A short story by an American from Minnesota about helping Ukrainians

This is Richard Benton, an American from Minnesota, who first visited Ukraine in 1993 and studied Ukrainian during a year of exchange studies in Kyiv.

In 2019, he became the hero of a joint project of the Premier Hotels & Resorts and NV. We conducted an experiment, the idea of ​​which was to show Ukraine with its tourist realities through the eyes of a guest who’s discovering the country. Premier organized a contest and invited a foreigner who would share his impressions while traveling without filters.

Then, still in peaceful Ukraine, our guest visited three cities: Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv. He shared his experience and impressions of the new Ukraine on the pages of NT magazine and Premier’s online sources.

We became real friends with Richard. And three years later he is with Ukraine again. He has been in touch since the beginning of the russian aggression. Worried and supported us. At the end of April, he spent two weeks volunteering in Krakow, Poland, and near the Ukrainian border to help the Alight with refugees.

"The experience has taught me that 'refugee assistance' goes beyond the distribution of blankets. 
I collected information on available centers and services, directed refugees to transport and the resources they needed, and translated into Ukrainian and Russian.
The Alight Ukrainian Response Team taught me a lot about how to "do the possible" in a chaotic, unpredictable situation", said Richard.

But the main thing is the value of such help to Ukrainians, the ability not only to sympathize sincerely, but also to travel thousands of kilometers to be with our people.

We sincerely believe that next time we will meet in a peaceful and prosperous Ukraine and tell the world through Richard's new travels about the beauty and courage of our motherland.

Thank you for your sincere heart, Richard Benton!