Weatherman Foundation
Weatherman Foundation
Delivering Hope in 2023

Delivering Hope in 2023

Though less than a peaceful new year in Ukraine, we’re kicking off 2023 with high-impact deliveries and thought-leadership events to support those who need it most!

By Tori Hil·January 18, 2023

Though less than a peaceful new year in Ukraine, we’re kicking off 2023 with high-impact deliveries and thought-leadership events to support those who need it most!

The Tulcea Hub’s response efforts are underway to support Dnipro.

Air raid alerts sounded across Ukraine last week as Russian missile attacks landed on an apartment building in Dnipro, killing 12, while explosions were heard in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Lviv, hitting critical infrastructure. Damage from the blasts will mean emergency power cuts for many regions — but our team at the Tulcea Hub has been quick to rally resources and bring a bit of hope!


While rescue efforts are still underway in Dnipro, the Hub is preparing a ‘second wave’ of supplies for the city, such as sleeping bags, blankets, food, medicine, and medical supplies — supporting those displaced from their homes and recovering from tragedy. W

Insulin for Life Provides Life-Saving Doses - Again and Again!

Donating partners, Insulin for Life USA, continue to send critical shipments of insulin, supporting over-stretched hospitals throughout Ukraine. Many would be suffering without these necessary vials and their consistent delivery to teams like those at a Mykolaiv hospital (right). Much of this ongoing effort is made possible through your support, along with our diligent Tulcea Hub team, currently led by Co-Director of Warehousing Glen Kinney (standing, below)


Upcoming DC Events Highlighting Ukrainian Women’s Leadership!

On January 31st and February 1st, the Weatherman Foundation will be hosting joint events with U.S. Institute for Peace and Women In International Security as part of our Women, Peace and Security Programming. These events are part of a week-long visit to high-level officials in Washington DC, spotlighting women we have worked with extensively over the past 10 months, the important leadership roles they have stepped into during the war, and their critical support of democracy — now and in future post-war recovery.


Keep your eyes open for online watch links for both events, coming in the next couple weeks.


Empowering Ukrainians with Technical Skills


One of the values we hold as the Weatherman Foundation is supporting our local partners’ leadership - through skills trainings, education, and economic empowerment.


This past week, Co-Director of Warehousing, Glen, implemented a train-the-trainer program for 2 of our Ukrainian staff leads at the Tulcea Hub. They quickly translated it into a full staff training (in Ukrainian) on safe operation of forklifts in the warehouse (right), ensuring everyone is up to date on how to use, maintain and operate the vehicles safely (below).

Trainings like these allow for operational longevity and a sense of ownership from our friends and partners, ensuring the Hub can continue making an impact as long as it’s needed.


Spain Keeps the Ukraine Stocked [with Oatmilk]

Starting in late December 2022, the Spanish government began donating truckloads of Oatly Oatmilk. We’ve been able to send various loads of the shelf-stable oatmilk and other supplies to locations in desperate need of basic supplies such as Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Odessa and Kharkiv (below). Thanks for local NGOs such as Odesa in the Heart, Dynamo, Pokrov and many others, the milk is being delivered to shelters and distribution points for those in hard-hit areas. As long as the trucks roll in with supplies, we will continue to send them on to those who need it most!


Generator Deliveries from Germany Keep Ukraine’s Lights On

Our donating partners from Germany continue to send high-power generators for hospitals, critical government buildings and shelters throughout Ukraine. These generators (pictured below) were delivered in the first days of 2023 to recovery parts of Kharkiv, Kherson and Mykolaiv.

SOS Attitude Delivers Hundreds of Sleeping Bags and Generators!

A new French donating partner, SOS Attitude came through with 2 large trucks of winter donations last week. The trucks included hundreds of sleeping bags and generators — one of our most requested items as power outages plague conflict-affected areas — and have already gone out for delivery to Ukraine’s most recently devastated city, Dnipro.

As we start the new year, we can’t help but express our gratitude for your support!

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Today marks three years since Jeffrey Judd Jones gave his life for Ukraine.

On ...
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Today marks three years since Jeffrey Judd Jones gave his life for Ukraine. On July 31, 2023, the heart of an American volunteer, a true warrior of light, stopped beating. Jeffrey gave not only his life, but also his heart and soul for the people of Ukraine and for the values of freedom he believed were worth defending. His life was cut short on the battlefield in the Donetsk region. Born in Maine and living in Georgia, USA, Jeffrey could not stand aside while, across the ocean, freedom, human dignity, and independence were being destroyed. His path in defense of Ukraine was one of unwavering resolve from the very beginning. He first traveled to Ukraine as a medic, putting himself in harm’s way to save lives. During his service, an enemy artillery shell struck a building, causing a wall to collapse on him. Despite spending five days in the hospital and subsequently returning to the U.S. to recover, his dedication never wavered. After he healed, he chose to return across the ocean. This time directly in the Armed Forces of Ukraine to take up arms and stop evil. We bow our heads before this act of profound courage and dignity. To cross thousands of kilometers, to leave the comfort of one’s own home, and to stand in defense of Ukrainian families is the highest expression of love for truth, freedom, and humanity. We offer our deepest condolences to the family of our fallen Hero: his son, Kyle Jones of Brunswick, Maine; his father, Howard Jones, and his wife, Sondra Jones; as well as his loved ones and brothers-in-arms. Your loss is immeasurable, but the memory of your Jeffrey will live on forever in the hearts of the Ukrainian people. Three years have passed, yet Jeffrey’s sacrifice remains a lasting reminder that the defense of freedom knows no borders. His courage, compassion, and unwavering commitment continue to inspire all who fight for justice and human dignity. Eternal memory and honor to the Hero who crossed an ocean for Ukraine’s freedom.

