Tactical Emergency Medical supplies to civilians on the front lines of Ukraine - CAN YOUR CLUB HELP?

To our fellow Rotarians, Rotaractors and our whole District 7070 Rotary family,

At the Rotary District 7070 Conference in Oshawa in October , we saw the partnership with Durham College's Rotary Global Classroom and Sunnybrook Hospital, and Global Guardian working together to send Tactical Emergency Medical supplies to civilians on the front lines of Ukraine. They still need Canadian Rotary Clubs including those in District 7070, to help today. Thank you to the Rotary Clubs who have already donated and are saving lives.  All donations will be included in their purchase of medical supplies from Sunnybrook hospital and taken to the Ukrainian war zone.  Global Guardian is working on additional shipments of these medical kits that will arrive in a few months.  Please Read more to find out more about the project and how YOU can help this immediate need TODAY....

Our mission is to provide medical kits to civilians, volunteers, humanitarian workers and Terra Defense that are living and working in Ukrainian war zones. Our goal is to deliver 2,000 medical kits by September 2022. Stop The Bleed training will be provided to insure optimal use of supplies and help increase survival during and after bombing, shelling and firearm wounds. 

 NOTE: Violetta notes that all donations that are in by August 12th will be included in our purchase of medical supplies from Sunnybrook hospital and taken to the Ukrainian war zone with us at the beginning of September. However, if you cannot meet this deadline, they are working on another shipment of medical kits that will arrive in a few months. 

The Medical Kits:

Our Medical Kit has been designed by Thomas Bezruki, our medical consultant and retired war veteran. Careful consideration has been given to provide military grade supplies for emergency life threatening injuries that need treatment in the first 3-5 minutes. Each kit costs between $120-$150 and includes all of the items listed below. All donations collected by mid August will go towards the purchase of these kits from Sunnybrook Hospital and our goal is to deliver them into Ukrainian war zones by September 1, 2022.  Inside the kits are :Hemostatic Dressing $20-$40; Chest Seal Entry/Exit $10-$50; 2 Israeli Bandages $10-$30; Combat Tourniquet $30-$60; Medical Shears (up to)-$160; Kit Bag, Marker, Medical Gloves

Here's the project:

Violetta and Matthew travelled to the War Zone in Ukraine to deliver $10,000 of Medical Supplies. After working with soldiers, orphans, refugees and humanitarian aid personnel they discovered that the biggest crisis in war stricken countries is civilians and soldiers dying from bleeding out without access to proper Military Grade Medical Emergency Aid. They started doing an extensive amount of research as to what type of supplies actually saves lives, and how come there is a lack of it. At the same time, Anastasia, Violetta’s sister, invited Violetta to speak in Lon Appleby’s Global Rotary Class about this crisis, and it sparked a mission. Retired Military Veteran, Thomas Bezruki, joined the team with his medical expertise and together they set out on a mission to deliver 2,000 Medical kits to civilians, volunteers, and humanitarian personnel in Ukrainian War Zones by September 2022.

Meet the Key Team Members:

Violetta Pioro - Communication and Operations Director

When the 2022 War in Ukraine started, Violetta’s family was stricken hard and perishing. The women and children in her family left Ukraine as refugees, the men had to stay to defend, families were ripped apart and some will never be back together again. She kept getting requests from family members volunteering on the front lines, for specific military grade medical supplies. For someone who has never been through war, she spent countless sleepless nights researching and figuring out not only where to source the supplies, but what is most important to purchase, as well as how to send it as fast as possible. She started off with volunteering for Ukrainian/Canadian organizations sending out humanitarian aid. It was when one of the shipments, heading towards a bomb shelter between Bucha and Kyiv was stolen, that she and her life partner, Matthew, decided to fly down to Ukraine themselves and deliver $10,000 worth of medical supplies, personally. Upon their return, Professor Lon Appleby introduced her to Thomas Bezruki, retired military veteran, and the idea of Global Guardian project sparked. Violetta has a B.A. in Communications and Mass Media and Diploma in Broadcast Radio. She has also worked in the Film and TV industry and has her Life Coaching Certificate with Robbins Madanes Training.

