Ukraine Refugee Assistance

Awesome!!!!  Ukrainian day, from half way around the world!

I got a package today but it's not for me.  Here's what it looks like:

This is going to be Yaroslav's Christmas gift this year.  I think you guys remember him, he's the 13-year-old boy from Kharkiv who asked for a soldering iron last Christmas and has been getting electronic stuff ever since.  Well, when I bought my printer I did so off of Ebay.de and found a vendor that sells these things for under 100-euro as they're usually missing something very simple (like a spring, or an allen head bolt, etc).  Since I have a fully assembled version of this in the background it was my thought I would spend my own money and start work on this now so it'd be ready for our Christmas trip!

Any 13-year old kid who asks for a soldering iron for Christmas (and then solders up an LED Christmas tree for his mom) has the chance to go places.  I thought that by helping this guy along, we could help him get to where he's going despite the fact that he had to pack up and leave everything behind.  All of the kids really, but this guy made a connection when he stood out (and, well... as the meme goes "and I took that personally" )

Good times guys.

Our fundraiser is off to a start.  We've got a few donations in already, and if you check the updates (Update #6) you can see the full version of what I posted here:   https://gofund.me/b4b80913

In reply to VikkiDp :

Baby food, baby formula and diapers have ordered for two families - these are two-baby girls and one baby-boys.

Now all of these things are on their way to their recipients 

All the stuff delivered 

A few words of thanks from the moms 

-Translation 1-

Vika huge thanks to you and everyone involved. Thanks to you all for your help. Thank you so much once again.

-Translation 2-

Good evening! Thank you all so much for your help!!!  I was waiting for the baby to wake up, but she was sleeping all day.

Hi everyone!!! and thank you all for your help and support!!! We together made all of these things possible!!! 

In reply to matthewmcl :

In reply to VikkiDp :

Vikki, give me a list of whatever you are trying to find and I will stuff the box with as much as I can get to fit.

adding to the list one more baby-boy 

Any clothes will be gratefully accepted - he's 1yo, his height 80cm(or i think it might be a little bit more, babies are growing up too fast), shoes size EU 19-20

Bill, Matthew, i have a question about it - can you get all this done before the run starts? 

Hi everyone!!!

I need to hurry up to tell you my part of the August run story before the next run starts.

I’d like to explain some moments for you and describe a little bit about what was happening on the other side of the run (hope It’ll be interesting).

The beginning.

A big party requires a lot of preparation.

      I had a looot of conversation and communication with the moms. First i'd like to notice - they all were so surprised… pleasantly surprised that we remember them and are ready to help and take care of them, some of them were embarrassed to ask for help. It was unexpected for some of them. But all of the moms were grateful for support – when I read their messages I realize we’re on the right way!!! And we’re definitely doing something good!!! 

     I got all the kids’ needs(it was loooong list) then I gathered them into the list wishes and categorized them by category (elementary school, middle school, high school…) and age – this way I wanted to made this task a little easier for Bill and Sarah (i hope it was helpful ). 

     At the same time I contacted the prenatal center – the UV lamps are still needed. Ok, got it!!! we’re working on it too!!!

     At the same time I’m thinking about what to buy as a gift from Ukraine for the kids at the school in Budapest.  I liked Bill's idea of bringing something back to these kids from Ukraine to remind them of home. So I decided it needed to be done!!! It must to be done!!!

I have a few friends in Kharkov, I called them to ask – what could it be? Both of them replied – Kharkov’s biscuits of course!!! Hmmm… I like this idea and let’s add some candies to it (my idea) and as we’ve seen it really made those kids happy!!! it turned out pretty good in the end, I think!!! 

     Aaaaa…. Lamps, also there were desk lamps - I needed to figure out how many and what kind of to buy.

    All the time we’re in touch with Sarah and Bill and any questions are solved almost lightning fast.  good team – good work!!!

     Thinking… thinking… stop thinking – start doing!!! Honestly time flies by very fast, too fast I could say.

So Vikki’s tasks for this run – UV lamps for the prenatal center, desk lamps for our kids, cookies and candies for kids in Budapest and a little bit of other tasks.

