Volunteer Initiatives from Clusters during the War

Publication date:

20.05.2022

Publication from:

IT Ukraine

Ukrainian society united as never before and showed its best qualities of mutual support, team work and self-organization facing of the challenges of the War. Business consolidated and supported Ukraine, the Armed Forces and its Ukrainian teams as much as possible. During all this time, the IT industry has transferred more than UAH 1 billion for the Ukrainian Army and humanitarian purposes, purchased hundreds and thousands of military equipment units, gear and other necessities for our defenders. According to our new research, 3% of IT specialists joined the Armed Forces, 9% joined the cyber Army. In the previous series of articles, we talked about this companies’ contribution in approaching victory. Today we have decided to talk about the equally important contribution of national IT clusters that are supporting the country and the IT community at their level and which have become a real consolidating platform for their participants and partners.

Vinnytsia IT Association is an industry union of local IT companies, covering about 70% of the region’s industry, which was created to promote and develop the latest technologies. Vinnytsia IT Association moderates local opportunities for the IT community, cooperates with the government and foreign donors, educational institutions and businesses seeking innovation. Army Support and Humanitarian Aid. It has been now 2 month if an 8-year-long War russia has been waging against Ukraine. Thursday, February 24, became the catalyst for Ukrainian unity. If before the active invasion of russian troops 32% of local companies donated to the Armed Forces, now this figure has risen to 100%. We have decided not to disclose the amount of aid and the procurement volume collected at least until the time of our victory. The War is not a race for the championship; it is a marathon that we all overcome as a group due to our capabilities. Assistance is also provided to those who were urgently forced to leave their homes and flee to safe regions of Ukraine. Currently, several offices of large local IT companies have been converted into refugee shelters. Yes, our partner companies have re-equipped their offices and housed there 4,314 people! In addition, they provide free food for refugees. “Help on all fronts!” This is the message that Vinnytsia IT Association can generate about its partners. Apart from helping with housing, food and volunteering, our companies do not stand aside from financial aid. Thus, over UAH 80 million only were donated by Vinnytsia IT companies to the needs of the Armed Forces and charity (excluding financial aid from partners and customers). More than 145 laptops, 14 tablets, 16 phones, at least 2 special cars were transferred to the needs of the state, to the forward site (preliminary data collection). Most companies are continuing to hire employees actively, pay full salaries and bonuses, as well as keep jobs for those professionals who went to defend our country! Let’s not forget about our smaller brethren: the companies have taken care of the zoo and the animal shelter, where brought and injured animals are. It is also worth mentioning that the partner companies of Vinnytsia IT Association are involved in the development of websites and applications for the security of every Ukrainian. We are proud of everyone’s contribution; we defend the rear with dignity and raise the region’s IT industry! Cyber Army. Obviously, IT companies all around Ukraine are actively involved in the destruction of hostile resources, and our companies-participators are no exception. However, we have not limited ourselves to them. From the first days of the full-scale russian invasion, we managed to form a local cyber Army from among our social media subscribers who have been selected and now more than 200 volunteers are involved in cyber attacks under the auspices of the Vinnytsia Security Service of Ukraine and the Cyber police. Thus, the number of constant attacks has exceeded one hundred. Information support and logistics. At the end of February, the Association’s management phones were ringing around the clock. Sometimes it was crucial to keep the smartphone constantly connected to the power supply. Rapidly grouped together, we phoned around several hundred hotels / boarding houses / schools / dormitories / any places that could accommodate people in an emergency. We negotiated with transport companies and even organized several buses to Moldova for children and women. In 2 weeks, the Vinnytsia IT Association has collected about 70 useful links needed during the War and we are continuing to do so up to this day. With the help of partners, an information board was developed https://help.it-vn.org.ua/ for ANYONE to provide and look for aid. Customers and Projects. We managed to talk to representatives of IT associations and businesses in Poland, Moldova, Lithuania and other European countries about the objective situation inside Ukraine, as well as threats to Ukrainian business. Our key position remains the same – to break off any business relations with the aggressor country and to extend contracts with Ukraine. Also on the basis of the IT Association, several business alliances have been formed among small IT companies that currently operate on Western Europe and the United States markets. We are not disclosing details at the moment, but we are glad that Ukrainian companies are just continuing to gain capacity on the world market. Governmental Support. Thanks to the established cooperation with other clusters and the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, all members of Vinnytsia IT Association were able to be provided with Starlink satellite communication systems. This backup communication channel is now available to all Vinnytsia offices. At the same time, the issue of business continuity has been raised in order to retain key employees of the Industry, as IT is one of the largest export industries supporting the domestic economy. Thanks to agreements with the Ministry of Defense and Vinnytsia Regional State Administration, the process of booking some specialists to perform development tasks at the Armed Forces of Ukraine was enabled to be established.

