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Smith Seeks to Help Ukrainians in Need

Shane Smith’s first trip to Ukraine in 1999 was far different from trips he has undertaken in recent months, on his own, to do what he can to help others in need in a time of war.

On Thursday, May 5, he traveled back to Poland for his second humanitarian trip since the Russian invasion broke out on Feb. 24. Shane’s May 5 trip was a follow-up to his first, 55-day trip to the region. Shane undertook his first trip on Feb. 26, 48 hours after the invasion of Ukraine, and stayed on to help through April 15 before briefly returning to his home in Branford.

On May 5, Shane once again boarded a plane bound for Krakow, Poland, with an open-ended ticket and plans including reaching Kyiv, Ukraine by May 10 to bring needed supplies requested for families. Just hours before he was set to catch his flight, Shane spoke with The Sound about why he is continuing to take action to assist, and what others can do to help.

Back in 1999, Shane, now a well-known shoreline soccer coach, traveled to Ukraine for the very first time on a cultural exchange. He kept many connections from that trip in the years that followed. Shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Shane received a call for possible assistance from of those friends and decided to take action.

Shane traveled overseas to safely retrieve his friend’s young daughter, a U.S. citizen who had been studying dance in Ukraine. Shane was there to help her as she moved west toward Poland and safety.

Once that mission was accomplished, “I really felt like there was more I could do,” says Shane. “I did have the time, in February and March, which is a slow period for what I do. So I decided to stay, and volunteer.”

In Krakow, Poland, he found a volunteer organization (accepting donations at wolno-nam.pl) running a 300-bed hostel for displaced Ukrainians, including many moms and kids arriving as refugees.

“I walked in and said, ‘Hello, I’m a football coach, and I’d like to take the kids to go play. And they said, ‘Okay!”

Shane also recommends visiting hliniszcze.com/help-for-ukraine, where donations are being accepted by a non-profit based in Krakow that supplies drivers, food, and medical supplies in convoys to Ukraine.

In the weeks and months since first visiting the hostel, Shane’s volunteer work has expanded to his ongoing effort to raise funds to help provide Ukrainian refugee families with long-term temporary housing, to help secure and deliver needed supplies, and to help displaced kids stay positive by leading them in activities—including playing soccer, or “football” as it’s known to the Ukrainian kids—while he’s visiting.

Shane moved to Branford four years ago from Guilford and has resided in North Branford as well. Through the years, he’s connected to many on shoreline and beyond as both community member and coach, including those in Madison and other towns. On April 24, a friend invited Shane to join her at the second Stand with Ukraine rally organized by a group of Branford women on the steps of the Blackstone Library, where Shane was asked to speak a bit about his recent efforts.

Finding Funding to Help Others

At first, Shane self-funded his efforts, which led to also selling off “everything that wasn’t a necessity,” including his TV, PlayStation, furniture, coffee maker, and some high-end pots and pans. He also downgraded his phone plan and canceled his Internet service to free up more funds.

Shane wanted to try to help find, and fund, temporary housing to assist the flood of refugees coming into Poland over the border. Friends following updates Shane was posting on social media began to ask if they could donate to help (follow Shane on Facebook at Shane Smith Branford CT and on Instagram @shanesmithcoaching).

Regarding those initial requests to take donations, “I’ve never fundraised,” says Shane. “I was doing what I wanted to do with my money and that was what was happening. But it did get to a point, after several people asked if they could donate, that I thought if one more person asked me, I would say ‘Yes.’”

With the help of some Guilford and Madison families he’d met through coaching, Shane established a GoFundMe page (www.gofundme.com/f/next-phase-of-housing-for-ukranian-moms-and-kids), which is continuing to accept donations to assist in his efforts.

“The first four weeks’ [funding] was for Airbnbs, and that got extremely expensive, but that was what was needed as people were coming in,” says Shane.

To date, he’s now found and funded long-term temporary homes for four families, with a fifth in the works. As expected, the supply of available housing in the Krakow area is short and demand is high, making finding inventory difficult, he says.

