FUND FOR THE SUPPORT OF REFUGEES FROM UKRAINE IN POLAND
Source: East News
We want the people who came to Poland out of fear for their lives to find shelter and decent living conditions, regardless of how long they are planning to stay with us. We know that without the support of citizens and community organisations, it will be difficult for them. It is up to us to welcome and care for them.
That is why we have started THE FUND FOR THE SUPPORT OF REFUGEES FROM UKRAINE IN POLAND.
The fund supports the initiatives of NGOs and informal groups from all over Poland which provide assistance to refugees from Ukraine.
The needs of these refugees are very different. Some will be taken care of through community efforts, but there are some needs that can only be met with money here and now. We are helping where such help is most urgently needed, where there is temporarily no other way to get support, and where those in need are unlikely to receive support from other sources (such as individual activists and volunteers).
We select grassroots initiatives of small organisations and activists that have already become or have a chance to become important undertakings (our experience is that small-scale but targeted efforts can do a lot, start a snowball). We are patching “holes”, providing ad hoc financial assistance that other public institutions cannot because they do not have the tools or are unable to deploy them quickly.
The Henryk Wujec Civic Fund
Fundraising is organised by the Henryk Wujec Civic Fund. We are the only independent fund, financed solely by contributions from citizens, that supports local activists and NGOs on such a scale. We support grassroots civic initiatives as well as those who defend civil rights and government transparency. We operate without unnecessary formalities, supporting initiatives that have little chance of obtaining funding from other sources or that need support immediately, here and now. With collected donations, we can quickly and flexibly put money into a citizen “rapid response force”.
So far we have co-financed 235 civic initiatives in the amount of PLN 3 million, including initiatives aimed at assisting refugees and migrants and the Ukrainian minority in Poland.
The Foundation for Poland (Fundacja dla Polski), which operates the Henryk Wujec Civic Fund and the Fund for the support of refugees from Ukraine in Poland is a public benefit organisation.
Patronage - Wirtualna Polska
This fundraising activity was created in cooperation with Wirtualna Polska.
Stewardesses of peace
Jana Shostak, a Polish-Belarusian activist, has been helping at the border for almost three weeks and organising a group called Stewardesses of Peace. These are female volunteers who, in response to the lack of any information on what to do next after crossing the border, greet and reassure the refugees on the buses leaving the border crossing and inform them where they are going, what they can expect there, and where to get information on available assistance.
We have provided financial and in-kind support (PA system) in the amount of PLN 5,400.
The Club of Catholic Intelligentsia (KIK)
Intervention hostel
Run by the Club of Catholic Intelligentsia, the intervention hostel in Warsaw provides short-term shelter mainly to non-Ukrainian refugees from Ukraine who have nowhere to go. It is used by many students, mostly people of African and Asian descent. There is room for 70 people; the hostel has no vacancies.
We have provided financial support of PLN 40,000 to cover the cost of cleaning, laundry, purchase of cleaning supplies and food.
Ochotnicza Straż Pożarna w Grabowcu
Firefighters from Grabowiec in Rzeczniow municipality help Ukrainian mothers from the center in Brzezno
The local community and Voluntary Fire Brigade from Grabowiec supported refugees from Ukraine by delivering gifts in kind to the center for mothers with children in Brzeźno - near the border in Dorohusk. The center in Brzeźno was supplied with the most necessary items: food, personal hygiene products. The firefighters also helped to relocate the temporary center in Brzeźno and to prepare beds in the new location in Chełm, which will provide long-term accommodation for mothers with children from Ukraine.
As the firefighters faced the problem of lack of fuel in their fire truck due to relief trips, we provided financial support of PLN 3,500.
“Folkowisko” Association
Humanitarian aid station
Two kilometres inside Ukraine from the Budomierz border crossing, a tent camp has been set up to accommodate refugees – thousands have been arriving on foot – who want to get to Poland. The “Folkowisko” Association hosted annual festivals until recently and is now using that experience to manage the crowds of people who pass through the border.
On the Ukrainian side, the association organises tents and heaters so that freezing women and children can get warm while waiting in line to cross the border. There is a stand with sandwiches, tea and hot soup, a medical point and, just as importantly, toilets. We provided financial and in-kind support of PLN 28,000.
