Help Ukrainians Cope with Trauma
Donate coping skills cards and crisis kits
“The human response to psychological trauma is one of the most important public health problems in the world. Traumatic events… confront people with such horror and threat that it may temporarily or permanently alter their capacity to cope, their biological threat perception, and their concepts of themselves.” Bessel van der Kolk, Trauma Psychiatrist and Researcher
Children learning Move Your Hands coping skill at the I Mariupol Center in Kyiv.
Donate COPEKIT coping tools to our Donation Partners
Ukraine Focus
5900 Barclay Avenue POB 150171
Alexandria, VA 22315
Phone: 202-714-1288
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Ukraine Focus is comprised of the most passionate, dedicated, and resolved professionals, including Americans, Ukrainians, and Europeans who are working tirelessly to help Ukraine survive, heal, prosper, and recover from the ravages of Russia’s unjustified war of aggression.
Our team is united in its commitment to support Ukraine in every possible way, firmly believing in the resilience and potential of this heroic and brave nation, which is fighting not only for its democracy, liberty, and justice but also for the well-being of all of us.
EIN: 51-0280183
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Go to Ukraine Focus donation page
After entering donation amount and donor address, in the Additional Information section, enter "COPEKIT".
Complete the remainder of the donation form. Ukraine Focus will notify COPEKIT of the earmarked donation and use the funds to purchase COPEKIT Ukrainian coping tools.
Mission Eurasia
P.O. Box 496
Wheaton, IL 60187
Phone: 630-462-1739
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Mission Eurasia is committed to providing relief aid and the hope of the gospel to the people of Ukraine. We have established the Ukraine Emergency Relief Fund to provide food packages, medical assistance, shelter, copies of Scripture, and trauma counseling to thousands of refugees who have fled the country as well as internally displaced people (IDPs) who are still in Ukraine. We have also established the Ukraine Crisis Prayer Initiative to provide time-sensitive daily prayer requests for Ukraine.
EIN 35-1835273
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Go to Mission Eurasia donation page
In the Select a Project window, choose "Other Designation" at the bottom of the list
Enter "COPEKIT" in the Description window
Complete the remainder of the donation form. Mission Eurasia will notify COPEKIT of the earmarked donation and use the funds to purchase COPEKIT Ukrainian coping tools.
Americares
88 Hamilton Ave
Stamford, CT 06092
Phone: 203-658-9535
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Americares is a health-focused relief and development organization that saves lives and improves health for people affected by poverty or disaster. Each year, Americares reaches 85 countries on average, including the United States, with life-changing health programs, medicine, medical supplies and emergency aid. Americares is one of the world’s leading nonprofit providers of donated medicine and medical supplies. For more information, visit americares.org.
EIN # 06-1008595
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Contact COPEKIT prior to donating to review earmarked donation sequence.
Ukraine Rises
123 N Post Oak Ln, Ste 410
Houston, TX 77024
Phone: 832-352-8838
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Ukraine Rises is a non-profit that helps the people of Ukraine reclaim their lives, rebuild their nation and restore their hope in a prosperous future. Their programs focus on Ukrainians that have remained in-country, providing emergency aid, medical supplies and medications and support for reconstruction and development. For more information, visit www.ukrainerises.org.
EIN # 88-2259838
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Go to Ukraine Rises donation page
After entering donation amount, in the drop down Choose Your Cause, select "Health & Safety"
Then CHECK "Write us a comment" and enter "COPEKIT earmarked donation".
Complete the remainder of the donation form. Ukraine Focus will notify COPEKIT of the earmarked donation and use the funds to purchase COPEKIT Ukrainian coping tools.
COPEKIT Crisis Kits and COPECARD being opened by Ukrainian children in Chernivtsi, Ukraine.
