More helping
It feels like we can do nothing else right now.
More helping
I wish it felt like it was time to return to some slightly ranty think piece about topic on my mind du jour. There are MANY topics on my mind about which I could become slightly ranty. Not least is the SXSW interview I watched with Alexis McGill Johnson, Planned Parenthood, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood (the national org.) And then the Daily podcast episode I listened to talking about disinformation in Russia, especially the guy whose dad simply doesn’t believe him about what’s happening before his eyes during the War in Ukraine. These two stories are the same story: When authoritarian people find a way to create a tyranny of the minority, they will do so, and they will try to convince us we love it. I mean, I can’t even say more because that will easily become a rant. And it’s not time for my rants yet. Next time.
Until then, I need to share more resources sourced and vetted by smart people in my life. If you’re looking to help, then pick one thing and do it. And if you have more resources that should be shared then please leave a comment and share them!!!
Starting with an aggregating website that is especially geared to helping people outside Ukraine help, based on where they are in the world: Support Ukraine NOW.
It’s always a good time to share Global Giving again, because they are helping at scale. And they are doing it all over the world.
One suggestion I might make is that for every dollar you send to help in Ukraine’s time of need, you think about how many dollars you’re going to send to one of the 259 projects Global Giving has going that are helpiung refugees elsewhere in the world. TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY NINE.
And because my friends do amazing things, here are two non-profits run by women I know who are helping refugees (and have been helping refugees) from places like Afghanistan and Syria:
Hello Neighbor, founded by Sloane Davidson. Hello Neighbor helps re-settle refugees and helps them make themselves at home…and is also creating a network of organizations doing the same across the US, so they can share best practices and knowledge.
Hello Future, founded by Charlie Grosso. Hello Future transforms the experience of adolescent refugees living in camps, bringing them tech and entrepreneurial education.
Speaking of scale, my most recent podcast interview subject (see below) Karyn Grossman Gershon from Project Kesher used the opportunity to urge us to think about supporting orgs who can indeed operate at scale and with the infrastructure in place to make a bigger, quicker difference. Two she mentioned were:
Catholic Relief Services: https://support.crs.org/donate/help-where-its-needed-most
Numerous resources compiled by Jocelyn Glei via her great newsletter.
HelpSaveUkraine.com: An aggregating website, compiling vetted resources across a number of ways to help
Organizations helping Black people in Ukraine who are encountering difficulties (read: racism) when trying to flee:
Organizations helping LGBTQ Ukrainians:
And BTW, here’s an article from Self that explains WHY Black people and LGBTQ people need our specific support. More context and more resources can be found here.
Another great newsletter, the TueNight newseletter shared a couple of important resources:
Charity Navigator’s compilation of their highly rated charities that are working on Ukraine relief
And in the body of the newsletter itself my friend Liz Thompson tells a story about her parents, refugees from the Hungarian uprising in the mid 50s. You know, for people who think War and a refugee crisis in Europe is some mysterious, unimaginable thing.
Finally, my friend Lynn Forbes identified several organizations that are trying to help animals coming out of Ukraine. At the end of her research she felt the most reliable, focused option was to donate to PETA Germany, which has people on the groun at the border as millions of people flee the War. I’ve also seen that a Ukrainian zoo is soliciting donations to help them keep caring for the animals there (I feel sorry for zoo animals ALL the time anyway), but I haven’t vetted that independently yet.
What other opportunities have you seen to help that I have missed?
Last week-ish
Episode 75 of The Op-Ed Page podcast was published last last week and featured my interview with the executive director of Project Kesher, Karyn Grossman Gershon. Project Kesher has been working with (mostly) Jewish women in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Israel for decades, and Karyn has been at the helm since early in its existence. She has seen Ukraine evolve, and she has worked with teams on the ground across these four countries to build community, including inter-faith community. Karyn reports on what she knows, and what she’s hearing from her team members. I confess I found it some moments of our interview deeply sad…Karyn doesn’t sugarcoat what a tragedy and catastrophe Russia’s war on Ukraine is. But I also walked away with some hope, and certainly more knowledge. I follow the interview by taking a look at some of the incredibly biased coverage we’re seeing about this war and especially debunking some of the insulting assumptions that seem foundational to this biased coverage. I’ll just sneak peek…the 100 Years War comes up, so, you know HISTORY!!
Also last week:
My latest byline for the Kinder Beauty blog is entitled Keeping My Hair Long and Three Other Aging Myths I’m Busting. I have never understood this idea that once you hit a certain age you must cut your hair off. So I didn’t. You’ll have to click through to read the other myths I bust (and the rant I indulge in about why these myths exist).
Another of the pieces I edited for the Rosie Report is live, and it’s a good one: Brandi Riley explores Leagalized cannabis in the workplace, something companies really need to think about now that more people than not live in states where marijuana is legal for at least some uses.
SaksWorks and The List released video of the panel I was on last month that discussed how to prepare (and survive) complicated conversations. It was a really robust and useful conversation, including even sample phrases to use to defuse or deescalate conversation. Check it out!
Coming this week-ish
There is so much good stuff out there on these Internet streets I could share another 14 links just from all the newsletters I subscribe to, but given the length this has become, I will save it for next newsletter.
But dn’t forget: On March 22, 2022 I’ll interview Daisy Auger-Dominguez, Vice Media’s Chief People Officer, about her new book Inclusion Revolution, and why achieving inclusion results is just table stakes for modern leadership for every leader. Register here.
Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts on any or all of the above. This is basically my blog now! And as always I appreciate a share of this newsletter or my podcast.
And if I can help you break through the things that are keeping you stuck, set up your first introductory 30-minute consult for free by booking it in my Calendly. And you can always check out my new LinkedIn Learning Course, Telling Stories That Stick, a 57 minute course on crafting your stories for different audiences (media, investors, prospects, hiring managers) and making sure those stories stick…and convey exactly what you hope to convey.