Ways to support Ukraine, refugees & those helping them (please share info & links)

[DreamSkates]

Re-posting here:

UPDATE:
I "booked" a room for 3 nights but was refunded my money. Reason: many people who own/rent out airbnbs don't live int he same country. At least the host was honest.

Give to refugee lodging or hosts here: Airbnb is providing free lodging to 100,000 refugees. https://www.airbnb.com/ Click on "Help House 100,000... etc." to donate.

 

[DreamSkates]

Support through Etsy - they have links to Ukrainian sellers - https://www.etsy.com/market/ukraine

 

[Buzz]

Accidentally posted this in the wrong thread so I will repost it here.

Indigenous Canadians showing support for Ukraine.

Indigenous people showing support for Ukraine by wearing ‘kokum scarves’ - National | Globalnews.ca

Indigenous people across Canada have been showing their support of Ukraine by posting photos and videos of themselves on social media wearing what is known as ``kokum scarves.''

globalnews.ca

 

[Hedwig]

UPDATE:
I "booked" a room for 3 nights but was refunded my money. Reason: many people who own/rent out airbnbs don't live int he same country. At least the host was honest.

Give to refugee lodging or hosts here: Airbnb is providing free lodging to 100,000 refugees. https://www.airbnb.com/ Click on "Help House 100,000... etc." to donate.

I think the best way is still to donate to known help organisations, to be honest. They can distribute the money the best and know where it is needed.

 

[Sylvia]

Fundraiser for the UN Refugee Agency I just saw featured on BBC World News:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1501407415580901381

Link to watch/listen to “Violinists Across the World Play for Ukraine”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQSIeD-x6dQ

 

[DreamSkates]

I think the best way is still to donate to known help organisations, to be honest. They can distribute the money the best and know where it is needed.

Airbnb is a well-known, international business that can directly provide housing for refugees with Airbnb funds as well as donations. Yes it is one way among many others, to give.

 

[Hedwig]

I know what AirBnB is and I dont think it is the best option right now. It is not a humanitarian organization but a company still intent to make money. I dont doubt they want to help now as many companies do but I think it is still better to give to doctors without borders or the red cross who can then use the money to find food or accomodation or medication as it is needed right now.
I understand the idea of using air bnb to pay people in Ukraine directly but again- there you dont know who gets it and if they are really in need or if you are paying some rich Russian guy with lots of property.

Therefore I think it is better to use the usual companies. And they are in need of help.

 

[reut]

Stand For Ukraine

Support Ukraine in the face of Russian military aggression. Donate to verified projects to help Armed Forces of Ukraine or humanitarian charities. Inform the public by sharing our newslets.

standforukraine.com

 

[millyskate]

I know what AirBnB is and I dont think it is the best option right now. It is not a humanitarian organization but a company still intent to make money. I dont doubt they want to help now as many companies do but I think it is still better to give to doctors without borders or the red cross who can then use the money to find food or accomodation or medication as it is needed right now.
I understand the idea of using air bnb to pay people in Ukraine directly but again- there you dont know who gets it and if they are really in need or if you are paying some rich Russian guy with lots of property.

Therefore I think it is better to use the usual companies. And they are in need of help.

Air BnB might not be the best idea but I found out from from friends in Ukraine that individuals are still plunged in financial difficulty and need $$ directly.
@taz'smum was able to organise it for Nazarova and I for my friends but those who have no contacts abroad are in more difficult situations.
As always when helping big orgs money takes time to filter to those who need it and in times of crisis one does often need to get straight to the problem. Getting money to the red cross isn't going to help someone in kostopil who needs to buy food or pay rent and hasn't been paid this month.

 

[MacMadame]

Air BnB might not be the best idea but I found out from from friends in Ukraine that individuals are still plunged in financial difficulty and need $$ directly.
@taz'smum was able to organise it for Nazarova and I for my friends but those who have no contacts abroad are in more difficult situations.

Okay, but how do you know that some listing in Ukraine belongs to someone who lives there and needs the money? You don't.

At least if you buy something from Esty, you know the seller lives at the address they give. Though I still think that's not the best way, it's at least better than sending your money into a Blackhole.

 

[Allskate]

Give to refugee lodging or hosts here: Airbnb is providing free lodging to 100,000 refugees. https://www.airbnb.com/ Click on "Help House 100,000... etc." to donate.

I think the best way is still to donate to known help organisations, to be honest. They can distribute the money the best and know where it is needed.

Airbnb is a well-known, international business that can directly provide housing for refugees with Airbnb funds as well as donations. Yes it is one way among many others, to give.