Nothing's impossible, yeah, but there were some nuances. Like someone says, it'd be boring without it, yeah 

About it in the next post, stay tuned…

Hi everyone!!! 

let's continue?

To be more accurate i need to clarify  - what does it means «thinking»? «Thinking» means I’m thinking about…, I’m planning…, I’m trying to find a best way to organize all this stuff.

In the end my plan looked like this – I find where and what I need to buy, order and pay, then I order delivery to the Nova post office I need (aka the meeting place) by the meeting date.

Then we’ll add a little magic - let’s call this trick «reload» - and everything will be at its best.

Looks pretty easy (spoiler, noooo!!!). Isn’t it? Ha-ha, that what I thought, too (spoiler#2 as we already know in the end, everything went well, but in the process… ooofff).

Well, what was going on?

At some point (ummm… actually many points) something went wrong.

First, there were delays in the money transfers. Usually it takes 2-3 days, but not this time…

I was planning to use «Moms and kids» fund to purchase desk lamps and sweets. I received the transfer on August 11th – was it make me nervous? Hmmm… a little - just a quick reminder the meeting date was 18th. By this time I had already found the number of desk lamps i needed at a good price (at a discount) and asked to set them aside for me. So all that's left to do is pay and order delivery. Easy!!! Done!!!

The next step – order and pay sweets. Done!!! mmm… well… almost done… I (and you) will find out what went wrong a little later.

Ohhh, what really made me VERY nervous were the UV lamps.

to be continued...

VikkiDp said:

In reply to matthewmcl :

In reply to VikkiDp :

Vikki, give me a list of whatever you are trying to find and I will stuff the box with as much as I can get to fit.

adding to the list one more baby-boy 

Any clothes will be gratefully accepted - he's 1yo, his height 80cm(or i think it might be a little bit more, babies are growing up too fast), shoes size EU 19-20

Bill, Matthew, i have a question about it - can you get all this done before the run starts? 

We have a bit of time.  As soon as the stuff is gathered I'll send Matthew the new address.  As long as we get it in the mail kind of close to the end of this week, I think we'll make it.

Unfortunately time is working against us on this trip.  Most of our donors to the GFM campaigns are US based and as such are focused on the Thanksgiving holiday.  That means that right now I think our Christmas collection isn't going as fast as it usually does.  I'm hoping this will pick up this weekend, but then we run into the issue of the date we had to set for the run (which isn't too far into December).  It'll all come together (it always does), but MAN do I hate this part of the fundraising

VikkiDp said:

           I got all the kids’ needs(it was loooong list) then I gathered them into the list wishes and categorized them by category (elementary school, middle school, high school…) and age – this way I wanted to made this task a little easier for Bill and Sarah (i hope it was helpful ).

That list was EXTREMELY helpful.  Mrs. Hungary took it and absolutely RAN with it around town.  It made our lives so easy as we'd open a bag for a family and she would say "this one needs an art kit, high school kit and a desk lamp.  I'd collect the stuff and hand it to her and we could immediately move on to our next bag.  Much smoother than our last august run (where we kind of made things up as we went).

I love getting the updates from your side.  So much going on all at once!  I cant wait for the continuation!

Quick truck update:

The truck still does not have 100% of the power it did when I tore it down for the headgasket change.  I'm at the "hit everything with a hammer approach" with this thing by now and just ordered an AFM for a similarly aged Supra (common mod for this truck that's supposed to help it breathe better), a throttle position sensor, and an o2 sensor (as the glycol probably killed the one installed).

The TPS checked good with a meter and is spot on with its adjustment so I didn't replace it.  I'll keep the new one for a spare.

The AFM has arrived but I haven't installed it, I want to do the o2 sensor first.

I double checked the ignition timing and the valve clearances, both were spot on.

Right now I'm in the middle of the o2 sensor change.  I had to break the meter back out to measure a pinout of the new sensor.  none of the wires were the same color as the original sensor and there's no connecting plug on the truck side.  Fun stuff.

Should be ready for install and a test run tomorrow.  Fingers crossed for favorable results.

