PLEASE READ: I Am Going To Ukraine & You Can Join Me!
Hi,
This is Jussi.
I am once more going back to Ukraine and I am again asking for your help.
They desperately need more cars, drones, and generators as they prepare for their big counter-offensive and I am raising money to bring them as many as I can in early July.
This time, I have set up a website for the campaign, we also take credit cards, and I have extra incentives to all of you who support this cause so make sure to read this article till the end. You may even join me on this coming trip!
What Is This About?
If you have followed my work for a while, you probably know that I stand strongly with Ukraine. It really hits home for me because I come from Finland and we share a similar history of unprovoked Russian aggression and terror.
If things escalate from here, my country, Finland, could also be next-in-line and as an intelligence officer in reserve, I would be one of the first people to get called back into duty.
Russia has threatened Finland with "military consequences" and invaded our airspace several times over the past year.
We also have members in Ukraine who need our help and you may be talking with some of them on the chat without even knowing it. One of them was recently fighting on the front lines in Bakhmut as far as I know!
So early in this war, I decided to take matters into my own hands and joined a group of people in Estonia that organizes "freedom convoys":
We buy cars.
We redesign them for military use.
We then fill them up with important supplies like drones and generators.
And we then drive them to Kyiv, Ukraine, where we donate them to the soldiers who need them the most:
At first, these efforts were fully funded with our own money and I myself bought a few cars on which I added the Finnish and Ukrainian flags side-by-side:
But there is only so much that we can do with our personal money so we eventually began to also raise donations from friends and family, and I am so proud to say that the members of the 'High Yield Landlord' community have played a major role in these crowdfunding efforts.
In total, members of High Yield Landlord have donated over $100,000 to these efforts. Two members have donated a total of ~$30,000, a few have donated $10,000, some donated $1,000-$5,000, and we also received many smaller $100-500 donations.
Just wow!
It is really mind-blowing to me that so many of you were willing to donate such large sums of money without knowing me in real life.
I am very thankful for your trust and generosity because I know that it makes a big difference for the brave Ukrainian defenders who put their lives on the line to defend not just themselves, but also the rest of the free world.
The Next Convoy is Coming Up...
And You Can Join Me!
Today, I am posting this update to announce that I am headed back to Ukraine for the fourth time in early July, and I am again asking for your help as we try to raise donations to buy additional cars and supplies.
I have said this before, but I'll repeat again: for most of us, it makes no real difference whether we have an extra $1,000 in our account or not, but it could make a huge difference for the people in Ukraine.
I think that this is the best kind of charity because the volunteers work for free, take all the risks, and top up the projects with their own cash. Typically, if you donate $1,000 to a charity, you would be happy if half of that actually goes into helping people. Here, it is the opposite. We supercharge your donation with our own money and our work - a real value investment.
And there's more!
For this convoy, all donors will receive a badge as a souvenir of their donation. You will also have the opportunity to put your flag on a car... write a text on a car... or even join the convoy!
We have set up a webpage where you can find all the details and donate (CLICK HERE), but in short:
From $100: 1 badge.
From $200: 2 badges.
From $300: 3 badges.
From $750: 3 badges + Ukrainian unit original badge.
From $1,000: 3 badges + Ukrainian unit original badge + your text on the vehicle (max 3-5 short words, max 30 characters.)
From $2,000: 3 badges + Ukrainian unit original badge + your text on the vehicle (max 3-5 short words, max 30 characters.) + your country flag on the truck.
From $10,000: 3 badges + Ukrainian unit original badge + your text on the vehicle (max 3-5 short words, max 30 characters.) + your country flag on the truck + you join the convoy to Kyiv, Ukraine.
This last option is the most interesting to me!
$10,000 may sound like much, but is it really for what you are getting here?
This is a once-in-a-lifetime type of experience that you typically couldn't get with any sum of money because you need to have the right relationships to join such a trip.
We handle all the paperwork and the logistics so that you can just join us for the ride and enjoy the experience.
It may sound dangerous, but it really isn't as bad as it may seem. Even foreign Presidents and celebrities regularly visit Kyiv these days. Ukraine is a big country and the real fighting is happening far away. Kyiv now also has a very good air defense system and there are very few casualties relative to the size of the city.
This will be an unforgettable trip on which you will get to meet me, the whole crew, and Ukrainian defenders of course. You will actually make a difference in this war, get to spend 2-3 nights at a nice hotel in Kyiv (it has a bomb shelter!), visit this beautiful city, and participate in other memorable activities.
I share a lot more details about this opportunity in the Q&A section below and will be happy to also discuss it with you over the phone.
Our member, Stan Miller, made a generous $25,000 donation earlier this year and joined us on one of our convoys. He made a 5-min video about the experience:
Below, we put together a Q&A and I will be happy to share a lot more information, especially if you decide to join the convoy.
Q&A
(1) How can I donate?
We have set up a website to raise donations.
Please visit the website and scroll down to the "DONATE" section.
CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
You can donate with a wire transfer, PayPal, credit card, or even crypto!
