By Gretchen Webster

WESTPORT — The first thing evident when meeting Alex Dimitrief is that he prefers giving credit to other people and organizations for their philanthropic work, rather than talking about himself and his endeavors.

The Westport resident is particularly proud of four friends he’s known from his days growing up in the Chicago area, who accompanied him on a recent trip to Ukraine and Poland. 

On that trip, the group worked in various ways to help the besieged people of Ukraine as much as possible, from assembling medical kits to giving toys and treats to youngsters displaced by Russia’s brutal attacks.

Small acts of compassion

Dimitrief gets emotional when he talks about the children whose faces lit up when he, his friends and other volunteers gave them bags with snacks and teddy bears. Or how he heard firsthand how medical kits the men brought with them would save lives.

The look of appreciation in a little girl’s eyes when Dimitrief gave her a teddy bear was emotionally overwhelming, he said. “I have new faith in giving someone just five minutes of compassion.”

Dimitrief has a big heart, serving with many philanthropic organizations, but he also has an impressive resume in the business world. 

He retired in 2019 as the president and CEO of GE Global Growth Organization, and held the positions of senior vice president and general counsel of GE as well as other corporate posts during his 12 years with the business.

A graduate of Harvard Law School, he teaches a course on corporate citizenship at Harvard and a second course at New York Law School. 

And the list of national nonprofits’ boards on which he has served numbers more than a dozen, including Ronald McDonald House, American Red Cross and the Westport Country Playhouse locally. 

Need for help is great … and growing

But Dimitrief would rather talk about what more needs to be done in Ukraine — and how people can help — than himself.

He and his friends have raised $950,000 from family, friends and business acquaintances for Ukrainian relief, some from generous Westporters, he said. And he hopes to boost that amount up to $1 million. 

“A lot of people in Westport stepped up and I couldn’t be more grateful,” he said.

His connection with Ukraine dates to 2018 when he spoke at the Kyiv International Economic Forum. He toured the Ukrainian capital city, learning more about the Eastern European nation’s struggles to stay free and democratic, and viewed memorials to Ukrainian citizens who had died for their country.

“It never occurred to me then that this vibrant, beautiful country” would become “the war-torn hell” of today, he said. 

Dimitrief’s desire to help Ukrainians also grew out of his family history. Dimitrief speaks Russian, learned from his Russian mother “who spent the entire World War II enslaved in a work camp by the Germans outside of Moscow. The Russians and Germans treated each other horribly.”

His understanding of the terrible treatment his mother endured inspired him to help Ukrainians in their dire situation, first by raising money and then by finding an organization that could help distribute the materials and supplies purchased with donations.

He researched and connected with the organization Ukraine Friends, which was small but worked directly with Ukrainians. And most of all, Dimitrief wanted to help the Ukrainian people himself with hands-on relief efforts.

He and his friends purchased medical supplies, and assembled hundreds of emergency medical kits in a JFK Airport hangar. When they arrived in Warsaw, Poland, they saw hundreds of Ukrainian evacuees who fled their homeland.

Families shattered by brutal warfare

Since Ukrainian citizenship requires men to stay and fight for their country, the Warsaw railroad station was flooded with refugee women and children who had to leave their husbands, fathers and brothers behind to travel to safety.

“It’s all about these women,” Dimitrief said. They have had to gather their children and elderly parents and then board buses or escape in some other way with almost nothing but the clothes on their backs. “They’re in this daily hell … but they’re so dignified, so brave.”

Some of the families don’t make it to safety, he added, recounting the story of a family he met in a children’s hospital. The mother had lost a foot, her 11-year-old daughter both feet, and her mother was killed when they were bombed crossing a bridge trying to escape to Poland. Only the woman’s 11-year son had no physical injuries. And her husband had been killed a month before while battling Russian attackers.

Stories like that made Dimitrief painfully aware of how desperately the Ukrainians need help, such as the medical kits his group distributed. The kits were not just simple first aid kits, he said, but contained heavy-duty medical equipment such as breathing tubes and instruments to close gaping chest wounds. 

“It brought home to me how brave these people are who are fighting there … This really is war,” he said.

The group also linked up with the World Central Kitchen, headed by Chef Jose Andres, whose motto is to give the Ukrainian evacuees “30 minutes of dignity a day” by serving them delicious food. Dimitrief’s group joined Andres’s efforts, making gourmet paninis to serve to hundreds of refugees each day.

Dimitrief’s hope is that his trip to Poland and Ukraine may be just a beginning, serving as a template to guide others planning missions to aid Ukrainian refugees in varied ways. 

“People will want to make this trip themselves,” he said. “The trip is a life changer.”

Donations to Ukraine Friends relief efforts can be made by clicking here.

Gretchen Webster is a freelance writer and frequent contributor to Westport Journal. Learn more about us here.