With the beginning of the War, IT Dnipro Community refocused its work on meeting the needs of the city and the defenders of Ukraine. The organization has brought together the resources of participating companies, all interested IT companies and professionals of the region to respond quickly and efficiently to requests. Dnipro became a humanitarian hub, so the work of the community during the first weeks of the War was focused on meeting the needs of hospitals, volunteer headquarters, and centers for internally displaced persons, etc. After the stabilization of the situation in the city, the activities of the organization focused on providing specific technical requests from the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with which contact had been established. The joint efforts of the community have already purchased thermal imagers, two cars for the local Territorial Defense Forces; provided maintenance and repair of the cars of our defenders was provided, a large number of computers, tablets and laptops for the needs of the Army were collected and transferred. Currently, the work of IT Dnipro Community is focused on the following areas: Providing the Armed Forces with Communication. High-quality communication is an important tactical advantage nowadays, so the organization is providing soldiers with new equipment and helping to restore existing communications. During the War, the organization has purchased and handed over to the military 32 Motorola GP340 protected handheld transceivers with all components and spare batteries; Boafeng handheld transceivers, Caltta PH600 radios, as well as drones and other units on request. Together with the NGO “Flow Foundation” IT Dnipro Community is continuing to raise funds for a new batch of handheld transceivers and radio repeaters for the defenders of Ukraine. First aid kits and medicines purchase. IT Dnipro Community members and partners are also helping to respond to Army hospitals medical inquiries. Many medicines and essentials were provided to hospitals as well as volunteer centers and transferred to hotspots. Over the past two months, the organization has purchased a large number of mobile stretchers and suture material for the needs of the Armed Forces; 150 military first-aid kits were also formed (under the instruction of experienced military medical officers), and 300 turnstiles were purchased. Equipment Search and Delivery. The units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine – with which the IT Dnipro Community cooperates – are constantly in the need of high-quality protective equipment, which, unfortunately, is not easy to find in Ukraine. Thanks to the donations of our participating companies and all those who care, more than 30 NIJ 4th class bulletproof vests and 45 helmets from abroad were purchased and delivered to the defenders of Ukraine. The following equipment was also provided by the community to the Armed Forces: cartouches, ballistic eyewear, tactical belts, balaclavas and buffs. Currently, 85 helmets and a batch of ballistic eyewear are on the way. And this is only a part of the work that the organization conducts on a daily basis. The IT Dnipro Community has already spent over UAH 3 million on the implementation of IT volunteer initiatives, and that’s not taking into account the personal equipment and materials of the participating companies, which were provided for the needs of the soldiers. We are grateful to the companies and specialists who joined us. The community is continuing to work and bring Ukraine’s victory closer together. You can join the fundraiser for the Armed Forces at this link.

Nevertheless, Odesa IT Family member companies are continuing their work and helping to bring Ukraine closer to victory! IT Companies care about the Safety of their Employees. The vast majority of participating companies organized the evacuation of employees and their families to safe places within Ukraine and abroad. The companies help employees to adapt to new places: they provide financial assistance, housing, legal support, and coordinate the search for kindergartens and courses. On average, about 85% of employees of participating companies have returned to a stable work schedule. Army and Humanitarian aid. Since the beginning of the War, the participating companies of Odesa IT Family have donated over UAH 79 million in total to support the Army and temporarily displaced persons, through such organizations as the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Charitable Foundation, UNICEF, Red Cross and others. Employees of IT companies join the ranks of the Territorial Defense Forces and the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In addition, more than 20% of employees volunteer or work on the cyber front. In their turn, companies retain all jobs and full payments to those who are now at the front, in Territorial Defense or in the volunteer movement. Employees of Odesa IT Family member companies are actively involved in supporting the Ukrainian Sordiers. Employees initiate fundraising, unite to volunteer online. Companies are creating internal channels of volunteer initiatives support that all employees can join. Dozens of projects pass through these channels and hundreds of people join. IT specialists find the necessary equipment and machinery for the Army, as well as humanitarian aid to those who need it the most. Specialists are also involved in the development of the logistics system for the Armed Forces of Ukraine on a volunteer basis and independently develop useful software. Some companies were able to share their stories of volunteer initiatives and of their employees during the War.