Good times.

Had some heckin good helpers with me today.

Some updates from Yaroslav's 3d printer from over the weekend.  The short of it?  We got lucky!

So I used the same vendor that I bought mine from.  When I bought mine it was one that had been sent back for repairs and then passed on to ebay.de.  It works, but something's usually missing.  In my case there was a bed spring missing, a bolt that holds the power supply on, and the nut from the arm that holds the spool of wire was also gone.  All has been fixed with the exception of the nut (which has been substituted with two zip ties).

I figured I'd do the same thing with Yaroslav's 3d printer since going this route means I can get the whole thing for just under 100 euros shipped.  Not a bad deal at all.  Well, I opened it up yesterday, did a full inventory, and everything was there!

Now originally I had planned to assemble it, but everything was so new and untouched on this one I really didn't want to take that away from him.  I put hands on every item, comparing it to my assembled unit when needed, and put it all back just as it was.  To add a bit "extra" I took out his micro SD card and added all my printer files to it as well as an owners manual and video instructions on how to assemble (that I also had downloaded).  This guy should have everything he needs to be up and running in no time!

Good times.

Ok, so here's our weekly update.  Let's see how we're looking.

For the Mother's and Baby fund we're still at a 0 balance.  Our last transfer was about $500 on the 1st.  Next transfer is scheduled in just over 10-days.

GoFundMe is up and running.  Like I said in my previous post, I think this will be an uphill battle given the date we had to open it, and the date we'll have to shut it down.  With work scheduling and the time needed to shop, it just wasn't possible to schedule it any other way.  We have $350 sitting in the account though, and we're on track to have the list of toys from the kids on or about Dec 1st.  Keep your eyes on this one as I'm sure there will be lots of developments.

Ira's School and Art supplies haven't made any requests lately.  That channel is always open to anyone who wants to send something in though.

Baby clothes:  Sounds like we're getting boxes!!!!!  This makes me happy.  I was really missing our ability to leverage highly effective low dollar solutions on these runs and even if it is only one box, I'm very happy we're able to do that one more time.  I promise I'm still working for a more permanent solution.

Adopt a Medic:  Sitting just over $1200!  This is going to be great!  There's 3 days left in this effort so I'll start coordinating with VikkiDp on what to buy, etc.  It should make for a nice christmas gift for Dr. Julia.

Stuffie Delivery:  Still got one box on hand,  otherwise no changes.

Cheers everyone!  ANd get ready for thanksgiving, it's right around the corner!

Here's our links.  but a quick note if I may, I would love love love it if we could get word out about our Christmas drive.  I think sharing the link on social media is a great way to get as many eyes on it as possible and hopefully that will lead to more shares, etc (or even sharing the social media links, if you preferred).

Thank you all!

Currently Open:

Vikki's "Mothers and Children" (Monthly Sustainment):  paypal@gmail address (Hungarian Forint)

Bring Christmas to Ukraine:  https://gofund.me/14b71797

Julia, our "adopted" medic:  https://www.paypal.com/pools/c/8YJpyYxcbF

P.O. Box address available for any parties interested in shipping items directly to me in Hungary (PM for address)

Currently being worked on:

I've removed the links to the Hospitallers Amazon wishlists due to ongoing issues on their end.  They can not seem to deliver what we need to neither my current address nor my PO box.  

If the Amazon.com situation changes, I'll repost the lists here.

Rebeka M. Collection is ongoing.   When I set up the PO box locally, it was to give her a private address for her supporters to send small items to.  I could then collect those items into a larger delivery and send them to her all at once.  I have her post details in Ukraine and still plan to keep this open.  She has my address and knows that it is open for her to use.  In the event that I do receive something for her, I will still make good on the promise to deliver but am otherwise considering her to have moved on to other things.

Currently Closed:

Hospitallers Battalion/Rebekah M:  Contact lost, and I was unable to reestablish.  Effort moved to Julia

Kisgorbo Refugee Shelter:  Warm wishes to all who took refuge.  May you all find peace and prosperity wherever you are.

Social media accounts:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/510575651154518

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/dniproexpress/

Thank you everyone!

