Dear friends,

It is with both a heavy and a hopeful heart that this end of year message reaches you. Tragically, over the last 48 hours Ukraine has once again suffered heavy attacks. Without water, electricity, or heat too many innocents will be entering the new year in unfathomable discomfort and fear.

Gratefully, with the support of many of you, we are able to continue to provide relief, safe passage, and haven to those who need it most. The darkest and deepest days of winter, and this war, are ahead but together we can provide light and comfort.

As a dear Ukrainian friend once said to us, “The next day always comes, it has no choice and neither do we. We must keep living. Living our lives is an act of defiance.”

It is in that spirit and that of the Foundation’s namesake, Romulus T. Weatherman, a wounded in action WWII veteran turned journalist, that motivates and inspires the work.

Daily our team of former special operators and national security professionals continue to provide guaranteed precision delivery of specifically requested humanitarian aid to otherwise unreachable areas - a critical unmet need. This effort would not be possible without the state-of-the-art logistics hub built and established in partnership with the generosity of Vicki Hollub and Occidental Petroleum in early 2022. Today we are the largest and best performing humanitarian logistics hub capable of reaching the south and eastern portions of Ukraine to provide substantial aid to those who need it most.

The Foundation enters 2023 with a continued focus on serving the vulnerable and sustaining democracy in Ukraine while continuing to grow and expand its operations in Ukraine and beyond. As the world grows more unstable, violent, and divided, the work of the Foundation will be increasingly necessary.

We are hopeful you might consider becoming steadfast partners and contributors to our work. For those who have already given, thank you. Your gift saves lives.

Happy New Year from us all with well-wishes for an abundant and joyful 2023, for you and all those you hold dear.

As 2022 draws to a close, we can't help but look back with gratitude for all that has been accomplished over this year. After getting its start rescuing thousands out of Afghanistan in fall 2021, the Weatherman Foundation team was compelled to action just weeks into 2022 as the war in Ukraine began.

Through efforts led by Vice President, Robert McCreary, and President Meaghan Mobbs, we began working in partnership with local Romanian non-profit, ACoR, and INGO, IsraAid, to create, fund and operate The Tulcea Humanitarian Logistics Hub on the Ukraine/Romania border.

Now the preeminent distribution center and shipping center, the Hub specializes in sending aid to conflict affected cities like Kherson, Odessa, Mykolaiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia.

From the start, our team of supply chain, warehousing and precision delivery operational experts, under the critical leadership of Tony Sundermeier and Joseph Norbeck, have held the operation to industry standards, training Ukrainians in best practices and hiring them for management. This team has worked endlessly to supply shelters, hospitals, NGOs, city and oblast governments in Ukraine with:

An award granted to the Tulcea Humanitarian Logistics Hub for its ongoing support by the Mayor of Mykolaiv -- one of the hardest hit cities in Ukraine.

Further, the Hub has been:

These are incredible feats in an active war zone!

Throughout the last year, the Foundation's leadership and staff have had the opportunity to engage with officials across Romanian, Ukrainian, and U.S. governments, brief leaders of influential multi-laterals and non-profits, and advise pivotal issues of the day. Some key issues we have advised on and helped facilitate solutions for include:

Even before the Tulcea Hub was established, Co-founder Andrew Duncan had been on the ground in Poland to assess where the Foundation could best support the most vulnerable! While there, he established a strong, ongoing partnership with the Archdiocese of Przemyśl in Poland to support over 10,000 incoming refugees and ensure those being evacuated have a soft landing in Poland, Sweden, Spain and France. 

None of these programs would be possible without the donating entities we have been honored to serve with over this year, including:

Our heartfelt thanks and gratitude for all you have provided, donated and continue to send to support the people of Ukraine!

Several events over the last 10 months have allowed us to share about our work on the ground with all of you. You have become such an important part of our ability to continue protecting the vulnerable, advocating for human rights and supporting democracy efforts across Ukraine -- thank you!

Keep an eye out for events coming up early next year, as we continue to provide platforms for our Ukrainian partners to talk about realities on the ground, the way the war is helping shape democracy, and how we can continue to support.