Hey there, 

My name is Marcel Demeler.

When the Russian invasion on Ukraine started on 24.02.2022, I could not stand idly by. I organized a relief trip via social media, in which we evacuated 36 Ukrainian citizens from the Ukrainian-Polish, as well as the Slovak-Ukrainian border to Germany. 

I also organized shelters for refugees in Germany. On this trip, I saw pure suffering in the eyes of the children and women. I was so moved with compassion that on the evening I returned to Germany, I decided I had to help on a large scale. I promptly organized a second relief trip, bringing 27 refugees to Germany.  

I then programmed a questionnaire on our website where people had the opportunity to help in 3 areas. 

Driving, donating and providing housing. 

I organized rental cars, paid for gas, and organized housing in Germany for refugees. I also coordinated the trips to Ukraine and back. 

More info: firstep.world

I knew I wanted to help as many people as possible. However, as a private person, it is very difficult to get donations, so I needed to set up an organization. So I founded a non-profit limited liability company. At the same time, I was looking for sponsors to support my work. Since the Ukraine issue was a hot topic at that time, I found a major sponsor relatively quickly, who assured me that I would receive a mid-5-digit donation sum as soon as my organization was officially found to be non-profit by the tax office.   

Since I wanted the aid to continue, people to be brought from the border to Germany, and to be cared for here on site, I decided to take out a loan for the organization, which I could then offset with the funding. I relied on the commitment of the companies. 

It took over 3 months to set up my organization, and the bureaucracy was shockingly slow. Despite a number of calls to the tax office, where I explained the urgency of the situation, it took a very long time. When finally the donation account existed, my organization was officially established, the company told me that they now no longer wanted to donate money, because due to inflation everything had become considerably expensive and the funds were now already spent elsewhere for tax reasons. 

If I had waited, I would not have been able to help people in the greatest need for 3 months.

Apart from the relief trips to the borders of Ukraine, I traveled to Ukraine 2 times to help people on the ground. I transported several tons of relief supplies, medicines, pet food, clothes as well as an X-ray machine for a hospital in a crisis area, to Ukraine. On site, I again procured relief goods in the form of hygiene articles, medical supplies and food, which I distributed to private individuals in Butcha, a town that was very much affected by the war. 

We also delivered supplies to a school in Irpin, near Kyiv.

However, I am now at a point where I have spent a lot of money myself, have been left hanging by companies, and am getting into financial trouble as a result.

I don’t want to regret having spent the money because I have helped a lot of people in Ukraine and in Germany. However, it seems very paradoxical to me to have financial problems myself now that I have helped people.  I am massively in debt because of my help.

I would very much like to continue helping people who urgently need help. Especially this winter, help is extremely needed in Ukraine. 

However, in order to continue my help, I need to balance my financial situation first and therefore I urgently need financial support. I would be insanely happy about your help.

For each donation, you will receive a receipt if desired.

Account holder: FIRSTEP gGmbH

IBAN: DE50 1001 0123 5563 3955 53

BIC: QNTODEB2XXX

Thank you in advance, Yours sincerely, 

Marcel Demeler 

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