AB Soft

Armed Forces Support. Since the beginning of the War, AB Soft specialists have transferred to Armed Forces support charity funds over UAH 500,000. The company doubles all charitable contributions in support of the Armed Forces. Currently, the company’s contributions are worth of UAH 1,500,000+. In addition, many AB People are active volunteers, and if there are official requests from institutions, everyone can start a charity fundraiser among colleagues, so together we collect contributions every day for various urgent needs of the soldiers. The company has also launched charity marathons, in which teams are actively involved. For example, the sports challenge: for each practice of each participant to the accounts of the National Bank of Ukraine 100 UAH are sent to help the Armed Forces. This is an example, now each of the internal events in the company is created not only to help colleagues to reduce stress because of the situation in the country, but also has a charitable purpose. People are the most important resource. How the company supports colleagues. Everyone who works at AB Soft has received aid, regardless of experience, specialty and a number of days working in the company. This is very important, because everyone should feel safe. In addition to financial support, from the first day of the War the company evacuates employees, their relatives and friends from areas of active hostilities. The company has provided transportation to evacuate the wives, parents, grandparents of employees, and helps financially with rental housing. People partners work in shifts around the clock, looking for and booking accommodation. Lawyers and financiers solve various problems of people who have temporarily left their homeland. The company’s counselors work with our specialists and their relatives. Humanitarian aid. The company’s employees are actively involved in volunteering. Since the beginning of the War, more than 12 trucks of medicines have been sent from Romania to Ukraine. The girls, who are now outside Ukraine, are actively working with charitable centers and helping their country at a distance – raising funds, buying and sending home humanitarian aid to Mykolayiv and Kherson. Volunteering. Every Sunday, the company holds meetings and helps people who have temporarily left their homes and need help. Every day, the boys-volunteers work on finding the necessary equipment for the Armed Forces and the Territorial Defense, the girls prepare food, meet the displaced people at the station, and organize the transfer of necessities to the front. On the eve of Easter, AB Soft employees collected and handed over packages to the Association of Pensioners and Veterans of Ukraine. Packages are prepared weekly. Every day, the boys deliver the necessary grocery and hygiene products to internally displaced persons from the battlefields persons. AB Soft tries to support as many people in a need as possible.

DataArt

DataArt has adapted its office in Lviv to provide assistance to colleague-refugees and their families from other regions of Ukraine. The back office team organized places for employees to sleep and to work, medical care, food and a children’s playroom. Thanks to large-scale volunteer work involving company employees, the center provided assistance to more than 1,600 people. Eugenia, senior designer at DataArt, gathered around herself people who care and united them in a volunteer initiative called “Zgraya” (“Flock”). Currently, the Flock has more than 3,000 volunteers, of whom 400+ are drivers delivering humanitarian aid every day. Volunteers work in such hot spots as Chernihiv, Irpin, Mariupol, Bucha, Sumy and Kharkiv. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, more than 1,300 people have been evacuated and about 2,000 hot meals are delivered daily to displaced persons and hospitals.

Rivne IT Cluster is an association of progressive IT companies of Rivne, working to create a comfortable environment in the region for the development of the IT industry. It consists of 10 IT companies and major educational institutions with polytechnic faculties. During the War, the community focused on social and volunteer initiatives, helping companies in need to relocate to Rivne, and facilitating interaction with local authorities. The cluster sent the membership fees of its members to the Return Alive Foundation, as well as for the needs of internally displaced persons in the Western region.

