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Friends of Be an Angel
About Us
Who we are, our story and our mission.
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Friends of Be an Angel
Our Story
Friends of Be an Angel is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides humanitarian aid, facilitates civilian evacuations to safety, and advocates for the well-being and human rights of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Ukraine. During the initial phase of the full-scale invasion, our focus was on delivering critical supplies such as medicine, medical equipment, first responder gear, food, and other essential items. Since then, our operations have expanded to include medical evacuations for patients with complex conditions and injuries, large-scale education initiatives for thousands of children affected by war-related trauma, rehabilitation of vital infrastructure, and other key reconstruction efforts across Ukraine.
Friends of Be an Angel is headquartered in Milwaukee, USA, and supported by a network of employees and volunteers across the United States, Central Europe, and Ukraine. Our strength lies in the leadership of our director, Anya Verkhovskaya, a prominent international human rights advocate who has long championed the rights and welfare of refugees and IDPs in Ukraine. Her extensive experience and collaboration with other humanitarian organizations have enabled Friends of Be an Angel to build on existing networks, expand its reach, and deliver highly effective aid strategies to the most vulnerable and often overlooked populations of Ukraine.
You can read more about Anya Verkhovskaya’s story and her work in defense of human rights here.
Strength through Solidarity
Be an Angel Network
The name Friends of Be an Angel reflects our role as the sister organization in the United States to our partner organization, Be an Angel. Be an Angel was originally founded in Berlin during the Syrian Refugee Crisis of 2015 and has since expanded to include headquarters in Milwaukee (USA), Berlin (Germany), Chișinău (Moldova), and Odesa (Ukraine).
Be an Angel e.V. was founded by our friends Andreas Tölke and Ulrike Lessig, who in September 2015 opened their apartments to Syrian and Afghan refugees left homeless due to the German government’s insufficient response to the crisis. From these early acts of compassion, Be an Angel grew into a formal organization providing housing, food, medical access, and, most importantly, legal representation to help refugees secure their rights. Over time, the team expanded its network of volunteer lawyers, broadened its humanitarian programs, and launched new initiatives such as Kreuzberger Himmel, a restaurant in Berlin run and managed entirely by refugees as part of a culinary apprenticeship and event management program. The organization also provided aid and meals in extremely challenging environments, including the refugee camps in Belgrade and Moria. To this day, Be an Angel continues to offer educational and legal support for refugees in Germany, particularly in Berlin.
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Be an Angel network has shifted its focus toward organizing evacuation routes from Ukraine to the European Union and the United States, as well as delivering humanitarian aid to internally displaced persons (IDP) camps and hospitals. The partnership between Andreas Tölke, founder of Be an Angel, and Anya Verkhovskaya, founder of Friends of Be an Angel, grew from their shared commitment to compassion, solidarity, and the protection of those most affected by war and crisis. This collaboration laid the foundation for expanding the Be an Angel network across the Atlantic, connecting with American partners and broadening our ability to respond globally.
Today, Be an Angel operates from its bases in Berlin, Chișinău, and Odesa, where our teams coordinate evacuations, deliver humanitarian aid, and support reconstruction projects. The majority of our evacuation missions have taken place in the heavily contested regions of Mykolaiv and Kherson, where we worked tirelessly to help civilians reach safety before the winter of 2022. Since then, our focus has expanded to include medical evacuations, infrastructure rehabilitation, and other long-term efforts to assist the Ukrainian people.
Below is a map showing the locations of our headquarters and the countries where we operate and provide assistance. To get in touch with one of our teams, please use the contact page or connect with us through our social media channels.
What is Important to Us
Our Values
The methodology on how we implement our strategies, how we treat and where we treat are fundamental to our success and ability. For this vital and complex understanding of our foundation, we invite you to click here to understand more about these values.
Our Latest Developments
What have we been up to
