A Light in the Darkness : A Year of Giving

Though Customertimes is a leading digital solutions provider, our primary focus has always been on people rather than technology. We are proud of our technological expertise, but our skills and digital resources are not end goals. Rather, they are the means to a very human end: serving our clients, caring for our staff, and helping the global community. 

Philanthropy has been central to our ethos from the beginning, and our commitment to giving was profoundly reaffirmed in 2022. We are an international company, but our co-founders are Ukrainian, as are many of our employees. The war in Ukraine is on our minds – and in our hearts – every day. And like millions of people around the world, we have dedicated ourselves to caring for the victims of this unspeakable tragedy.  

A Culture of Giving 

Since Customertimes was founded, we have contributed to a wide number of organizations across multiple countries. Our recent efforts have included donations of clothing and food to Eastern European orphanages and contributions to Paus’austisme, an organization near Toulouse, France, that provides resources and support for children on the autism spectrum. 

But everything changed on February 24. When the war in Ukraine began, we shifted our focus accordingly. We have always believed that our resources should be used in areas where they can make a lasting impact, and right now, that area is Ukraine.  

Over the past year, we’ve collaborated with 11 organizations inside Ukraine and around the world to provide direct aid, including: 

• Support for 50 Customertimes colleagues who are pursuing volunteer activities in Ukraine. Thousands of Ukrainians have benefitted directly from their efforts. 
• Medical equipment, medicines, bandages, battle dressings, generators, ambulances and other motor vehicles for military and civilian hospitals 
• The creation and full support of reskilling programs for Ukrainian nationals, with an emphasis on IT training 
• Orphanage evacuation  
• Replacement of water treatment facilities destroyed in the April 4th missile attack on the Mykolaiv Hospital 
• Financial support for a Kramatorsk hospital that provides specialized treatment for wounded soldiers 
• Restoration and supplies for schools in Kyiv and Chernihiv 
• Food, clothing, and personal necessities for Ukrainians displaced by the war 
• Communication equipment, drones, clothes, footwear, and shelters for self-defense units 
• Motor vehicles and associated spare parts for evacuating wounded soldiers and at-risk civilians from frontline areas 

Our Partners in Ukraine

Our work can only be accomplished through close collaboration with our partners in Ukraine. And over the past year, we have become more than simply associates. We are united by our common humanity, connection to the global community, commitment to justice, belief in the sanctity of individual lives, and support for democratic ideals. 

We don’t participate in philanthropic ventures for recognition or public relations dividends – but when we do receive a note of appreciation from a partner, we treasure it. It tells us we’re on the right track. A recent communication from Seeing with Your Heart, an NGO that supports Ukrainian children with disabilities, was particularly moving: 

Dear Friends from Customertimes: 

From our team and the parents of children and teens with disabilities, thank you for your help and support. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, you have been by the side of Ukraine and Ukrainian children with complex developmental disabilities.  

Each of us has our own front. Every day, we are in touch with families who need help. For children with disabilities, virtually everything that happens in Ukraine these days is a traumatic experience. But thanks to our faith, strength, mutual assistance, and coordinated actions, we are becoming stronger every day – for the safety of our children, and the safety of our families. 

Your support has helped hundreds of families. We have been able to continue our online work and conduct supportive classes for adolescents and young people with complex developmental disabilities, including 312 online summer camps. In September, we launched a countrywide program that includes classes in adaptive physical education, “Swedish Circles” that encourage freedom of thought and expression, and extracurricular activities that include book readings, theatrical performances, and music therapy. Thanks to your support, we’ve also established a Psychological Hub that provides individual consultations with psychologists for children with disabilities and their families.  

Thank you, dear friends! Our families feel your support even under shelling and the absence of electricity. 

– Seeing with Your Heart 

Customertimes stands with Ukraine, Europe, and the world in this dangerous and stressful period. We know that the current darkness will not prevail: a light is glimmering, and it will only grow in the coming months. It is a privilege and an honor to contribute to it, to add our candlepower to its expanding illumination.  

Slava Ukraini.