Children and a volunteer share oranges in a schoolyard

Stories from the communities we walk with

Updates, field notes and perspectives shaped by the people who lead the work.

The stories shared here come from our team members, partners and the communities they serve. Each one reflects real progress, challenges and moments of clarity on the ground.

We write with respect for the people at the center of these stories. We do not dramatize hardship or present communities in ways which take their dignity. Each story is shaped with care, guided by the voices closest to the work.

501 Collective Returns to Ukraine & Romania

501 is about people. And communities. And serving one another. And to do that, we must have sustainable, growing relationships. On that note, 501 is headed back to Romania and Ukraine for the holidays! Why is 501 Collective heading back to Romania & Ukraine? We’re heading back to spend Christmas with the Ukrainian orphans. They have incredible caretakers and they’re safe, warm and fed, but the days can be long so we’ll be purchasing gifts for each one and hope to bring a bit of joy throughout the week to everyone we can! What are the biggest changes since the last visit? One of the biggest changes since we visited in August is the weather. It’s snowing, freezing and the winds make it very bitter to be outside. This adds to the boredom and need for activities for the kids. They’ve also more than doubled how many kids have been rescued from Ukraine, so they’re spread about in different buildings in northern Romania, anywhere we can find to safely house the kids!

The Side of People

One of the things we love the most about our partners in Romania and Ukraine is that it does not matter your religion, nationality, race, gender… it’s just that you’re a person. Someone who deserves love, care, safety, and a future. Our partners in Romania told us that they have received concerns about how they operate due to their care for all people. And their response, ‘We don’t care if they are from Romania, Ukraine, Russia, or anywhere else… if they need help, we are there to help them. Our mission is simply to help others.’

Once in a Lifetime

One of the things heard often on trips with 501 Collective is, “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!” Traveling to Romania to serve refugees who have fled their homeland. Going into Ukraine to bring food and supplies to those displaced withing their country. Shooting hoops with a wheelchair basketball team in Uganda. Building Aquaponic Farms across the globe in third world countries. Caring for disabled children in India.

Fight For Freedom

Whenever a 501 Collective team goes into another country, it’s because of relationships. Nothing is done with a ‘hero’ mentality but with a partnership with those on the ground. When 501 went to Romania & Ukraine, it was with Vital Solutions, a nonprofit based out of Seattle, WA whose founders were from Suceava, Romania (where we have been serving). While we were in Suceava, we met Fight For Freedom who we began partnering with as well.

Doing Good Everywhere

To know 501 Collective is to know the people who are a part of it. While many organizations and nonprofits are about the organization itself or image or finances or whatever thing so easily creeps in to take away the focus… 501 Collective is simple, it’s about the people. The people we seek to serve and the people, like you, who are a part of doing good everywhere.

More Than a Trip

While serving with Fight for Freedom at a food distribution location inside of Ukraine, we were having some slight issues with controlling the crowds. People cutting in line, pushing to the front, and coming back for seconds before others had received anything. A couple of Ukrainian female police officers stopped by and helped manage the crowds. It wasn’t necessarily their job. They just saw we could use some help and stepped in. And soon, things were under much better control. Even when an angry citizen would start punching the police officer, she stood there with a smile on her face and kindly ushered them to the back of the line. It was pretty incredible simply to see her self control and love for helping her people.

Heroes at the Border

One of the things that war does is bring out the worst… and bring out the best. When 501 Collective was at the Ukraine border in April, there were tents lining up on both sides which represented nearly every country, faith, and people. You could find a meal, a cot, a tea, pet care, health care, supplies. The world had come together to serve a people fleeing their homes.

An Ode to Our Journey

Our group of eleven from the west coast. Traveling with Baker a mighty fine host. All representing 501 Collective. Doing good everywhere can change your perspective. For those traveling from Portland plans went awry. Leaving three behind it was hard to not cry. With some hope and some prayers things came together. But holy moly did Frankfurt have some hot weather.

Trip Reflections

When 501 Collective first put a team together to serve in Romania and Ukraine last April, there were a lot of unknowns. Unknowns regarding the war, how we would serve, what the team dynamics would look like. It was through mutual friends that connections were made and 501 went to serve with and alongside Vital Solutions. Through that connection, more connections on the ground were made. And not just made, but sustained and built on. One specifically being Fight For Freedom.

Day 6: Keep Us Going

Sometimes you wonder how significant (or insignificant) the work you are doing is. Is it making a difference? Is it helping? And then you sit across the table from someone who is serving day after day after day and they share words that echo, “you guys keep us going.” When a team travels to serve, there are always plans and objectives. But when it comes down to it, there is a finite amount of work that can be done in a specific time frame.

Day 5: Dreaming

We got up this morning and headed to a distribution area right up the road from Fight For Freedom (FFF). The man who owned the building was allowing it to be used by FFF for putting together packages for food distribution but at the same time, FFF was needing to find a place of their own. And although it was incredibly generous to have access to this space, the space wasn’t enough for all of the donations coming in.