For donation questions or to become a donation partner, please contact Jamie Moncrief, Chief Experience Officer, at JMoncrief@COPEKIT.COM
The impact on Ukrainian Children
Lisa, age 16, Voices of Children, Ukraine
Ariana, age 9, Voices of Children, Ukraine
“I have seen children here with catatonic symptoms, where they kind of freeze and don’t react to any outside stimulation. Many of them have stopped speaking, others cannot move their hands or fingers. They just freeze.”
— Dr Viktor Balandin, psychologist for the Ukrainian NGO Osonnya in Lviv (2)
“They draw bombs and tanks, because that’s what they see with their own eyes. But there is also hope in their drawings, and the wish for peace and victory.”
— Kateryna Sukhorebska, runs art activities for displaced children in her bookshop in Lviv (3)
"In February we were preparing to leave for school. One day we heard a loud…(" Her daughter interjects, "A rocket flew in front of our house!") … a very loud noise at our window, and we saw something fly by very fast. We found out it was Russian rockets from Kharkov. It's one thing to hear about this, another thing when you see it with your own eyes. My older daughter did not sleep at night. She was listening. She was scared. For over a week I couldn't sleep even if I wanted to. I decided to flee.”
— Olena and her daughter, Ukrainian refugee center, Poland (4)
COPEKIT FAQs
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COPEKIT equips children and adults with healthy coping skills for stress and trauma through innovative product design and delivery. Headquartered in Raleigh, NC, USA, we are a team of crisis counselors, educators, first responders and designers.
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COPECARD is an early intervention tool that presents coping skills in colorful, engaging, easy-to-use designs. The cards bring clinical strategies to children and adults in real time, supporting their trauma recovery. Each strategy is trauma-informed and based on the research of global experts in disaster mental health (see References). See How it Works for the science behind the skills.
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Trauma disrupts our minds, emotions and bodies. This disruption has a devastating impact.
Children in armed conflict areas are at risk for PTSD, depression, anxiety, nightmares, hypervigilance, grief, separation anxiety disorder, phobia, stuttering, stereotypic movements, learning disabilities, conduct disorders, aggression, and feeding disorders in infancy or early childhood. First level response interventions should aim to strengthen children’s coping strategies and resilience, life skills, and symptom management. British Medical Journal (Samara M, Hammuda S, Vostanis P, et al. Children’s prolonged exposure to the toxic stress of war trauma in the Middle East BMJ 2020; 371:m3155)
The sooner a traumatized child receives coping skill interventions, the better their chance of managing the impact, of talking about their pain, of engaging with caregivers, of developing “coping self-efficacy”. Give a child healthy coping tools and you give them some sense of control amidst severe chaos, a means to self-soothe and the chance to mitigate their suffering.
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The translation team is comprised entirely of Ukrainian born, Ukrainian – English language translators :
Yuliya Brodska, DAAR / DAR Foundation (Kyiv, Ukraine)
Anastasia Koptieva, Member of ATA (American Translators Association), (North Carolina, USA)
Yelena Pike, Bi-Lingual Interpreter, Sedalia School District, Sedalia, MO (17 years), (Missouri, USA)
Oleksandra Matviichuk (Georgia, USA)
“COPECARDs teach children ways of managing their trauma, becoming engaged in the process of their recovery. They are not just an early intervention, they equip survivors with skills for life.”
Judy Farrar Nicholson, LCSW, Disaster Mental Health Responder for 29 Years with over 100 deployments
(1) United Nations NEW YORK/GENEVA/KYIV, 24 March 2022 Press Release. Available at: https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/more-half-ukraines-children-displaced-after-one-month-war (2), (3) : Tondo, L. 2022,March. ‘They draw bombs, tanks and wishes for peace’: Ukraine’s child mental health crisis. The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/mar/15/ukraine-child-mental-health-crisis. (4) : CBN News, 2022, March. Operation Blessing Ministering to Traumatized Ukrainian Women, Children: 'For Over a Week, I Couldn't Sleep'. Available at: https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/cwn/2022/march/operation-blessing-ministering-to-traumatized-ukrainian-women-children-for-over-a-week-i-couldnt-sleep