I know what AirBnB is and I dont think it is the best option right now. It is not a humanitarian organization but a company still intent to make money. I dont doubt they want to help now as many companies do but I think it is still better to give to doctors without borders or the red cross who can then use the money to find food or accomodation or medication as it is needed right now.
I understand the idea of using air bnb to pay people in Ukraine directly but again- there you dont know who gets it and if they are really in need or if you are paying some rich Russian guy with lots of property.

Therefore I think it is better to use the usual companies. And they are in need of help.

They are not mutually exclusive. You can give to organizations like Doctors Without Borders and the Red Cross and also give to more targeted organizations.

I ordinarily would not even consider something like the donations to AirBnB. I would prefer to give to organizations like Doctors without Borders that have experience helping people in wars and do so while being efficient with their funds. However, unfortunately, because the Russians are being particularly evil and bombing even areas that are supposed to be humanitarian corridors, the reports on the news are that both the Red Cross and Doctors without Borders are having difficulty getting in and helping the people who need it most.

There are so many refugees, and there are going to be even more. This undoubtedly is going to result in a housing shortage. I hate to think of people, especially kids, being amidst the chaos of very overcrowded refugee centers for prolonged periods of time or of locations having to turn away refugees because they cannot conceivably find space for more people. If you look at the page that @DreamSkates linked to, it is referencing the efforts of Air BnB.org - as distinct from airbnb.com. They are a charitable entity recruiting people to open up their homes to refugees and house them, and they are helping to fund it. The AirBnB charity is partnering with organizations who are placing refugees in temporary housing until they are processed and move on to a more long-term location and home.

Airbnb.org - Host people fleeing Ukraine

How to support refugees fleeing Ukraine

www.airbnb.org

The AirBnB.org charity providing housing for refugees is one of the charitably organizations that Mila Kunis (Ukrainian American) and Ashton Kutcher are donating to:

https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2022/03/mila-kunis-ukraine-fundraiser-halfway-flexport-airbnb-ashton-kutch

"The couple was also joined by the creator of Flexport, Ryan Petersen, and the CEO of Airbnb, Brian Chesky, to discuss how that money would be distributed in order to best support the people of Ukraine. Petersen explained, “Your donations are going to let us have a massive impact. One of the biggest problems in humanitarian relief operations, like the one we're running right now, is coordination of who's on the ground ready to receive the goods, what is being shipped, when is it going to arrive. And we've partnered with the United Nations, UNICEF, Project Hope, Project Cure, and a bunch of other established aid organizations to streamline that and make sure that every single item is delivered directly to people in need.” Airbnb is also currently working with its hosts to provide housing for up to 100,000 refugees."

Although giving money to a random person with a BnB in Ukraine probably is not the best way to get money most efficiently and effectively to those who are in greatest need, I can't say that what the charity arm of AirBnB is doing to find and help provide housing is a bad option right now. Having said that, I have donated to Doctors Without Borders, Americares, Save the Children (who had people working in Ukraine even before the war), and World Central Kitchen. Depending on how things develop, I would not rule out a future donation to the AirBnB charity or to the fund that Mila and Ashton have started.

 

[reut]

Really beautiful initiative started by Israeli medical clowns, after tens, hundreds of videos I've seen these last weeks, I really needed this:

https://twitter.com/andrewkimmel/status/1502736651843424271

More photos on the project's page and pages of two clowns who went in their first team (they are back now, second team was already sent):
https://www.facebook.com/DreamDoctors.org.il/
https://www.facebook.com/smadar.harpak
https://www.facebook.com/ariel.keren.9

And you can donate here:
https://www.jgive.com/new/he/ils/donation-targets/71847

 

[Pink Cats]

Emergency appeal for Ukrainian zoos » EAZA

www.eaza.net

The link above is to donate money to EAZA’s (European Association of Zoos and Aquaria) which will go to support the animals in Ukrainian Zoos. I found the link in article below from the Washington Post, tomorrow is payday and I plan on giving them some money.

A blast-stressed elephant and an abandoned lemur: The war within Kyiv’s zoo

 

[Garden Kitty]

A direct donation is more effective since all of your proceeds go directly to the cause, but today through Sunday, Goldbelly (the online food ordering site) is having a fund raiser with net proceeds from a specific collection of food going to World Central Kitchen to feed refugees. So if you otherwise need to order a food gift this weekend, you can see if anything here is suitable.

 

[bladesofgorey]

Getting money to the red cross isn't going to help someone in kostopil who needs to buy food or pay rent and hasn't been paid this month.

Or next year or the year after because that's not how Red Cross works. Better to give to any other established organization than them tbh.

