100 ambulances for Ukraine is a registered UK Charity fundraising to buy ambulances to help the victims of war.

Background

The war in Ukraine has a significant impact on healthcare. In the warzone, medical facilities have been destroyed and the ongoing shelling by the Russian army makes rebuilding impossible. Due to the war effort there is an increased number of patient, injured by the attacks and ore illnesses during poor living conditions. The best way to provide healthcare to patients in the war zone is to transport them to health care facilities further away from the warzone.

This creates a problem: the demand for transport exeeds the availability. There are more patients, they need to be transported longer distances, the road infrastructure is damaged which make transport more time consuming and the ongoing aggression by the Russian army complicates transport. Vehicles are damaged faster as they are used more intensively on poor roads or directly due to the shelling and attacks by the Russian army.

Transportation of patient saves lives. The current capacity of ambulances in Ukraine is not sufficient. We want to provide more transport capacity by fundraising for and buying (second hand) ambulances and bring them to Ukraine.

We are a group of enthusiastic volunteers: doctors, nurses, laywers, mechanics, technicians. We are dedicating our free time to fundraise, buy and deliver ambulances to Ukraine. We have been doing this in the past months with the help of other organisations.

In order to professionalise and step up our effort, we have decided to create the charity “100 Ambulances” to operate independently and react faster on the needs of the health care providers we deliver our ambulances to, our target group. We are dedicated to maintain  cooperation with our current partners. Through this charity we will formalise and strengthen this cooperation.

Our goal

We have defined our goal as follows:

“the object of the organisation is for the public benefit, the relief and assistance of people in need in ukraine and those that see ukraine as their home in any part of the world who are the victims of war or natural disaster or catastrophe by the supply of medical aid to such persons and organisations caring for them. For the purpose of this clause ‘medical aid’ means goods, services and facilities necessary for the provision of medical treatment and rehabilitation.”

How will we achieve our goal

We fundraise among individuals, companies and organisations to buy ambulances, support vehicles and equipment. These will be transported to Ukraine and donated to  (para)medic teams and health facilities near the areas affected by war. Where needed we will cooperate with other organisations by supporting them in the delivery of the beforementioned ambulances and in order to provide training in the use of the donated vehicles and equipment if needed. We have already purchased a large number of ambulances from the UK specifically which have been driven by volunteers to Ukraine, this has given us the experience and contacts to expand our effort and increase our fundraising efforts.

Specifics: the way we fundraise, buy and deliver ambulances

To fundraise we focus on

• Individuals. Through personal contacts, social media and other strategies we will solicit individual donations. We have experience using different fundraising platforms including JustGiving, GoFundMe, Facebook and PayPal. We will use this experience to set up a new platform specifically for this purpose. We plan to apply for GiftAid to increase the fundraised amount.
• Companies. Through our network we will approach companies to provide donations and discounts to fund our effort. By establishing a separate charity those companies can enjoy tax benefits under specific circumstances in return for their support.
• Organisations. We are in contact with several organisations to provide us with grants in order to purchase ambulances and to provide logistics.

To buy ambulances

• We partner with companies who currently have a surplus of second hand ambulances
• We partner with car trading companies who sell second hand vehicles
• We partner with companies who sell (second hand) equipment and inventory
• We buy vehicles directly form auctions

To deliver ambulances

• We have a pool of volunteer drivers and mechanics, which drive the individual vehicles from their point of sale to Ukraine.
• In Ukraine we use to network of partners to deliver them within Ukraine to the health care providers which are in need of vehicles

Measurable: how do we measure our outcome

As indicated in our initiatives title, we plan to fundraise and deliver 100 ambulances to Ukraine. This is a very specific target. Once we reach this target we will evaluate our actions. The aim is to reach multiple cycles of 100 ambulances as long as there is a need for support from Ukraine. Each cycle will be evaluated.

Our fundraising is measurable in our output. We need an estimated £3000-£10000 to buy, equip and deliver an ambulance. This means our fundraising target will be £300.000-£1.000.000 over the next years in funds, discounts and in-kind support.

Achievable: is it possible to deliver 100 ambulances to Ukraine

Our fundraising is expanding. Until now, we have been fundraising with the help of partner organisations. Establishing ourselves as an independent charity will enable us to ramp up our activities and make agreements. The results of fundraising from individuals, companies and organisations are promising, we have fundraised sufficient funds to deliver the first 12 ambulances/ We are confident that with a structural approach we can meet our fundraising target to fund a further 88 ambulances.

As stated in our background, with the help of our partners we are already on our way towards our goal of 100 ambulances. The first 12 ambulances have been bought and delivered. We are increasing our network and are confident we can expand our deliveries and thus reach our goal.

Our partners in Ukraine have as strong network with the ministry of health and the emergency service, to ensure that the ambulances are delivered to those health care providers who need the vehicles most.

Relevant: why are the ambulances needed

As stated in the background, the need for transport capacity of patients in East-Ukraine remains an urgent priority. In the context of the ongoing war in Ukraine this relevance stretches beyond those of the patients, but has an impact on Ukranian society and the global community in term of delivering relief. Even if the war stops, the need for transportation of patients will remain high, as many health care facilities are destroyed and infrastructure needs to be rebuild.

Our partners in Ukraine have a strong network, including the Ministry of Health, emergency services throughout the affected area and individual doctors and paramedics. This enable us to supply the vehicles which meet the demands of the respective units. The same goes for the essential equipment and inventory. Our partners in Ukraine do assist in the necessary training of the personal using the ambulances. If needed we will use our funds to support this training further through our partners.

Time based: When will we reach our goal

We aim to reach our ultimate goal of 100 ambulances in 2 to 3 years. This comes down to 20-40 ambulances per year. Our goal for the current year is to fundraise for 25 ambulances.

Action plan: What are we doing next

• Register as a charity (CIO)
• Establish GiftAid capabilities
• Build an independent fundraising platform
• Start a fundraising drive aimed at Christmas
• Expand our network of suppliers
• Create a continuous flow of ambulances in the next month.

How can you help?

Donate at www.100ambulances.org, donations are the best way you can help. You can start your own fundraiser, we can give you advise. Contact us through www.100ambulances.org. We need volunteers to fundraise, acquire and drive ambulances to Ukraine.