Ok, so how'd we do?  Well, it went something like this:

TLDW?

So nce the sensor was in, i immediately noticed the engine was running different.  Don't know how to explain it, but right from the start I could tell that either the mixture or the timing was off.  I was suspecting a bad sensor.

When I revved it before driving, I'd get a bit of a "burble pop".  That kind of confirmed things.

On the test run, there was no noticeable gain in power.  She'd kick at constant partial throttle, she'd ping a bit when floored, and when I turned around she didnt want to idle.  I made a plan to check timing again and then look for vacuum leaks but I didn't have to go any further than the timing.  She was now about 50-degrees advanced

No idea how that happened as I can promise she was set at 5btdc before the sensor swap.

Anyhoo, I quickly ran out of adjustment and had to jump a tooth on the dizzy gear, but I got it dialed back in. On the road she was a sgood as new.  Seriously, she hasn't run this smooth in YEARS.

Call me McDonalds, because "I'm lovin it"

Everyone,

Snow has been falling in Lviv and has even been reported as far as Dnipro.  Dr. Julia is reporting in from even further east and wanted to let us know that despite the mud and the cold weather, her feet are warm and dry. 

As you celebrate the holidays this coming weekend, please know that I'm thankful for all of you who have never stopped working to make every post like this possible.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Hi everyone!!!

Happy Thanksgiving day!!!

Wish you all peace and love, wish you all and your families happy, joy and good health  

Thank you all for your help and support!!!

Peace and happiness to us all!!! 

Thank you Vikki!

While we were giving thanks, Ukraine was observing remembrance day.  I'm sure most people don't need a reminder of the last time russia tried to erase Ukraine and it's culture from the map, but I thought I'd make sure to mention Holdomor here so it's not forgotten.  Ironically enough, we're just under 9 years off from its one-hundredth anniversary.

I have our Monday update, so here goes:

Our Mothers and Baby's fund is still at a 0 balance.  This isn't unexpected as this month we ran our "adopt a medic" program, our "Deliver Christmas to Dnipro" GoFundMe, and even managed to get a box of children's clothes headed this way.  Please don't think of this as a failure, just that our resources were spread pretty wide in November and December.

GofundMe is off to a good start at $750.  Last year it took about $3000 to get all the children the items they had listed on their wishlists.  I'm hoping for more this year so we can send the surplus to the orphanage.  I'm going to start posting reminders that this is running on my social media accounts, and will also post more updates to the GFM itself to keep it fresh in everyone's head.  If you guys wouldnt mind sharing it on your social media accounts, or with anyone you thought was interested, I'd certainly appreciate it.

Still nothing happening with Ira.

As mentioned before, we DO have a box of children's clothes headed this way!  The person I buttered up for this was a bit nervous about the prospect but this isn't our first rodeo here on GRM so I was able to convince that person that everything was good and above the board.  I'm really hoping to get a more permanent channel open for this.  I really think our greatest strength is in high effort, low buck programs like this and I want to play to that strength as much as possible.

Adopt a Medic has just closed and I'm now waiting for the money to be deposited in my bank account so we can start buying more stuff.  Since it was a paypal fundraiser I was able to use $600 of the funds to purchase more cold weather gear for Dr. Julia.  The rest will be spent on medical supplies or given to Dr. Julia directly so she can buy anything she needs.

And stuffie delivery:  Same as the baby clothes.  I'm still looking for a way to max effort  / minimum dollar this one.  Fingers crossed and all, but let me know if you have ideas.

Cheers everyone!

Here's our links.  but a quick note if I may, I would love love love it if we could get word out about our Christmas drive.  I think sharing the link on social media is a great way to get as many eyes on it as possible and hopefully that will lead to more shares, etc (or even sharing the social media links, if you preferred).

Thank you all!

Currently Open:

Vikki's "Mothers and Children" (Monthly Sustainment):  paypal@gmail address (Hungarian Forint)

Bring Christmas to Ukraine:  https://gofund.me/14b71797

Julia, our "adopted" medic:  https://www.paypal.com/pools/c/8YJpyYxcbF

P.O. Box address available for any parties interested in shipping items directly to me in Hungary (PM for address)

Currently being worked on:

I've removed the links to the Hospitallers Amazon wishlists due to ongoing issues on their end.  They can not seem to deliver what we need to neither my current address nor my PO box.  

