About | Nantucket Cares

WHO WE ARE

Nantucket Cares is a group of philanthropically-minded individuals who, simply put, CARES. Our collective outrage over the unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine thrust us into action from the earliest days of the war.

The humanitarian crisis we have witnessed, including the millions of young mothers and children fleeing their homeland was something we couldn’t, and haven’t since, ignored. We responded at the onset and we continue our support today.

Originally founded in response to the devastation of 2017’s Hurricane Maria by Tom McCann, Carlos Castrello, and Tracy Long, Nantucket Cares continues the original mission of providing humanitarian aid in times of crisis.

Our response continually adapts to support refugees as their needs evolve throughout the war. In this moment our focus is providing the following:

Flexible cash assistance to help refugee families in Poland get access to essential items, such as food, water, short-term shelter, and transit to places of safety.
Supporting community-based refugee shelters with supplies to sustain and scale their crucial operations. The shelters we support currently work to meet the needs of 500+ refugees.
Providing infrastructure support to enable refugee centers to house more refugees.
Sending essential resources to collective food pantries in Poland and Ukraine, including food, hygiene products, and baby supplies.
Supporting mental wellness and protection services for refugees, particularly women and children through our partners who are on the ground in Poland and Ukraine.

OUR TEAM

Chris Yates

Chris and his family are full-time residents on Nantucket. Chris was the former Director of Recruiting for Global Health Care Resources and currently, he is a partner in East Wood Trading Company, and a Board Member at Island Energy Services. As a serial entrepreneur and philanthropist, he supports Nantucket's youth, those who sacrificed to serve our country, and those struggling with substance abuse and domestic violence.

Jacquie colgan

Jacquie is a philanthropist who divides her time with her husband, Bill, between New Jersey and Nantucket, along with their children and five grandchildren. Jacquie's daughter-in-law immigrated from Ukraine with her family when she was seven and has many family members still in Ukraine today. Jacquie also serves on the Boards of Bloomfield College in NJ, the Drumthwacket Foundation, and the NJ Council for the Humanities.

Kasia rodriguez

Kasia grew up in Poland in a family of five. She lived there for most of her life and discovered her passion for business after owning a Gas Station. In 2005, after visiting the US for the first time, she fell in love with Nantucket, and moved here in 2015. Kasia has a master's degree in International Cooperation and European Integration, and Customs Service. Kasia owns LaFresh Cleaning and works at Ralph Lauren. Being in a stable position in life, she has been granted the life-changing opportunity to help individuals in need.

Jonathen rodriguez

Johnathan is a year around resident of Nantucket. He is one of three other brothers living on Nantucket; known as the "Rodriguez Brothers." Johnathan is the Club Manager and Personal Fitness Trainer at the Nantucket Hotel & Resort. Considered one of the top trainers on Nantucket, he is known for his caring personality and drive to help others improve physically and to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Cheryl Fudge

Cheryl came to Nantucket in 2001 as the creator/founder of a sustainable fashion camp and retail store, and expanded to Santa Monica, CA for 8 years. She is an artist, clothing designer, and decorator, and is on the advisory board of Smart Hub, an innovative patented medical device co and Co-Founder of "Nantucket Dreamin,” an upcoming line of craft cocktails and chef inspired cakes and pantry staples with Michelin Star rated Chef Neil Ferguson. Cheryl is also the Executive Producer of an upcoming TV series with Emmy award winning producer Tom Forman.

Kit Noble

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Galia Koteva

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Yuliya novak

Yuliya was born and raised in Odessa, Ukraine. In 2001, she moved to New York and lived on Long Island and now she esides in Manhattan. Yuliya works as an Executive Director of Global E-commerce Operations at Estée Lauder Companies. She is inspired daily by the Nantucket community and is honored to help Nantucket Cares with their aid mission to help Ukrainian refugess in Poland.

Tom McCann

Tom McCann founded Nantucket Cares with Carlos Castrello and Tracy Long to provide emergency relief after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2017. Then, pursuant to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Tom put together a team of eight who traveled to Poland in early April to provide direct aid to those refugees fleeing in droves across the border. Highly motivated and charitable, Tom also founded Holidays for Heroes, an organization dedicated to honoring the sacrifice of the many service men, women, and their families, bringing them to Nantucket for all-inclusive family retreats. Tom is the founder/president of the McCann Pets Group, owner of flingerzpet.com, and resides on Nantucket with his wife, Mary Jo.

Founder Emeritus