Who we are

Our Roots

February 24, 2022- for us, as for many people, the date of the Russian invasion of Ukraine is seared into our minds. While we watched in horror as events unfolded only a few hundred kilometers away from our native Berlin, we started to realize that the war would kick off a westbound refugee stream of unprecedented scale. We decided to come together as a group of friends and offer free bus rides from the Ukrainian border to Berlin.

On February 26th, 2022 we started shuttling war refugees from the Ukrainian borders to Germany and other countries. First in individual vans, then by chartering tour buses and ambulances for medical emergencies.

On these rides and afterwards, we found ourselves answering many questions on life in Germany. Over time, we came to realize that we had acquired knowledge and expertise for these questions, so we decided to found Ukraine Refugee Support e.V., the non-profit organization that runs AskSchmidt.

How we operate today

AskSchmidt is a Telegram Live Chat Service run by volunteers that aims to make Ukrainian refugee’s lives easier by providing excellent information. Whether it’s searching for missing persons, navigating German bureaucracy, or simply getting recommendations on kid’s activities- Schmidt is like a friend you can turn to…so AskSchmidt!

We operate remotely, and anyone can help! We do our volunteering work in our free time and try to meet up in person every couple of months.

AskSchmidt chat operators work according to our Code of Conduct