If the Amazon.com situation changes, I'll repost the lists here.

Rebeka M. Collection is ongoing.   When I set up the PO box locally, it was to give her a private address for her supporters to send small items to.  I could then collect those items into a larger delivery and send them to her all at once.  I have her post details in Ukraine and still plan to keep this open.  She has my address and knows that it is open for her to use.  In the event that I do receive something for her, I will still make good on the promise to deliver but am otherwise considering her to have moved on to other things.

Currently Closed:

Hospitallers Battalion/Rebekah M:  Contact lost, and I was unable to reestablish.  Effort moved to Julia

Kisgorbo Refugee Shelter:  Warm wishes to all who took refuge.  May you all find peace and prosperity wherever you are.

Social media accounts:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/510575651154518

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/dniproexpress/

Thank you everyone!

Apologies guys, but I've been waiting all week on a stuff to arrive in the mail (mainly an inner axle seal) and I just got a notification that it's at my door (of course, I'm away and wont have time this evening)  but here's what's been up.

First!  I'm going after an axle seal leak I found on my driver's side rear tire:

Monday had some nice weather to offer so I took advantage of it and brought the axle into the garage.  Unfortunately, every day after tuesday was wet (like REALLY wet... and cold!) so I didn't get outside much.  Instead I spent my time in the garage pressing out the old OUTER seal, and getting that installed in place:

Sooooo.... yeah, that last photo is pretty janky.  All my round stock was either too small to fit over the axle OR so fat it skipped over everything and landed on the bearing (and I was a doof, and didn't order a new bearing while I was in here...)  Anyhoo, those two square tubes in that diamond config did the job.

And here she is all assembled:

Hopefully I can get some time this weekend to squeeze in that inner seal.  If not, then more to follow on monday...

Next up, was our "Adopt a Medic" program!  it closed recently and an order of $600 was placed for some cold weather gear.  Well, IT ARRIVED!

This is a snow jacket and pants for our very own Dr. Julia.  I took the jacket out to give it a feel and I'm honestly surprised by how light and thin it is (no... I did not try it on).  It's got rave reviews, so I'm hoping it will keep her warm and dry this winter season.  VikkiDp and I are now working out the best way to get it to her.  More to follow.

On Vikki's side, she has confirmed that she has received the other $570 that was sent for more Dr. Julia purchases.  It's only just JUST arrived in the account, so between now and our run we'll probably see some updates from that as well.

It's December guys, and I can tell because we lit our first advent candle.  I hope everyone has a great holiday season no matter what you celebrate!

Cheers!

Oh shoot!   hey guys!  I almost forgot!!!!!

Crap

ok.

Opinion request.

There is a freight forwarder that specializes in importing American cars and American car parts that I found in a nearby city.  It's like 22 minutes away.  I used my Dodge Charger as an introduction/probing e-mail and got a response.  Here's where I need your opinion.

They have an address in Florida that I would be able to ship car parts to.  From there, they ship them to their city (22 minutes away).  They charge me for the service, and I have to pay the VAT on anything that's sent over.

Is this something that we think we want to try for our Ukrainian efforts?  Do we think the cost of shipping + VAT would kill my bank account? (for anyone stateside, it's just shipping to FL)  Do we want to fire a test shot at it and see what happens?

I'm asking because if this works out, then the door opens again for us to ship kids clothes, and stuffies, and baby food.  All the stuff that VikkiDp is getting requests for.  We might be able to open that door back up again.  What are your thoughts?

My concerns are shipping time, and cost involved.  But if this were made a viable avenue, then we're back to doing what we do best (high effort, low dollar, big results).

