Christmas chocolates
Feel like a logistics manager organizing Secret Santa for Ukrainian kids in dorms across Austria. A great collaboration between Austrian Twitter, Russian-speaking mommy group, and Ukrainian moms.
This morning I spent the last €1,000 I had set aside from the prize money for 20 more Hofer cards. That makes €9,000 distributed. I am inclined to hold onto the remaining €1,000 for those “emergencies” which pop up and I usually turn to Twitter to ask for help with. I feel like I should leave them aside for that purpose. It is a hard decision because I still have a waiting list, but I always have a waiting list. I have to live with that. I warn the Ukrainians: I don’t know how long it will take to get a card to you. Recently, we were able to meet demand a little bit faster with the prize money, and that made some people think it would always be that fast. I have to remind myself to constantly manage expectations.
You always face decisions which are unpleasant. Always. Yesterday, I met a resident of the dorm in the 11th district, who came to meet me in the city center on behalf of an older neighbour who called me, asking for help with transportation. I handed them 40 one-way public transport tickets for Vienna which I had been sent by a very generous reader. Because otherwise they are like prisoners in the dorm. No money, no way to move around. As I handed over the tickets, the lady asked me if I could give another Hofer card. The old lady wants to buy winter shoes she saw there for €19. And I had to say no, it is only one time, because I know if I say to one person yes, ok, you can have a second one, they will tell their 200 neighbours, and I have a massive problem on my hands. So you have to say truly terrible, heartbreaking things. And then she pulled out a gift for me. A plastic bag filled with single use jams from their cafeteria, and some Manner wafers. I thanked her. You cannot refuse such a gift. It is presented with heart and effort. My kids put the jam on their bread this morning. I told myself for Christmas I will think of something extra for this entire dorm (roughly 200 Ukrainians are living there now) in the 11th district which remains the saddest address in all of Vienna, at least in my mind.
I start to get messages which really worry me. Like this one below. And I have no idea how to help him. So I take the last Hofer card I have at home, which was addressed to someone else, and sent it to this kid this morning. Then that mom, who is waiting, but missed her first appointment, asks me where her card is, and I say, please wait, I will write you when I have one. It sounds awful and it is but I don’t know how else to do it. Fundraise, yes, I must fundraise, but there are only 24 hours in the day…I don’t know if emailing corporations would actually pay off, but I suppose it could be worth a day of trying given that it is the Christmas season and companies are probably wondering which projects to support so they can promote themselves as socially-minded. Will think about it. A quick outreach, not wasting too much time, but trying to spread the good word. I always think my Twitter feed speaks for itself, but that is only if the right people see it. Thanks in no small part to Elon Musk, that may all come to a grinding halt now.
So the exciting news is we have a Christmas chocolate project! And it is actually coming to life so mega super fast I am so pleased. I was recently approached by a Russian-speaking mommy Facebook group for Austria I have long been a member of with a request to provide names and addresses for Ukrainian kids for “Secret Santa” this winter. I suggested focusing on the state-provided/funded dorms/hostels/hotels, because as a rule you can reach many children in one place and those families have the most modest means. I began by asking my Telegram group for Ukrainian moms to volunteer to be the point of contact for their respective address. Within a day, I had a list of 33(!) group homes and moms and phone numbers from across the country. I made a Google Sheet, and then shared the idea on Twitter, and was overwhelmed by the positive feedback and willingness to participate. Then the Russian-speaking mommies shared the idea in their group, and by now the list is 75% covered and dozens of strangers are in touch with each other and working together to make this chocolate and/or small Christmas gift project a reality. The logistics are really fascinating and I am so happy to be working with a TEAM again because basically all I did was set up the contact information and everyone else is doing the work on an address by address basis. Which is so cool!
It is a lot of messaging back and forth but I am trying as much as possible — this is such an important lesson I learned over these past several months — to make a connection, an introduction, and then step aside, and let that conversation continue without me needing to be the telephone. Because I cannot be the telephone for dozens if not hundreds of people. I receive a ridiculous amount of messages every day as it is.
In other news, I would like to recommend this Substack update on the military situation in Kherson, and this fascinating BBC investigation into what internet users in Russia actually find when they try to search for news on the war in Ukraine. This tear-jerker of a video was posted by Olena Zelenska in honor of Poland’s Independence Day. Hollywood has nothing on Kyiv. It’s perfect.
On a personal note, I need to gradually reduce the time I spend on all the Ukraine-in-Austria help, and start actively looking for paid employment. I am only at the beginning of that journey. I have finally updated my CV, and started to apply for a few open positions. It will not be easy, because I have been out of the traditional job market for a very long time, and did not continue in my professional career after I had two little kids at home. However, I have worked on several interesting projects in recent years, including this one, and I hope the skill sets I have demonstrated rather publicly will be seen as potentially valuable. We will see. Also toying with the idea of doing consulting if an in-house role is difficult without native German. I am seeing a lot of vacancies in the same areas and wonder if it might be possible to do contractual work, but I need to explore that further. In short: if you think you might be able to help me, and I could send you my CV, please let me know, I would be so very grateful. This feels like going back to the gym after a very long absence. The hunting part. The working part I feel like I never stopped if that makes sense. Thank you.
Oh yes! I nearly forgot! I finally found the time a few days ago to count up all the names. Every time I send a card, I write down the name of the recipient. Since the very first card distribution on April 19 I’ve been doing this. The result blew my mind. 2,849 names. Mario has distributed 2,982 cards so far. Together, nearly €300,000 of direct grocery aid.
This is thanks to every one of you. Every one of you who read the stories we have been sharing, what the Ukrainians arriving in Austria were telling us, their struggles and hopes, and who didn’t turn away, who felt moved to help, within your means. Those of you who shared what we are doing with friends and family, who helped spread the good word. Across oceans, across countries, across languages. This is an enormous, absolutely inspiring, collective achievement.
THANK YOU!!!
They made homemade pizza, she wrote me in the next text I received yesterday evening, as I was getting my own kids’ dinner ready:
To help us work off our long waiting list, please donate here via our website (credit card, bank transfer) or here via PayPal or you can always send/hand us physical gift cards, €50, any supermarket chain in Austria (I use these for my smaller waiting list).
Thanks so much for reading and for your support, this entire year, and now going into the holiday season. I am happy we have treats in the works for the kids. I hope it will brighten a few faces. It is so unbelievably lovely to see so many people who don’t know each other working together to make the Secret Santa project a reality. And every Ukrainian mom I text with to discuss the arrangements tells me how thankful they are not be thought of during the holiday period by the local communities.