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Volunteers from the UK in Krakow, Poland: ‘We’ll Continue to Volunteer as Long as There Is a Need’

Kristina Tanasichuk
By Kristina Tanasichuk
June 20, 2022

HSToday took World Refugee Day as an opportunity to sit down with some of the volunteers involved in relief efforts for refugees to give readers a sense of what, and how people are getting involved all around the world. Executive Editor Kristina Tanasichuk sat down with Fiona Wilson, who in her “day job” works for a local authority in the United Kingdom supporting children who have a visual impairment, and sister Karen Vaughan, who runs her own business, to learn more about their volunteer efforts in Krakow, Poland.  They were both horrified by the invasion and decided to get involved.

The answer is simple, they need volunteers, we are well looked after, we meet amazing people from all over the world, from different backgrounds and abilities who are there simply to help in any way they can.

HSToday: Welcome and thank you for talking with us!  I think everyone has been shocked by the invasion of Ukraine and subsequent atrocities committed by the Russians.  Is there anything in particular that made you actually get involved?

Wilson: When we heard about the Russian invasion of Ukraine we started donating food and clothing to a local charity that had been set up here in the UK called Moseley for Ukraine. However we felt we wanted to do more so I contacted Moseley for Ukraine, and they suggested places to volunteer in Krakow, Poland. We made contact with Wolontariusze _Ukraina_CW Krakow and registered to join their Facebook page and I found out about all the wonderful work they were doing. It was an easy decision for us to make to volunteer and help in any way we could.

Fiona Wilson and Karen Vaughan behind the make shift counter at one of the many supply distribution centers for Ukrainian refugees in Krakow. Courtesy of Fiona Wilson.

HSToday: Where have you been volunteering?  Only in Krakow?

Wilson: Karen and I have been volunteering in Krakow through Wolontariusze _Ukraina_CW Krakow, an organization coordinating much of the refugee response in Krakow. We have volunteered at several of their locations: Szafa Dobra (which literally translates to “Good Wardrobe in English, al Pokoju 44) which is a large clothing warehouse, and at al Daszynskiego 16 which is a food bank. We have also donated medicines to al Daszynskiego 22 which is where refugees go if they need medication. Unfortunately, this center is now closed and a limited service is provided at al Daszynskiego 16. We have also donated to The World Central Kitchen on the same site as Szafa Dobra and near the main train station in Krakow. Further to this in April we visited Platform 3 at the main station every day during our stay and provided food for refugees arriving there.

The children’s section of Szafa Dobra, a clothing warehouse for refugees which translates to “Good Wardrobe” in English. Courtesy of Fiona Wilson.

HSToday: You are doing tremendous work.  What compels you to return?

Wilson: Karen and I have made 3 visits to Krakow to volunteer since April returning in May and again recently in June. The answer is simple, they need volunteers, we are well looked after, we meet amazing people from all over the world, from different backgrounds and abilities who are there simply to help in any way they can.

HSToday: Have you observed anything that surprised you?

Wilson: The queues for people needing help are very long, from the beginning of a shift to the end of a shift there are always people needing help. This has been the same for every visit that we have made. The shelves are often empty at the food bank and the clothes at Szafa Dobra are mainly winter clothes now, the storage areas were very full when we arrived in April, during our last visit in June they were looking very empty.

HSToday: What types of activities are you doing when you come?

Wilson: The roles have varied, Kare and I usually work together. At Szafa Dobra we have worked on shoes, men’s, women’s  and children’s clothing area, we have also helped restock the shelves. At the food bank we re-stock shelves and give out food. You basically just get assigned where to go and offer help wherever it is needed.

The queues for people needing help are very long

HSToday: Who pays for your way?

Wilson: We are both self-funded, we made the decision very early on that we would pay for our own flights, food, and accommodation. A week before our first visit in April we decided to set up a JustGiving page to raise funds so that we could take money with us and buy whatever was needed when we arrived. Karen also created some donation envelopes based on some images from a local Artist called Robert Bower, in these envelopes we have been putting in a crocheted heart as a thank you to anyone who has donated.  On our visits we have also given out many of these hearts to people that we have met whilst we have been volunteering. We raised over £2,000 for our first visit and bought food, medicine and clothing. We felt it was important to give something back to the Polish community and economy by spending money whilst we were out there. We also set up a Facebook page so that our family and friends who donated could follow our story.

Supplies for refugees topped with the blue and yellow crocheted heart used to thank donors. Courtesy of Fiona Wilson.

HSToday: Would you recommend volunteering to others?

Wilson: Absolutely! We are very fortunate that we are a short flight away from Krakow                 as we are based in the UK, however we have met volunteers from all over the world that have given up their time to help. We will continue to volunteer for as long as there is a need to do so.

HSToday: Any tips for future volunteers?

Wilson: Look at the weather forecast! For our first trip we dressed up in winter clothing and it was really hot! Look after yourself whilst you are out there, quite often you can work all day without eating or drinking properly. Take time out to enjoy the place that you are volunteering.

We will continue to volunteer for as long as there is a need to do so.