Renome Smart

Renome Smart is a company working in the field of banking equipment and banking software products, network solutions, business software and the one for Centers for Administrative Services usage. Among the clients are the largest banks and organizations in Ukraine. The company became a member of the “DRUG” (“Friend”) Fund for Support of Ukrainian Soldiers and Their Families; it transferred to the former UAH 1 million of financial assistance. It also donated technical devices worth of UAH 145,000 and 145 packs of Euthyrox worth of UAH 30,000 – a drug that had been critically lacking at the beginning of the War. Financial assistance in the amount of UAH 1.1 million was provided for the Territorial Defense Forces, 8 checkpoints in Rivne region and 2 bases were set up. Construction and logistical facilities were transferred to the needs of Rivne regional and city military administrations. The company was engaged in arranging territories, shelters and places for temporarily displaced persons. The total cost of the works was over UAH 2 million. In cooperation with the Regional Military Administration, we managed to establish a mechanism for processing humanitarian aid coming from Poland and Germany. Groups of volunteers have been formed among the company’s employees. They accept trucks with aid, sort it, reload food from local manufacturers and from the concerned population. They are packing cars that will take everything to the Kyiv, Kharkiv, Poltava, Sumy, and Chernihiv communities. RENOME SMART employees also prepare food, weave camouflage nets, donate blood, and put abandoned animals in good hands. Internal communication channels have been created for quick information transfer. The company keeps jobs and pays salaries to those employees who joined the Armed Forces or the Defense Forces as a matter of course.

KTS

KTS is one of the members of Rivne IT Cluster, which offers hardware solutions for IT businesses. KTS directly cooperates with the Serhiy Prytula Charitable Foundation and on a permanent basis transfers to it part of the proceeds from the company’s activities, as well as financially contributes to the Return Alive Foundation. At the beginning of the War, the company provided to the Armed Forces the necessary computer equipment and ammunition needed for the military at no cost, as well as the operated installation and configuration of computer networks and video surveillance networks for the Territory Defense Forces points. KTS also assists internally displaced persons in finding housing and purchasing basic necessities. Employees of the company additionally accumulate funds for the Armed Forces by holding charity auctions, such as the sale of thematic patriotic stickers created by our designers. Some employees are mobilized to the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the company has retained all jobs and is in constant contact with all employees.

SoftServe

SoftServe is a leading IT consulting and digital services company. Since the beginning of the War, the company has joined forces to help the Armed Forces and the Territory Defense Forces. SoftServe employees collected office equipment: laptops, 8 PCs, printers, monitors and more. Clothes and stationery were also transferred from the Warehouse’s supplies to the Army. By joint efforts, the volunteers were also provided with military equipment, including night vision sights, with Individual Integrated Fighting Systems, tactical eyewear, backpacks, carrying system and more. Targeted aid was collected for two servicemen of different units. SoftServe has purchased 35 turnstiles for various units, as well as its colleagues who now serve in the Territorial Defense or the Armed Forces. 12 TOR-D helmets were ordered and paid for. Most of this has already been transferred to units, brigades, to the Special Operations Detachment Azov, soldiers, as well as colleagues from the Rivne Developer Centre, who are successfully fulfilling their assignments. Thermal underwear and thermal socks, 10 fire extinguishers and medicines were purchased and transferred to the A0357 military unit. A Samsung Galaxy tablet has been purchased and configured for the reconnaissance troop. For the 2 company of a separate 130 reconnaissance battalion thermal underwear was purchased, tactical backpacks and other equipment is being provided. For 26 Howitzer Division – Yukon binoculars, tactical first aid kit. The driver of the ASAP and the Azov Territorial Defense Fighter (Kyiv) were provided with Individual Integrated Fighting Systems. Colleagues also volunteered to purchase other military equipment, drones, several cars and spare parts for them. Since the beginning of the War, lots of employees have joined the Armed Forces, the Territory Defense Forces and become volunteers, and are now actively helping to bring the Victory Day closer.

Selecto

Selecto is a company specializing in Web and mobile application development, UI / UX design, quality assurance and project management. It serves for startups and companies from more than 15 world countries working in the field of finance, real estate, entertainment, social networking, B2B, healthcare, etc. From the first day of the full-scale War, the company has been actively supporting the Ukrainian Army, the Territory Defense Forces, and hospitals. By joint forces, it is sending humanitarian aid to Kharkiv and other hotspots. We were able to buy bulletproof vests, helmets, cables and batteries for our soldiers. The company helps its employees and their families with financial support for relocation, counselor sessions and constant communication to support each other. Selecto preserves financial benefits and jobs for those who cannot work at the moment (they protect us). In its office in Lviv, the company was able to provide shelter for Internally displaced persons from hotspots, provide them with comfortable living and help with humanitarian aid.