Meet Professor Lon Appleby- Rotary Global Classroom  - StopTheBleed Education Development and Research Director

Lon Appleby, the founder of The Global Class, (in the Rotary Global Classroom) is an award-winning documentary producer, journalist, and general education professor in the Faculty of Liberal Studies at Durham College. Together with his Global Class, he is leading the way in education, providing a platform for people in war stricken zones everywhere with Stop The Bleed training and support.

Thomas A. Bezruki, CD  - Medical Consultant, Flight TCCC Medical (Surgical Unit) EMR

As the manager of Emergency Management within the Office of Campus Safety at Durham College (DC) in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, Thomas A. Bezruki oversees the Campus Emergency Response Team (CERT) of over 40 members. Thomas has taught more than 80 workshops in medical care and emergency response at over 200 service organizations across Canada. A retired veteran with over 12 years of experience in combat tours overseas, including Afghanistan, Thomas worked in the capacity of Close Target Reconnaissance, Tactical Combat Casualty Car (TCCC) Medic and Air Mobile TCCC. Thomas is also a national ambassador for STOP THE BLEED, a life-saving training initiative developed by the American College of Surgeons, emergency management professional (BA Sci, MM, CEMC), emergency medical responder, First Aid instructor, provincial incident management instructor and a certified mental health responder though the Canadian Mental Health Commission.
During his time in the Canadian Armed Forces, Thomas received the Queen’s Medal of Sacrifice, Afghanistan Combat Campaign Star, Canadian Decoration and the International Security Force Commander’s Award. Outside of DC, Thomas is also as a faculty member at a Greater Toronto Area-based university, where he teaches Emergency Response Management programs.

Anastasia Pioro - Marketing and Education Operator

Anastasia deals with the education part of the Global Guardian. She helps Professor Lon Appleby with Stop The Bleed educational videos and research about a country’s war zone to bring emergency training and knowledge through the Global Rotary Class to civilians living in war stricken countries.
She invited, Violetta, her sister, to speak in the Global Rotary Class about her travels through the war zone. After discovering that one of the leading causes of death in a war zone was from bleeding out, she joined this team, to support the Global Guardian project.
Now, she provides vision, support and social media marketing for Global Guardian. Being an actor and influencer, she is able to communicate information for various sectors of the cause to a variety of groups and communities.

Matthew Binkley - Management and Operations Director

Matthew is the owner of TerraGold Homes and has also worked in Film and TV. His philanthropy started when he decided to donate 22% of each Film and TV paycheque to a charity of choice.
When the War in Ukraine started, he donated his 22% to a cause that helps the humanitarian effort in Ukraine. Together with his life partner, Violetta, they discovered that sending medical supplies from Canada was the most effective way to help, considering that food and clothing was efficiently being donated from neighboring countries.
Thus, the journey began. They sent out $800 boxes of medical supplies weekly with MEEST and Second Front Organizations. Finally, they decided to take their last $10,000 worth of medical supplies and travel to Ukraine themselves to deliver it to the front lines.
After experiencing Ukraine in war, his mission has expanded into starting a charity organization, where the main focus is delivering medical supplies to war zones around the world.

NOTE: Violetta notes that all donations that are in by August 12th will be included in our purchase of medical supplies from Sunnybrook hospital and taken to the Ukrainian war zone with us at the beginning of September.

However, if you cannot meet this deadline, they are working on another shipment of medical kits that will arrive in a few months. 

You Can also help by participating in a Golf Tournament on August 11 at Kedron Dells in Oshawa: Here are the details. 

TheGlobalGuardianProject@gmail.com | Official Charity Branch of Durham College Foundation   Charitable Registration Number: 86418 3769 RR0001

BE SURE TO READ THE RECENT ARTICLE IN THE METROLAND NEWSPAPERS: CLICK HERE

Thank you for your support District 7070,

Ron Dick                                          Dave Andrews

Past District 7070 Governor                     District 7070 Public Image Chair