PAIGE, Texas — As Russia continues its attack on Ukraine, a Texas entrepreneur is extending his services to help support two Ukrainian orphanages trying to find funding for their children.
Adam Lyons is a business consultant and the creator of The S.M.A.R.T. Blueprint, an outside-the-box business system companies can use to improve productivity. Based out of Paige, Texas, in Bastrop County, Lyons has worked with more than 1,900 companies in the past two years.
"I used to predict bad situations before they happen," Lyons said, speaking to his work background in crisis public relations. "I tend to be ahead of stuff."
One of his clients is Mark Davis, an entrepreneur who runs a non-profit called Abundance International. This organization helps support government-funded orphanages in Ukraine. Lyons has known Davis for about 12 years.
"Right now, I would say both of our communication is somber and goal-driven," Lyons said, in describing his conversations with Davis.
Davis is in his Ukraine apartment right now, keeping his lights off during most parts of the day. Lyons said Davis told him this is to make it seem like no one is home.
Lyons said usually his clients reach out to him first before he gets involved. However, once Russia started its attack on Ukraine, he decided it was time to be proactive in his approach.
"When the situation went down, I care deeply about every single one of my clients," Lyons said. "So I reached out to them directly and wanted to offer any additional assistance."
Davis and Abundance International support about 200 kids across two Ukraine orphanages. Most of the children are currently taking shelter in basements for safety.
Lyons said about 50% of the charity's funding comes from government funding, which can't be accessed right now.
So Lyons' first move was to help Davis set up a GoFundMe for these orphanages. As of Monday, they had raised $286,245 of their goal of $500,000.
Lyons said he has a "mental countdown" to keep track of how much food is available for these kids and is working to keep looking ahead for Davis.
"Whenever you're in a stressful situation, you tend to just hyper-focus on the present," Lyons said. "But actually getting through this situation, it often makes sense to plan out what else could happen."
Lyons said the next step is he is trying to find access to some cold-storage facilities that are near the orphanages.
"The goal will be to see if we can get direct transportation from the cold-storage facility into that orphanage," Lyons said.
As of Monday, these Ukrainian orphanages are about five days into three weeks of their food supply. Lyons is working with Davis on the next three weeks of food they will need after that.
"I think in times of crisis, people tend to knuckle down and do the work," Lyons said. "It's afterwards that you tend to deal the emotional aftermath."
If you would like to learn more about Abundance International and the GoFundMe for these orphanages, you can click here.