SEATTLE — A four-person team from Kitsap-based Empact Northwest departed Seattle Tuesday to respond to the immediate needs of the refugee crisis in Ukraine due to Russia's invasion.
Executive Director Jake Gillanders said his team will be in Poland by Thursday and is on a “pathfinders mission with some of the organization's most experienced disaster responders.”
Two logistics specialists and a rescue specialist, who is a battalion chief firefighter in Oregon, round out the team.
“We are anxious to assess the situation first hand because it’s a black hole of information at this point," said Gillanders. "We know hundreds of thousands of people are already headed through the border in Poland so that’s where we will start.”
Empact Northwest is a nonprofit, non-governmental organization that provides medical and logistical support to those affected by disasters worldwide. Since 2010, Empact Northwest has relied on a small team to respond to more than 60 disasters around the world. Gillanders said the organization is mostly volunteer-based and has more than 40 people who log countless hours studying, training, fundraising, and responding to disasters.
The team is on its first of what they believe will be several missions to the region. Gillanders said the best way the public can support the efforts is to donate.
“Find a nonprofit that does work you believe in and donate money,” he said.
Gillanders and his team know well-intended donations of goods and supplies can often create logistical problems with shipping, so donating money directly is the advised method of showing support.
Empact Northwest has deployed teams to Haiti, Sierra Leone, Japan, the Philippines, Nepal, Oso, Washington, Louisiana, and the Bahamas. They are en route to the Ukraine border. You can support them with donations by clicking here.