FIRST Ukraine update

FIRST General Forum
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FIRST Ukraine update | Please, read to the end
02/24/2022

Hey! My name is Nikita, and I am a member of the first Ukrainian FRC team, 7851, as well as a dedicated member of the FIRST community in Ukraine and a great patriot. This message is being written from the heart of Ukraine, in the lovely city of Kyiv, which the Russian occupying force has heavily shelled for several hours.

My compatriots’ blood has been shed for several hours, and enemy bombs have been flying through our territory for several hours. As far as I’m aware, the situation among members of the FIRST community in Ukraine is relatively quiet - many have found sanctuary and have been able to flee. That isn’t to say that everything is risk-free. I’ll keep you updated on the situation among FIRST participants in Ukraine, and if any of them want assistance, I’ll let you know!

The only and most critical thing we need today is support from thousands of FIRST participants all across the world. Support comes in the form of deeds, not words. All we need is solidarity.

Make donations to assist our doctors to save hundreds of lives on the front lines and in the back. Also, post the payment screens with a hashtag #WeStandWithFIRSTUkraine team accounts to demonstrate solidarity with the FIRST community in Ukraine and, most importantly, rescue lives of innocent Ukrainians.

Donation links:

By paying attention to the situation, you rescue people’s lives. So I encourage you to share this post, make solidarity posts, donate to Ukrainian doctors, and stand with Ukraine and its values during such challenging times.

Support us by raising awareness and demonstrating solidarity in such a period!
Slava Ukraini! May the FIRST and peace be with you!

PS: I’ll keep you updated on the current situation in the future. I’m guessing some of our members will probably need to escape abroad. If you live in Europe, Turkey, or Israel and would like to assist a group of Ukrainian STEM enthusiasts, please contact me. Besides, is anyone competent in the United States’ migration policy? Can our members enter the United States without a visa? Please do not hesitate to contact me!

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Slava Ukraini! Stay safe. I know next to nothing about immigration policy unfortunately but if anyone lands in North Carolina in the US, tell them to reach out. I’ve had a few students who came to us by way of migration out of the Ukraine so my heart is with you all right now and keeping your independence.

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I don’t believe that entry into the US without a visa is possible at this time. However, if students can make it to one of the countries that is allowing visa-less entry, it may be possible to quickly gain an educational visa and then enter the US.

If you become aware of any students that have reached Poland/Ireland/etc and are in need of a sponsor to come into the US, please let me know. I have some contacts at high schools that have experience with rehoming international students, and an organization that handles placements for international students.

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My heart brakes for you every second this war rages on. Please stand strong, it can’t last forever. Please believe me that you have the full support of any Ukrainian - American over here, myself included.

#westandwithUkraine

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#WeStandWithUkraine

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#3374StandsWithUkraine

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#WeStandWithUkraine

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Stay safe.

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Thanks for the link, Happily donated!

Nikita, please know that the entire FIRST community and the world stands with you, Team 7851, and all the people of Ukraine in your fight. Stay strong, stay safe, and never give up!

Slava Ukraini!
:sunflower: :sunflower: :blue_heart: :yellow_heart: :sunflower: :sunflower:

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Donate your coffee for 5 dollars if you haven’t done it yet!

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#WeStandWithFIRSTUkraine

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There are some more recent updates on Instagram.

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For anyone without Instagram, please help!

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image1513×885 248 KB

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Slava Ukraini!

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Found out my employer has a matching program, and donated to Razom again. Company match doubles the impact.

Have not seen a recent update from 7851, but I only check CD. Anyone here seen news about the team somewhere else?

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It’s been distressingly quiet. I spent some time with this team at all of the in-person FIRST Global events, and I know that for me, they are a connection to, and represent, a great many others. (I’ve also worked with some people from this region over the years.)

The entire situation is terribly horrific – something where words simply fail. It is also a reminder to keep things in perspective and of the many things we mostly take for granted.

As for the team, they are really a great group, with hopes, dreams, promise, and potential, who reminded me of many other teams in many ways. I hope for the best, but the range of possibilities is tough to consider.

One of the last Instagram posts asked to display Ukrainian imagery on FRC 'bots. It would be great for teams to do this.

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As recently as this weekend, Nikita posted (fairly vauge) updates elsewhere. They arent out if harms way, but they’re still around.

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Hello everyone,
In my other job, I am a high school English teacher. I know there are other teachers on CD, and in case anyone else is looking for a way to get their class involved, I wanted to share this project that my co-teacher designed.

We took class time to kick off the project and vote on the organization. Everything else was done in students’ independent time (in our school, we have two free 45-minute periods a day in which students are able to choose what they do to further their education). We offered up class credit or community service hours to the students who worked on the project.

We did purchase a few items to raffle off. Each person (student or faculty) that donated was entered into a raffle. This drove donations up significantly.

Overall, we feel that it was a successful campaign.

I do not mean to bring this up as a detraction from Razom, just as another means of supporting people in Ukraine and engaging our students in the process. We focussed on refugees because that is the book we are reading currently (so this did tie directly into our curriculum in multiple ways).

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