Trampolines recently brought hope and humanitarian aid to war-torn regions of Ukraine through a music and mission trip with their nonprofit UNIT-E. The band is one of the only groups currently willing to perform there.

As Trampolines co-leader Lane Terzieff recounts, "'Aren't you afraid to be here?' a Ukrainian girl from Dnipro said where we played a concert in her town square. 'Nobody else is coming here, and you coming to play music and encourage us means a lot. You being here has been extremely impactful to my life.'"

Throughout the 12-day trip, Trampolines performed six concerts in cities ranging from the western border with Poland all the way to Kharkiv in the east, just 18 miles from the Russian border. In addition to music, the band came with food, hygiene items, and power banks for electronics. 

"It was a sobering trip, bolstering our hope in the power and depths of God's presence and peace," Lane shares. "In the churches and communities of the people displaced from the front lines, as we brought aid, they continued to tell us that even if we didn't bring anything for them in the form of food or power banks or hygiene items, just being there to sit with them and pray with them was enough."

Trampolines has been well-established as a group committed to truly living out the mandate of James 1, "to look after orphans and widows in their distress." UNIT-E Response Team formalizes that mission by fighting human trafficking at its source, providing emergency relief via food and medical supplies for those in need, and by bringing joy, hope, and love through ministry and Christian dance music to all who are hurting.

Learn more about UNIT-E and join the movement at https://uniteresponse.org/.