Former “Dancing With the Stars” professional dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy is back in Poland after his ordeal getting home from Ukraine when he was stranded there when the Russian invasion started.
He has gone back to Poland to help support the people of Ukraine and help with the refugee crisis that is happening in the wake of the Russian invasion. Part of that involves meeting up with his friend Bethenny Frankel, whose organization is on the ground in Poland helping relocate refugees who are fleeing Ukraine.
On March 20, Maks recorded a video from Warsaw, the capital of Poland, updating his followers on his relief efforts and asking them
Maksim Says He Will Be Learning From Bethenny Frankel How to Handle Aid on This Scale
After becoming famous on “The Real Housewives of New York,” Bethenny Frankel used her platform to start an organization called “BStrong,” which provides aid during humanitarian crises all over the world. In his Instagram video, Maks said that he will be meeting up with Bethenny in Poland to ask for her help in organizing aid on this scale because the organization that was started by Maks and his father Aleksandr and his brother Valentin Chmerkovskiy raised a lot of aid in a very short amount of time.
“I’m also going to visit Bethenny Frankel, my friend, she’s been doing amazing work. She has a couple of centers right at the borders, I’m going to go visit them, see them, see if I can help, be of any service and also just give you guys my perspective of everything’s that happening. And also obviously see how she’s doing it because again, this is incredible infrastructure, we’re all learning and we’re learning with Baranova,” said Maks.
Baranova27 is the name of the Chmerkovskiys’ organization, named after the place where Maks and Val grew up in Odessa, Ukraine before they immigrated to the United States.
“Baranova27 is the address where our father, myself, and Val were born in Odessa, Ukraine, so that’s where our roots are at,” Maks explained in his video. “We’ve been working diligently on making Baranova 27 something that as big as it took off that it can continue that way.”
In his Instagram stories, Maks detailed Baranova’s efforts, saying the organization has shipped over 60 tons of supplies with 19 tons still in progress and $123,536 has been raised for shipping costs through their GoFundMe campaign.
He also said that they are going to be running another GoFundMe campaign, this time for $250,000, to continue helping with shipping costs, which just keep going up. Finally, he urged his followers to also help with the efforts of a man named Jakub Rybicki, whom Maks said is helping relocate refugees and buying and delivering supplies for the Ukrainian people.
“This is a fellow dancer of ours. We’re very proud of him and we just want to support him as much as we can,” said Maks. “I’m going to post tomorrow some pictures from today, from when I was meeting these people and with a link to Jakub’s fundraiser.”
Maks Pleaded With His Followers Not to Forget About Ukraine
In addition to raising funds, Maks said that he is in Poland to work on the logistics of helping the people in Ukraine, which is very tricky under the circumstances.
“We’re trying to figure out how to be present here on the ground to manage the bottle-necking issue that is becoming a situation with all of the aid that is coming in because, as you understand, a lot of it’s coming in at the same time from around the world. It all has to come in, get processed, get through the border, so it’s a lot,” said Maks.
He detailed how they have people who are picking up supplies and delivering it to Kharkiv, Kyiv, and Odessa, three major cities in Ukraine.
“[It is] my personal connections that are coming into the undisclosed location at [Lviv, Ukraine, a city near the Polish border], picking up whatever they need, and driving back and this is how we distribute it, so we’re building this infrastructure from the ground up,” Maks explained.
He continued, “We feel like we’re successful. I want to say that. We feel like we’re doing a lot of great work and we’re just getting a taste of the fact that it’s getting delivered and we’re seeing it in the right hands and we’re seeing the positive that comes out of that work that we and every one of you, people who have donated, have done together, so thank you so much.”
He also urged his followers to try not to get burned out on the news from Ukraine but also don’t forget that the crisis is on-going.
Maks’ plea is this:
I want to continue using [my voice] and I want to say right now that we’re getting a little bit hungover, people are getting tired and this is the time that I would like to ask everybody to realize that … right now it’s getting worse. [The] humanitarian crisis is getting worse. People are getting hurt worse. There are more people hurt and there are more people affected. I would really, really like for you guys to give yourself a day off, tune out, go to church, spend time with your family, do your thing. But please, come back to us and come back to [the] realization that a lot of people still need our help and we should continue providing the support.
He ended by saying to his followers, “I appreciate you all beyond imagination and thank you all so much.”
In the comments, his wife and fellow “Dancing With the Stars” pro Peta Murgatroyd wrote, “Proud of you.” Peta recently thanked former “Dancing With the Stars” pro Lacey Schwimmer for the aid she and her longtime partner Frankie Moreno are providing for the displaced and abandoned animals in Ukraine.
Finally, in his Instagram stories, Maks wanted his fans to know not to follow any accounts pretending to be him — his account is @MaksimC. No other accounts are his. One account he cited is @maksim.c.12, who wrote that this is Maksim’s private account where he reaches out to fans. It is fake, it is not really Maks.
“I only have ONE OFFICIAL ACCOUNT. This is an example of NOT MY PAGE. Thank you for NOT FOLLOWING ANYONE EXCEPT @MaksimC,” wrote Maks.
If you’d like to help the people of Ukraine, you can donate to Bethenny Frankel’s BStrong organization, which has raised $6 million and counting for Ukraine. Or you can donate money or supplies to Maks, Valentin and their father Aleksandr’s efforts, or click here for a list of other charities that are sending aid and supplies.
“Dancing With the Stars” has not yet been renewed for season 31. If it is renewed, it will return in September 2022.
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