Help us raise money for Veteran Hub: We’re donating the profits from our new T-shirt (Patreon)

Dear Kyiv Independent community members,

Thank you for your continued support. 

In case you missed it, we want to let you know about a new addition to our online store — and a new cause we’re raising money for. 

We’ve heard from a lot of our members that there’s interest in getting more involved with helping Ukraine and learning more about these initiatives. 

Earlier this week, we added the “I Stand with Ukraine” shirt to our store, based on requests from some of our readers and members for an item that clearly shows their support for Ukraine. 

At the end of March, we will donate the profits from the T-shirt sales to Veteran Hub, a Ukrainian charity founded in 2018 to support Ukrainian veterans and their families as soldiers transition back to civilian life. Veteran Hub helps soldiers with everything from mental health support to job placements and legal aid, as well as supporting those who have lost their loved ones while they served. 

Veteran Hub has lost two thirds of its funding due to the Trump administration’s decision to suspend foreign aid as it used to receive money from IREX, a non-profit organization funded by the U.S. government. 

As a result of the funding termination in January, Veteran Hub was forced to temporarily suspend their services at the Vinnytsia branch, including their national support hotline. The line was down for six days, resulting in over 400 calls missed. The branch is now continuing to operate on a volunteer basis. 

A total of 31 team members are currently at risk of losing their jobs, with potentially more affected in the future. 

The money that we raise through our T-shirt sales will go to Veteran Hub’s mental support program, which provides psychological services — both individual consultation sessions and access to support groups — for soldiers and their families, as well as the families of fallen and captured soldiers. We aim to raise $10,000, which will go to paying for these therapy sessions. 

Veteran Hub does not accept donations directly — however, if you would like to make a contribution directly to Veteran Hub, we can organize the transfer of larger donations. If you’re interested, please reach out to our donations manager Lisha at l.shmidt@kyivindependent.com. 

Don’t forget that as our member, you are also eligible for a 15% discount on our entire online store with the code WELOVEYOU at checkout (because we love our members). 

If you do purchase a T-shirt and want to be featured on our social media, please send photos of you in the “I Stand with Ukraine” shirt to us at community@kyivindependent.com. 

Thank you for your support for the Kyiv Independent and for Ukraine — especially during this dark time — and we’ll be keeping you posted as to how much we raise for Veteran Hub.