Global Grid for Learning (GG4L)

GG4L is a company that has provided schools and EdTech suppliers with a digital transformation foundation since 2018. GG4L – joined Rivne IT Cluster in March this year and in cooperation with the Rivne Department of Education is beginning to implement an educational project based on free courses in IT. This program will provide students in 9-11 grades free access to courses from the Leaders of the World non-formal education. This is an opportunity to support Ukrainian youth in this difficult time and to help project participants to acquire quality knowledge remotely and take the first steps in their future careers.

Honeycomb SoftWare

Honeycomb SoftWare is an outsourced IT company, founded in 2015 in Rivne, which has the Microsoft Gold Partner status and is one of the Net development top companies according to Clutch. The main clients are startups and businesses from the United States, The United Kingdom, Israel, Norway, Germany and Australia. From the first day of the War, the company’s employees spread true facts about the actions of the occupiers on the territory of Ukraine, urging the world not to remain silent and direct funds to support the Armed Forces. In addition to the funds transferred to the Return Alive Foundation and the official National Bank of Ukraine account of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, over the entire period of the War, more than UAH 600,000 were raised thanks to the active actions of the team, clients and partners. Employees of the company bought a car, air mattresses and breastplates for tablets at their own expense. Programmers are looking for the necessary equipment and machinery for the Army, provide humanitarian aid, and participate in charitable initiatives. The company’s business representative in Houston raised more than $ 9,000 for the Armed Forces, assists in purchasing necessities, and organizes charitable events with the local startup community. Honeycomb SoftWare agreed on an action plan with the participation of the company’s management (CEO and CTO, partners) in case of War in advance. In particular, financial support was provided for the relocation of employees with families, as well as a convenient and fast process of communication within the company. All employees who have joined the Territorial Defense Forces are paid in full and have their jobs retained, in its turn the company pays taxes for the former.

Mindy Support

Mindy Support is a member of Rivne IT Cluster, which expands business opportunities around the world by providing companies with remote workers and outsourcing teams that specialize in data collection and processing, customer support, etc. The company actively supports the Ukrainian Army – it transferred funds, as well as provided mobile phones for the needs of the Armed Forces and internally displaced persons in the amount of UAH 400 thousand. With the help of the Mindy Support Charitable Foundation, it provides displaced children with computers for the possibility of distance schooling in different parts of Ukraine. Employees of the company brought worth of EUR 50,000 medicine, charity and military equipment from abroad. They took people out of Chernihiv, sewed Individual Integrated Fighting System, flags and other equipment for our defense forces. The company conducted briefings on tactical medicine and first aid and “Children and War” training for children from 7 to 14 years, where they work with traumatic memories and panic attacks, prepared Easter baskets for 70 families, transferred animal feed to Kyiv region and other. Mindy Support has created a group to help the company’s employees to evacuate, provided informational and financial support for team members and their families, and set up shelters in Ternopil and Vinnytsia.

Habitat

Habitat provides services for launching digital products: Product UX strategy, UX&UI design, Interaction design, Motion graphics, Brand experience design, Design support (Marketing, Product videos, etc.). The company has taken care of the safety of each employee, provided two-week paid leave to everyone, and taken financial care of those who needed to relocate to safe parts of Ukraine. The company’s top management took care of providing first aid to the entire team and collected complete first aid kits not only for employees but also for their families. Habitat abolished the full-time rule so that every employee could devote time to volunteering and mental health. And daily stands with the whole team help everyone to unload from the news and feel the usual rhythm of life. Proven resources for charitable contributions to Ukraine were sent to all foreign clients. Lots of partners have begun to transfer a percentage of profits in plain and crypto currency to the Ukrainian charitable foundations accounts. Macbooks were transferred and power banks were purchased for the needs of the Territory Defense Forces. The team also actively supports Ukrainian products which transfer funds to the Armed Forces and send funds personally to charitable accounts. The company provides free services to Haarlem4Ukraine and DAR charities, develops leaflets and banners for Ukrainian activists abroad. The company’s CEO is active in volunteering in Haarlem, the Netherlands, and provides humanitarian aid. Employees of the company who are in Ukraine actively help displaces persons, provide housing and relocate to the appropriate place

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