Before we start “Kick off to Spring,” we want to acknowledge the terrible situation in Ukraine.  Our thoughts are with all the people in Ukraine during this devastating and scary time.  Being a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring EVERY child can start their education on an even playing field, finding ways to support the children and families displaced by the horrific events of the past few weeks was critical.  

From reliable sources and our own research, we found several organizations helping to combat the havoc eastern Europe was thrown into since the invasion of Ukraine.  If you are interested in donating (or donating more) to a reputable organization, please see below for a list of those we found and how we found them.   

This is in no way a complete list. If you know of others, please reach out to us via email or on social media. And please, before you donate, check out unvetted organizations on Guidestar to make sure they are legitimate. Guidestar (Candid) is available to anyone, you do not need to be a member to research nonprofits on their site.  

Please keep the people of Ukraine in your hearts and donate if you are able.  

-The Blue Rose Foundation 

That being said…

The daily onslaught of negativity can be overwhelming and hard to bear. To help keep us in balance, here are a few good ways to embrace spring, the season of new beginnings, and focus on some positives around us.

Leaves are appearing on trees, birds are starting to sing and the weather is getting warmer (depending on where you live). A very welcome spring is upon us!  If you did, thank you so much for participating in our Kindness Challenge, we hope you feel the kindness catching on! 

Here are some great ways to enjoy our new season:

• Go for a bike ride! (Helmets, of course, and be careful of cars!)
• Visit a new park in your neighborhood!
• Plant some spring flowers!
• Plant a window sill herb garden!
• Go for a walk and notice the clouds! What do they look like? Come up with a story to go along with them.

Struggling with finding good in your own life when such hard things are happening all over our world? Check out Brene Brown’s podcast with Karen Walrond to help access joy and not feel guilty in challenging times.

“If we feel guilt about joy, then the bad guys win.”

-Karen Waldrond

Link to Brene Brown’s Podcast with Karen Waldrond

Helping Ukraine:

Direct Organizations:

UNICEF 

Save the Children

International Committee of the Red Cross

UNHCR

Pooled Donations – Companies or organizations that will use your donation, pooled with other donations to make a significant donation to combat the crisis in Ukraine.

Together Raising – From the We Can Do Hard Things podcast – (Make sure to click on the Ukraine specific donation bar)

Looking Out Foundation – Specifically focusing on emergency support for families and children

Global Giving

How we found our suggestions:

We found our recommendations by asking others (friends and family), listening to our favorite podcasts (Glennon Doyle, We Can Do Hard Things and Georgia Hardstark and Karen Kilgrariff, My Favorite Murder) and doing research on the internet (NPR, Together Raising, Google) and then searching the organization’s website and checking their standing on Guidestar.