Story and photo: Stas Zankevych
Illustration: #OlenaStaranchuk
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Stas used to work in his own video production company and lived in Kyiv until February 24, 2022. But on the first day of the full-scale war with Russia, he had to go to Bucha, where his family was. They lived there under fire until March 5, because it was difficult to convince the parents to leave their home and evacuate, as Stas recalls. However, when two bombshells fell on their backyard, there was no need for arguments to leave.
Since then, Stas has been collecting funds for the needs of the Ukrainian army. He announced the first fundraising campaign for the purchase of ammunition for his friends, including helmets and bulletproof vests. He needed to collect 120,000 hryvnas (about 3,000 dollars) in two days. There were no problems with this: people sent donations so actively that Stas received even more money than he had set for the goal. Currently, Stas and his partners are fundraising for collimators, drones, carbines, and flashlights for a unit of 30 people, but the pace of donations has significantly decreased. After all, today Ukrainians have become more likely to help large foundations, such as Come Back Alive or Serhiy Prytula Foundation.
However, the activities of such volunteers as Stas remain extremely important. Centralized funds are collected for global things — it is worth mentioning at least the huge fundraising project of Prytula for three Bayraktar TB2 drones, while small groups of volunteers provide the army with things for their comfort and better efficiency, from ammunition to cars. So Stas and his friends can quickly respond to more specific requests from the military.
Currently, Stas uses his own social networks to fundraise, because he had an audience there, even before the start of the full-scale war. He created a chat in Telegram for his partners, where everyone defines their own area of responsibility and sends requests regarding the needs of the front line.
The volunteer plans to expand his activities in the information direction — he has already created a YouTube channel where he presents interviews and videos explaining relevant issues. Some material is intended for Russian-speaking Ukrainians: "It is for their minds that we have to fight now," says Stas. When the channel can be monetized, the funds are planned to be invested in the purchase of new things for the military.
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