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From terrorism to the homeland security business enterprise, for over 20 years Kristina Tanasichuk has devoted her career to educating and informing the homeland community to build avenues for collaboration, information sharing, and resilience. She has worked in homeland security since 2002 and has founded and grown some of the most renowned organizations in the field. Prior to homeland she worked on critical infrastructure for Congress and for municipal governments in the energy sector and public works. She has 25 years of lobbying and advocacy experience on Capitol Hill on behalf of non- profit associations, government clients, and coalitions. In 2011, she founded the Government & Services Technology Coalition, a non-profit member organization devoted to the missions of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and all the homeland disciplines. GTSC focuses on developing and nurturing innovative small and mid-sized companies (up to $1 billion) working with the Federal government. GTSC’s mission is to increase collaboration, information exchange, and constructive problem solving around the most challenging homeland security issues facing the nation. She acquired Homeland Security Today (www.HSToday.us) in 2017 and has since grown readership to over one million hits per month and launched and expanded a webinar program to law enforcement across the US, Canada, and international partners. Tanasichuk is also the president and founder of Women in Homeland Security, a professional development organization for women in the field of homeland security. As a first generation Ukrainian, she was thrilled to join the Advisory Board of LABUkraine in 2017. The non-profit initiative builds computer labs for orphanages in Ukraine and in 2018 built the first computer lab near Lviv, Ukraine. At the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, she worked with the organization to pivot and raise money for Ukrainian troop and civilian needs. She made several trips to Krakow, Poland to bring vital supplies like tourniquets and water filters to the front lines, and has since continued fundraising and purchasing drones, communications equipment, and vehicles for the war effort. Most recently she was named as the Lead Advisor to the First US-Ukraine Freedom Summit,

a three-day conference and fundraiser to support the rehabilitation and reintegration of Ukrainian war veterans through sports and connection with U.S. veterans. She served as President and Executive Vice President on the Board of Directors for the InfraGard Nations Capital chapter, a public private partnership with the FBI to protect America’s critical infrastructure for over 8 years. Additionally, she served on the U.S. Coast Guard Board of Mutual Assistance and as a trustee for the U.S. Coast Guard Enlisted Memorial Foundation. She graduated from the Drug Enforcement Agency’s and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Citizens’ Academies, in addition to the Marine Corps Executive Forum. Prior to founding the Government Technology & Services Coalition she was Vice President of the Homeland Security & Defense Business Council (HSDBC), an organization for the largest corporations in the Federal homeland security market. She was responsible for thought leadership and programs, strategic partnerships, internal and external communications, marketing and public affairs. She managed the Council’s Executive Brief Series and strategic alliances, as well as the organization’s Thought Leadership Committee and Board of Advisors. Prior to this, she also founded and served for two years as executive director of the American Security Challenge, an event that awarded monetary and contractual awards in excess of $3.5 million to emerging security technology firms. She was also the event director for the largest homeland security conference and exposition in the country where she created and managed three Boards of Advisors representing physical and IT security, first responders, Federal, State and local law enforcement, and public health. She crafted the conference curriculum, evolved their government relations strategy, established all of the strategic partnerships, and managed communications and media relations. Tanasichuk began her career in homeland security shortly after September 11, 2001 while at the American Public Works Association. Her responsibilities built on her deep understanding of critical infrastructure issues and included homeland security and emergency management issues before Congress and the Administration on first responder issues, water, transportation, utility and public building security. Prior to that she worked on electric utility deregulation and domestic energy issues representing municipal governments and as professional staff for the Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Energy & Commerce. Tanasichuk has also worked at the American Enterprise Institute, several Washington, D.C. associations representing both the public and private sectors, and the White House under President George H.W. Bush. Tanasichuk also speaks extensively representing small and mid-sized companies and discussing innovation and work in the Federal market at the IEEE Homeland Security Conference, AFCEA’s Homeland Security Conference and Homeland Security Course,

ProCM.org, and the Security Industry Association’s ISC East and ACT-IAC small business committee. She has also been featured in CEO Magazine and in MorganFranklin’s http://www.VoicesonValue.com campaign. She is a graduate of St. Olaf College and earned her Master’s in Public Administration from George Mason University. She was honored by the mid-Atlantic INLETS Law Enforcement Training Board with the “Above and Beyond” award in both 2019 – for her support to the homeland security and first responder community for furthering public private partnerships, creating information sharing outlets, and facilitating platforms for strengthening communities – and 2024 – for her work supporting Ukraine in their defense against the Russian invasion. In 2016 she was selected as AFCEA International’s Industry Small Business Person of the Year, in 2015 received the U.S. Treasury, Office of Small Disadvantaged Business Utilization Excellence in Partnership award for “Moving Treasury’s Small Business Program Forward,” as a National Association of Woman Owned Businesses Distinguished Woman of the Year Finalist, nominated for “Friend of the Entrepreneur” by the Northern Virginia Technology Council, Military Spouse of the Year by the U.S. Coast Guard in 2011, and for a Heroines of Washington DC award in 2014. She is fluent in Ukrainian.

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