“The desire to be safe in Poland, but close to Ukraine, as in two hours from Krakow, is very desirable, so that makes it even more difficult,” he says.

He’s working with a network of Polish friends to find additional housing that may be available. As of press time for this story, Shane’s GoFundMe page has raised nearly $4,500 and is also assisting those in need in other ways, as described in Shane’s message on the page, which reads, in part:

“Our mission is to start to place families in longer-term apartments and even houses so they can have the calm and security of a home as they work through this horrific and historic world event. If successful then the donations would exponentially helpful because the families can then begin to house their own network of refugees. This would make the donations more potent in the short term and impact so many more moms than short-term rentals. Donations would also include expenses day to day for items such as gas to and from border, groceries to get moms making home meals from the start, Ubers/taxis, [and] anything they need. Also, where possible and reasonable, [to] make them smile and enjoy some things that they would want normally, but never ask for such as flowers, toys, balls, $10 tickets to professional soccer games, etc.”

Why He Helps

As a youth coach, Shane says he’s always felt “there was purpose with what I was doing with young people.”

Within that reflection, says Shane, “the word ‘purpose,’ and a higher purpose, was always ringing in my head. I was looking for how that might materialize. Do I start a non-profit? I’d even thought of, for many years, is there a place where my camp counselor nature and my skills with young people would have the greatest impact? And for me, that kept going back to refugee camps, where there are clearly no soccer activities, and morale may be very low.”

Shane says years of working with young players and empathizing with parents and families had shown him that parents’ greatest concerns for their children lie in “how their child feels inside.”

“If their child is happy, [parents] can deal with the real-life problems. But not having a child who is safe, smiling, happy, enjoying life, really makes that situation so much worse,” he says. “So I thought if I can do what I do, in a place where it might have more impact with parents who are dealing with real-life issues, that would bring them happiness. So I had this purpose, but I didn’t know how to start it.”

With his current volunteer work, Shane says he feels that it wasn’t simply circumstances, but providence, that intervened to allow him to help.

“I think these things happen for a reason,” he says. “I think my heart and my mind were preparing me for the exact situation that I had thought of.”

In addition to helping secure long-term temporary housing, securing and ferrying supplies, and assisting with arising needs, Shane dedicates as many free hours as possible to leading refugee kids at playing football or taking them on fun outings such as professional matches. As a former beneficiary of Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Shane appreciates the value that a supportive adult can provide to youngsters who need that support.

Shane thanks his former Big Brother, Bill Bloss (also a former long-time Guilford Board of Education member/chair) for being there for him.

“Bill Bloss was my big brother, and I’ve thought about him a lot, and the games the he brought me to,” says Shane.

Staying Safe

During his first humanitarian trip abroad this year, Shane was in Kyiv, Ukraine for five days in April.

“I was not close to the front at any time, but rockets have hit cities that I was in, and I was also in cities that rockets have hit after I was there. But anytime I was there, I did not see any rockets,” he says.

Shane says he hasn’t really felt fear or concern for himself at any point along his journey to help others. He says there is a Bible quote, “Fear not, for I am with you,” which has been resonating with him throughout this experience.

“That just seemed to be bouncing around in my head, and I don’t know why,” says Shane, member of Branford’s Vox Church, another group helping to support his current effort.

“I think there is a reason why that was in my head, and seemed to come up very often, and I couldn’t ignore the lack of fear or anxiety that I had,” he says. “So that’s what made it so easy for me...If somebody said something like ‘Were you scared? You were in Ukraine,’ I’m thinking the answer is no. There was no one shooting at me; there were no rockets landing near me. I’m just doing what I want to do, and I what I think my calling is.”

Shane’s not sure when he’s returning to the U.S., but thinks he will be back to his coaching programs later this spring. He also knows he can count on his coaching associates and others in his network to assist while he’s away.

“Most people, if not everybody, understands circumstances have put me in a situation that I can’t turn away from,” says Shane. “I strongly believe, and I think they also believe, that I’m doing it for the right reasons.”