Zimmerman is a cofounder and marketing director of Nova Ukraine, a Silicon Valley-based organization founded in 2014, the same year as Putin’s annexation of Crimea. The organization has raised more than $22.5 million in donations thus far, distributed as medical, evacuation, pet rescue and food aid. They’ve also collaborated with multiple international organizations, currently fundraising with UNICEF and collaborating with Airbnb to secure fleeing refugees with housing vouchers.
When the Pain Becomes a Part of You
“Nova Ukraine's new Vector of Resilience joint pilot project helps Ukraine's veteran support specialists address burnout and secondary traumatic stress.” The program's first residential trainings, launched by Nova Ukraine and its partners, were recently held in Ukraine's Volyn Oblast. Mariia, a support specialist, almost didn't attend. Leaving the veterans and families she supported for three days filled her with guilt she couldn't shake. She worried about how they would manage without her. But when she found herself among psychologists, social workers, healthcare professionals, and community specialists who shared the same responsibilities, something changed.