Day 4: Who You’ll Meet

We arrived in southern Ukraine at a food distribution center. The population there has added around 100,000 refugees from other parts of Ukraine. In turn, this has created a vast lack of food and supplies in the city. While walking the streets prior to the distribution, we bumped into some soldiers. Some were Ukrainian and one was from Maryland and the other from Florida.

Day 2: 1,500 Fed

We headed to an undisclosed location in Ukraine along with Fight For Freedom,bringing in food and supplies from Romania. It was the deepest we’d gone into Ukraine as a team and you could tell by the sides of the streets. Barricades were present, cement barracks were on the side of the road and soldiers patrolled with machine guns. The Russians had yet to make it this far into the country but as a strategic point along a River, the nation was in a constant ready mode.

Day 3: Renewal

In April 2022, while 501 Collective was in Suceava, we were taken to a house in a rural area. “I know these people who could really use some help,” we were told. The home had become unlivable. With leaks in the roof, animal infestations, and multiple hazards, the children had to move in with relatives to a safer space while the parents went through each day ‘surviving.’

Day 1: A Smile and Hello

Sometimes a smile, hello, and a mustache can make all the difference. Alec and I (John) were the first two to arrive in Bucharest. I met Alex at arrivals and we made our way to our Gate downstairs. We found a corner table at the café. Alex, rocking a fresh thick mustache spotted another thick mustache wearing guy walking by and said, “Hey, where you from?”

Meet Jack

‘We were driving around mines and dead bodies… and had to delete the photos from our phone because if the soldiers caught us with those, they’d shoot us right there. I was told at the Russian post that I’d be shot if I had any photos on my phone.’ “I am from Ukraine, from a beautiful city by the sea Mariupol. When the war began, I moved from my district to another, as they were already starting to shoot at our city. We were shelled for a very long time, we hid in a small basement. On March 13, we decided to leave the city with prayers, then there were no green corridors. We didn’t know about it, because we were cut off from the whole world, there was no light, no water, no communication. We prayed for a very long time and trusted the Lord. And we decided to leave. At the exit from Mariupol, there were mines, grenades, the corpses of the military, we only left with God’s help from there. When we arrived to a safe place, we drove for two days. The pastor of the local church received us and sheltered us. Then, through believers, we learned about this place, and came here (Emaus Center) to wait for my wife and children who are now making passports. From the very beginning of the war, I understood a lot, I didn’t pray often in my life, I wasn’t often at home, I devoted little time to my family, this is all wrong. Wherever I was, a shell could fly at any moment, but God heard my prayers, covered me and my family in His palms, and protected me all this way from Mariupol to Suceava.”

Meet Petrisor

When our team arrived in Suceava, the team was greeted at the airport by a young man named Petrisor (Peter). Maybe some of us thought it was his job to pick us up, that he possibly worked for the nonprofit we were partnering with and was paid to be a driver. But as we got to know Peter, we learned that he already had a business, and a farm, and a wife… and him greeting us at midnight and throughout the day was just some of what made Peter so special.

Meet Anastasia

Born in Donetsk, part of Eastern Ukraine, Anastasia has been a refugee since 2014. “For me the war started 8 years ago.” Anastasia was born in a Russian speaking family. “More than 30 years ago, most people in the eastern part were Russian speaking. That was the main myth that Russian propaganda is made with. That there are Russian speaking people in Ukraine. Second part of myth is that Ukrainian speaking people are Nazis. Russia then used that myth to explain why Russian speaking Ukrainians needed protection. Though I was born in a Russian speaking family, I’ve never considered myself to be Russian. I have always been Ukrainian. I love Ukraine. My homeland is Ukraine.”

Someone Who Cares

I think one of the simplest things we can do in life is, care. Anastasia, a friend and refugee from Ukraine shared, “If you lost your home or lost someone, no one can get the people back to you. The devastation we are seeing around the globe is unfathomable. And to some it is all too personal: sons, daughters, wives, husbands, loved ones.

Yellow, Car, House, Sky

Petrisor picked me up from the house I was staying at. There were two ladies in the van. One I had seen volunteering (Irina) and the other I hadn’t met yet. Irina sat in the front seat and we started chatting. We were catching up on the week and where we were from and why we were there. The other lady was quiet, solemn, and seemingly could not understand the language.

The Suitcase

I think my suitcase was bigger than some of the refugees. I guess it makes sense that when bombs are going off around your house, you’d only grab the essentials. I didn’t start packing until maybe 10:30p the night before I was leaving. Which still allowed me plenty of time to pack up some jeans for work, some khakis for church, some sweats for lounging, and some shorts for working out. Eventually, my suitcase made its way to full.

Forever Goodbyes

Anastasia, a Ukrainian refugee who served as our team’s translator shared, “Every time I say goodbye to someone, I know it can be forever.” One thing that loss and death does is bring us closer to the present. There’s less planning of a future, less dreaming, less reminiscing of the past. What is in front of you, is in front of you. What matters, matters.

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