Important note for those of you who have donated previously: please note that our banking details for wire transfers have changed. We have partnered with the Estonian branch of Rotary International, which is a big charitable organization. We now collect money through their account because it allows us to spend the money even more efficiently. The account details are available on the website linked above, but here is also a copy-paste of it:
Bank account: Rotary Klubi Tallinn Vanalinn
BIC/SWIFT: HABAEE2X
IBAN: EE592200221078942924
Bank info: SWEDBANK AS Liivalaia 8, 15040 Tallinn
Reference: Jussi Convoy
The Paypal has not changed. Please donate through the website to make sure that you receive your badges.
(2) I want to donate to join the trip. What should I know?
If you want to join us, please send me an email at jaskola@leonbergcapital.com and I will give you a lot more details over the phone, but here is an overview:
The trip will take place in early July and it will last for 4 days.
You will fly to Tallinn, Estonia a day or two ahead of the trip.
We will then drive from Tallinn, Estonia, all the way to Kyiv, Ukraine - going through Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland - so you will get to see 5 countries in this one trip!
You will be at least 2 people in each car so that you can switch drivers and rest when you get tired. We also stop every few hours to rest, eat, and get coffee.
We will handle all the paperwork ahead of the trip so that you can enter Ukraine without any problems.
Once we arrive in Kyiv, we will leave all the cars at a parking lot, head to the hotel, take a shower, and head for a nice dinner, organized by Ragnar Sass, the group leader. This is a good time for us to celebrate another successful convoy.
Kyiv has a strict curfew that starts at 11pm. By that time, we need to be back at the hotel, but its lobby bar is open till later in case you are not ready to go to sleep just yet.
The next day, we will head back to the parking lot to meet the Ukrainian soldiers to give them the cars and supplies. We also get to talk with them and take pictures.
On the same day, we will likely visit Kyiv, Bucha, and Hostomel airport, and have other activities. I can't promise anything, but so far, we have always had some cool activities for participants.
We expect to stay 3 nights in Kyiv so you will have plenty of time to visit the city, try Ukrainian cuisine, and enjoy other activities.
After 3 nights in Kyiv, we will take a night train back to Warsaw, Poland. You will have your bed on the train and it is quite comfortable!
From Warsaw, you can then fly back home with all these memories, or you can stay for another night or two at a nice spa/hotel. That's typically what I do. You will be a bit tired after this trip and need some rest. Warsaw is a very nice city and even its fanciest hotels are very affordable.
Note that we cover most expenses, including the hotel in Kyiv, dinner on the first night, and the train back to Warsaw.
If you want to join the convoy, please send me an email at jaskola@leonbergcapital.com
(3) What are the exact dates of the convoy?
It will be in early July. I will give you the exact dates after you reach out to me so that we can discuss your arrival in Tallinn, Estonia.
Please send me an email at jaskola@leonbergcapital.com
(4) I can't join in July. Can I join another convoy?
Yes!
If you donate $10,000 or more, but can't join us on this convoy in July, you can also join us at a later date when you are ready. This is already the 18th convoy so we organize these regularly.
Just let me know so that we can reserve a spot for you as we may not run this same campaign in the future. Today, our cars already cost closer to $13-14k on average and so we may increase the minimum donation in the future.
(5) Can I take a friend with me?
Of course!
As long as the donation is at least $10,000 per person, you can take as many people as you want with you.
We can always just buy additional cars and supplies with the funds.
(6) What are the badge designs? How can I get my badge?
You will see three different designs on our website by clicking here.
They are all inspired by the NAFO dog. NAFO stands for the "North Atlantic Fella Organization" and it represents the community power of individual people against Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Its logo is a Shiba dog and we have made our own versions of it.
One is a Shiba dog in a sauna because many participants on this convoy will come from Finland.
The second one is a Shiba dog in the uniform of a famous Finnish sniper - often referred to as white death.
The third one is the badge of our NAFO brigade with my name and the Finnish flag added to it.
After donating, you will be requested to provide an address for the delivery of the badge. We ship worldwide!
(7) What is the name of the organization that's organizing this convoy?
The name of our group is "help99" and you can learn more about it by clicking here.
Here is what we have achieved so far:
(8) Who is the founder of this organization?
This whole effort is organized by one of Estonia's most successful entrepreneurs, Ragnar Sass. He is the co-founder of the Estonian unicorn, Pipedrive, and he is a bit of a local celebrity in the start-up scene.
I know him personally because I work at his start-up incubator, Lift99, and my desk is next to his:
So this is a group that you can trust. They are a bunch of Estonian entrepreneurs who want to make a difference by taking action. Ragnar's wife is Ukrainian so this is personal for him. His initiative to help Ukraine was featured in Estonia's biggest media outlook early in the war. You can read it by clicking here.
Do you have any other questions?
Please let me know in the comment section or send me an email at jaskola@leonbergcapital.com and I will be happy to help!
PLEASE CLICK HERE TO VISIT OUR WEBPAGE AND DONATE
Thank you for your consideration,
Jussi