 

[Sylvia]

Re-posting here from the Ukraine news thread in PI:

Got email from Meduza, they asked to talk about them more and ask people to donate, because now they can't receive donations from Russia. They are my main source during these last weeks, so, just in case someone here wants to donate:

Support us

No country can be free without independent media. If you stand for freedom and the future, support our work. Do it today.

support.meduza.io

They really need this.

 

[millyskate]

My friend Pasha is currently driving aid into danger zones and helping evacuate people. A charity has located a van/bus and will bring it over the border for him so he can be more efficient (he is currently using a car but has a license for large vehicles) but he wrote to me asking for help to finance the project.
If anyone is interested in sending a donation via the charity for him please send me a PM and I'll share the link with the required reference and can share pictures of Pasha / you can add him on Facebook.
He and his wife and child were trapped in a basement under heavy fire but managed to escape a couple of weeks ago.

 

[MacMadame]

My friend Pasha is currently driving aid into danger zones and helping evacuate people. A charity has located a van/bus and will bring it over the border for him so he can be more efficient (he is currently using a car but has a license for large vehicles) but he wrote to me asking for help to finance the project.
If anyone is interested in sending a donation via the charity for him please send me a PM and I'll share the link with the required reference and can share pictures of Pasha / you can add him on Facebook.
He and his wife and child were trapped in a basement under heavy fire but managed to escape a couple of weeks ago.

I had no luck contributing to Meduza because my CC refused to verify the transaction. I suspect it has something to do with sanctions but also with being in a foreign country. Is there some way to get him the money going through a more acceptable (to my bank) country?

 

[millyskate]

I had no luck contributing to Meduza because my CC refused to verify the transaction. I suspect it has something to do with sanctions but also with being in a foreign country. Is there some way to get him the money going through a more acceptable (to my bank) country?

The charity is Dutch so hopefully it will work I'll send you a PM

 

[sk8pics]

The charity is Dutch so hopefully it will work I'll send you a PM

Me, too, please.

 

[MacMadame]

Me, too, please.

It was easy. But select the choice that says SEPA Debit to put in a CC. (The other option is for banks but no US ones.)

 

[PRlady]

That’s odd. My bank took an extra step of asking me to verify but let the transaction go through.(For Meduza)

 

[MacMadame]

That’s odd. My bank took an extra step of asking me to verify but let the transaction go through.(For Meduza)

My CC rejected it, sent me a notice and said to click "here" if it was legit and try again. So I did. And then it rejected it again. Then I swore. A lot.

 

[sk8pics]

Well, I think I did it... we'll see!

 

[sk8pics]

My friend Pasha is currently driving aid into danger zones and helping evacuate people. A charity has located a van/bus and will bring it over the border for him so he can be more efficient (he is currently using a car but has a license for large vehicles) but he wrote to me asking for help to finance the project.
If anyone is interested in sending a donation via the charity for him please send me a PM and I'll share the link with the required reference and can share pictures of Pasha / you can add him on Facebook.
He and his wife and child were trapped in a basement under heavy fire but managed to escape a couple of weeks ago.

I passed this info and your link on to some friends of mine not on FSU. Don't know if any will donate, but figured I would make it available to them.

 

[millyskate]

I passed this info and your link on to some friends of mine not on FSU. Don't know if any will donate, but figured I would make it available to them.

Thank you so much! Last time I spoke to Pasha he'd raised half of his target and was on his way to the border hoping to collect a van. I'll update everyone when he lets me know he's got one.

 

[millyskate]

Good news from Pasha who has raised the 10000 euros he needed and is collecting the bus tomorrow!

 

[Vagabond]

Someone gave me an Amazon gift card back in December. Today, I saw a sign in someone's front yard with a QR code that enabled me to apply the credit to buy first-aid supplies that will be distributed in Ukraine.

 

[Vagabond]

How you can support Ukraine | LinkedIn

Nonprofits around the world are gathering funds and donations to help the Ukrainian people.

www.linkedin.com

There are links to nineteen organizations.

 

[Yehudi]

If any of you liked Midsommar, Bottleneck Gallery is doing a timed drop of a print by one of their frequent collaborators, Ukrainian artist Anna Shetelia (professional name Ann Bembi). All proceeds go to relief and aid.

THE MAY QUEEN (MIDSOMMAR) CHARITY PRINT RELEASE by ANN BEMBI - On Sale

This Tuesday, we’re teaming up with Ann Bembi for a special charity release to help humanitarian relief efforts in Ukraine.We’ve had the pleasure of working with Ann for a number of years. Hearing her personal stories of strife and stress from Ukraine, in addition to hearing from friends and...

bottleneckgallery.com