the Mykolaiv Regional Guard do not have body armor, first aid kits, or essential combat supplies. These volunteer fighters are literally going into combat with nothing more than a burning desire to save their homeland from the Russian invaders. JC returned to Ukraine in April and continually provides us with daily updates from the front lines.

In addition to providing clean potable water filters and first aid supplies to the 250,000 civilians in the city of Mykolaiv NY4UKRAINE will also assist in providing essential combat supplies to the Mykolaiv Regional Guard. These supplies include body armor, camouflage clothing, and ballistic helmets.

We will be delivering these much needed supplies to our humanitarian aid partners in Ukraine. We believe fully in the rights of people all over the world and, in the immortal words of the Declaration of Independence, to “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

Slava Ukraini! (Glory to Ukraine)

Chris Winslow

Craig Charvat

“The World is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion.” ~Thomas Paine