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There are oceans that divide continents, and there are decisions that unite hear...
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There are oceans that divide continents, and there are decisions that unite hearts across thousands of miles. For 28-year-old U.S. Marine Corps veteran Lance Lawrence, the Atlantic was never an obstacle. It became a bridge between his homeland and the burning steppes of Ukraine, where the fate of global freedom was being decided. He came to Ukraine not for glory, nor gain, nor out of obligation. He came because his inner compass left him no other choice. As a true warrior of light, he could not stand by silently while an enemy destroyed innocent lives. Lance was a heavy weapons expert, a professional to the core, but his greatest weapon was his kindness. His brothers-in-arms remember his genuine smile—one capable of scattering the thickest darkness in the dugouts—and his quiet generosity. He would silently share everything he had and lend a shoulder when strength seemed entirely gone. Even after a ricochet round wounded his wrist, Lance thought only of one thing: returning to his brothers as quickly as possible. He didn’t look for an excuse to step back. The moment his wound healed, he stepped right back into the hell of war. July 29, 2023. Eastern Ukraine. A heavy barrage of enemy mortars, machine-gun fire, grenades, and drone strikes... In this fiery storm, Lance Lawrence, shoulder-to-shoulder with his brother-in-arms, former U.S. Army officer Andrew Webber, fought his final battle. They stood their ground against the assault to hold back imperial aggression. On that day, in that same operation, two sons of America gave their lives so that Ukrainian soil could have a future. For those first unbearable days after the battle, both Lance and Andrew were among the missing — their fate unknown, their families holding onto hope in silence. But no fog of war, no delay in answers, could ever diminish what these two brothers-in-arms had already given.”

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There is a pain no language on earth was built to hold — the pain of losing some...
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There is a pain no language on earth was built to hold — the pain of losing someone you love in a war that wasn’t his by fate, but became his by free will. Three years ago, on July 29th, an ocean away from home, the heart of Andrew Webber stopped beating — an American veteran, a senior reconnaissance soldier of the 59th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade. He crossed an ocean that didn’t ask him to. Back home, a whole life stood waiting to be lived — a family, children, peace, the quiet kind of happiness most spend a lifetime chasing. He could have stayed. Comfort was his for the taking. But somewhere inside him lived the call every warrior knows — the one that will not let you look away from innocent blood. Instead, he chose to stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukrainians. What made him proudest was the work he did beside Ukrainian officers — guarding the innocent from an enemy that came uninvited. This was not a fleeting impulse — it was the deliberate choice of a man who understood what freedom costs, and decided the price was his to pay. Today, on the third anniversary of his death, we bow our heads. We thank Andrew’s family — his beloved wife, DeeDee, their daughters, Gwennie and Vera, who carry his memory every day. We thank his Father, Jamie and his siblings— and, his mother, Karla Webber. She carries more than a mother’s grief for a son who did not come home. She has turned that grief into a mission, leading the Memento Mori direction at the R.T. Weatherman Foundation, gathering the families of fallen foreigners under one roof of memory. Because she knows a simple, unbearable truth: what is left unnamed disappears. What is spoken by name endures. Here at the Foundation, we ask for one thing above all — that Andrew’s story, and the stories of every son, husband, and father who crossed an ocean for a country not their own, never dissolve into the cold arithmetic of a great war. That their names outlive the war itself. We remember the name of Andrew Webber. We remember why he was here. Eternal memory.

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Andre Bosma, a 27-year-old volunteer from the Netherlands, came to defend Ukrain...
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Andre Bosma, a 27-year-old volunteer from the Netherlands, came to defend Ukraine in 2022. Since childhood, he had always felt rootless — not in a geographical or material sense, but on a much deeper, existential level. Despite being born in the Netherlands and spending years in England, he never felt fully aligned with the culture or mindset of either society. Ukraine drew him in through a powerful inner calling. To him, it was only in the intensity of combat and the presence of real danger that life revealed its true meaning. His journey began quite literally with a long walk toward the border. Amid the chaos of the full-scale invasion and the uncertainty of wartime logistics, he walked 25 kilometers to the border with only five euros in his pocket. Over years of intense combat in some of the hottest sectors of the war, Andre went through a major transformation during the war. He served as a designated marksman, infantryman, fire support specialist, and later as a mortar operator, developing his skills directly in combat under different commanders. In the fall of 2025, he was wounded. The fighter required prolonged specialized treatment and medical evacuation. As part of our Wounded in Action Program, the team provided logistical support for the foreign volunteer. The foundation's team handed the case over to our partner, @netherlandsforukraine, who arranged for treatment and proper rehabilitation, handled the documentation, and submitted the case for review. Thanks to them Andre was admitted to Europe's leading clinical centers — Martini Hospital — where he underwent treatment and a course of rehabilitation. After completing the primary stage of burn treatment, Andre now faces a new and equally difficult challenge — mental rehabilitation. His story is not only about physical endurance, but also about the unique psychology of a warrior whose inner world operates according to the laws of extremes.

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