(note:  as of now, I have zero estimation of what it would cost to ship something over as it would vary by size, weight, etc of the box)

Please let me know what you think

Alrighty everyone!  I hope you all had a great weekend.  Here's where we sit:

No change in the Mother's and Baby's fund, but we did just get a slight bump in our GoFundMe over the weekend.  Our official balance is $810, but that does not include a donation of 50,000huf ($150) we received in cash!  That puts us just under the $1000 mark with about 4-days to go before we have to close the channel.  Unfortunately our schedule is working against us this year, and we have to close the donation drive when we are in order to make sure GFM has enough time to wire us the cash so we can shop for those last few gifts.

Still no word from Ira, but I haven't checked in on her in a while either.  I might need to do that come the new year.

For Baby Clothes, etc.  We do have one box on the way, but see my post immediately prior to this for an idea about opening a permanent channel.  It's not an "ideal" solution but maybe it could bridge the gap until a better one comes along.

Adopt a medic.  We got our snow suits in, and just in time because it is getting COLD out her!  I really can not wait to get these to Dr. Julia.  The remaining $560 has been wired to VikkiDp, and will be spent on anything our good doctor needs (and if she says she needs a hotel with a warm bed and a hot shower for the night, then that's what the cash is for)

Stuffie delivery:  We got our box and it's been added to our collection of toys  (see below)

It may not look like much (yet), but I'm hoping we'll build this up into a collection of gifts that's REALLY worth bragging about

Here's our links.  With only 4-days left, I'm going to bump our Christmas drive link to the top here:  Bring Christmas to Ukraine:  https://gofund.me/14b71797

I've already started buying toys, and have a pretty good collection coming in the mail, as well as a few others that are still inside my house (yeah, the picture above is from another building on the property.  It keeps things safe from the dogs, cats, and all the pet hair involved) that are waiting on things like batteries, etc (yup.  Wouldn't dream of sending a toy without batteries!  I want these guys to be able to open their toys and instantly be able to play!).  Of course, there's lots more to come!

Good times.

Currently Open:

Vikki's "Mothers and Children" (Monthly Sustainment):  paypal@gmail address (Hungarian Forint)

Julia, our "adopted" medic:  https://www.paypal.com/pools/c/8YJpyYxcbF

P.O. Box address available for any parties interested in shipping items directly to me in Hungary (PM for address)

Currently being worked on:

I've removed the links to the Hospitallers Amazon wishlists due to ongoing issues on their end.  They can not seem to deliver what we need to neither my current address nor my PO box.  

If the Amazon.com situation changes, I'll repost the lists here.

Rebeka M. Collection is ongoing.   When I set up the PO box locally, it was to give her a private address for her supporters to send small items to.  I could then collect those items into a larger delivery and send them to her all at once.  I have her post details in Ukraine and still plan to keep this open.  She has my address and knows that it is open for her to use.  In the event that I do receive something for her, I will still make good on the promise to deliver but am otherwise considering her to have moved on to other things.

Currently Closed:

Hospitallers Battalion/Rebekah M:  Contact lost, and I was unable to reestablish.  Effort moved to Julia

Kisgorbo Refugee Shelter:  Warm wishes to all who took refuge.  May you all find peace and prosperity wherever you are.

Social media accounts:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/510575651154518

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/dniproexpress/

Thank you everyone!

One more before I go.  Hope y'all are warm and safe, wherever you are:

Hi everyone!!!

In reply to Hungary Bill (Forum Supporter) :

On Vikki's side, she has confirmed that she has received the other $570 that was sent for more Dr. Julia purchases.  It's only just JUST arrived in the account, so between now and our run we'll probably see some updates from that as well.

like Bill already said i received the money for dr. Julia and then i texted her to ask what medical supplies are needed right now. Tourniquets!!! She replied.

-translation - 

Julia, hello!!!

the guys sent some money, tell me - what's the priority to buy - tourniquets or something else? i'm planning to do it tomorrow.

Hello! Tourniquets) Thanks!!!

Sooo, it's what i'm gonna to do today 

Thank you guys!!! 

The work on the preparation of the December run is continuing 

I believe everything is gonna be okay!!! despite everything that comes along the way 

Btw i've already ordered something as prizes for December raffle - it's my way to say thank you those who support Ukraine  this stuff is on its way to me