On March 7th, 2023, Managing Partner Jeremy Keele hosted a benefit dinner in Salt Lake City for To Ukraine with Love (TUWL), a non-profit leading humanitarian and re-housing work in war-torn parts of Ukraine. Each day, TUWL provides a modular home to families whose homes have been destroyed by war, and connects donors to those families via Zoom as they see their new homes for the first time. “You’re actually there on the call, watching the family cry as they feel the warm water on their hands for the first time in months and telling you how grateful they are,” Svitlana Miller, founder of TUWL, said.

Understanding the importance of safe, affordable housing, a central tenant of Catalyst’s mission, Jeremy joined TUWL’s board and began fundraising in the summer of 2022. At the March benefit, which hosted 300+ attendees, guests heard from a range of speakers, including Svitlana Miller and our own Jeremy Keele, who shared the experience of what it was like to watch Victoria Danilova, a mother of two teenagers who had lost her husband on the front lines just days earlier, enter her newhome. Guests also watched a performance by professional Ukrainian singers and a traditional dance by BYU’s Traditionz outreach Performance group. The benefit received significant local press, including front page coverage in the Deseret News. Thanks to the fundraiser and other recent activity, the organization is ramping up to delivering 50 new homes a month while still feeding and providing medical supplies to thousands of people daily. This incredible achievement puts TUWL’s team and work on a new trajectory, creating a pathway for the organization to sustain and scale their important, life-changing work in Ukraine.