Foundation of Social and Economic Initiatives
Job Info Point for Foreigners
We provided financial support to employ more staff who speaks Ukrainian and/or Russian at the Job Info Point for Foreigners. It provides assistance in creating a resume, searching for job offers and contacting employers.
- Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, we have observed a several hundred percent increase in interest in our Job Info Point. People often come without an appointment, which makes it impossible for us to help them immediately. We urgently need to build our team in order to help more people more efficiently - informs the Foundation of Social and Economic Initiatives.
We provided financial support of PLN 5,000.
Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy of St. Karol Boromeusz in Trzebnica
Housing for refugees in the Religious Centre in Małuszyn
The first refugees from Ukraine have arrived at the Religious Centre; the sisters are taking care of them and preparing meals.
We provided financial support to purchase a washing machine, kitchen appliances, food, and coal: PLN 7,000.
Community of Ukrainian groups
Charity concert for Ukraine "Always free!"
We supported the organization of a charity concert for Ukraine "Always free!". On June 18, 2022 in VooDoo Club in Warsaw played musicians from Ukraine:
- The Dreamer x IZZI (indie pop & alternative rock)
- RVAŃ (indie rock & punk rock)
- Karlen & Co (funk & jazz & indie rock).
All proceeds from the event will go to support Ukraine.
The financial support of PLN 4000 covered the cost of renting the concert venue, sound and lighting.
Photo: I33I Music
Kulawa Warszawa Foundation
Wheelchairs at the border
Among those trying to reach the border on foot on the Ukrainian side are also people with disabilities. It is for them and for the elderly that the Kulawa Warszawa Foundation has delivered wheelchairs to the humanitarian aid station. We have provided financial support of PLN 3,000.
- What we have donated is a drop in the ocean of need. There is an ongoing need for orthopaedic equipment at the border and in Warsaw. We get calls and questions all the time. The needs are enormous. First the people who were able to come here the fastest began to arrive, and only now will many more people with disabilities begin to arrive. This is just the beginning - says Izabela Sopalska-Rybak, representing the Kulawa Warszawa Foundation.
Volunteers at train stations
Volunteers who have been providing support to those arriving by the thousands at Warsaw’s Western Station since the first day of the war have received support allowing them to provide emergency assistance for the refugees (small amounts for toiletries, underwear, COVID-19 tests) and tablets to connect refugees with those offering accommodation. With few electrical outlets at the station, refugees were unable to charge their phones to contact their loved ones; we donated multi-port chargers.
A musician, originally from Crimea, finds accommodation for refugees; she transports people, animals, bedding, mattresses, pillows and quilts with a borrowed car. She created a database of 7 restaurant locations offering free meals to refugees. She helps people escaping from Ukraine to organise transport to Poland, arranges medical care, helps with translating health information into Polish, and arranges necessary cancer drugs.
We provided in-kind and financial support of PLN 7,500 to the volunteers.
Therapeutic children’s story
Many Ukrainian children who came from areas hit by Russian troops are traumatised. Our Civic Fund team has printed 3,000 copies of the therapeutic fairy tale “Heroes also cry” with a colouring book for them, which we have delivered along with crayons to six reception points in and around Warsaw.
In-kind support (printing colouring books and crayons) PLN 1,744.
Ukrainian House in Przemysl
Heating the refugee resting and sleeping area
The Ukrainian House in Przemyśl has been in full mobilization since the first day of the war in Ukraine, responding and listening to the needs of people in refugee crisis. Among dozens of different tasks, it also runs a Social Information Point for Ukrainian Aid, which includes a volunteer staff, a rest area with 40 beds, a meeting room, and a playroom for children.
- We focus on providing refugees with a roof over their heads. The resting place and accommodation in the Ukrainian House is used daily by several dozen people (sometimes more than 70). There were not enough vacancies on many occasions. In early spring, temperatures forced us to increase heating in the rooms where refugees and often small children stayed, hence the increased gas fees. For the last heating bill we had to pay over PLN 11,000 - says Igor Horkow, chairman of the Association of Ukrainians in Poland, branch in Przemysl. - Refugees in the Ukrainian House have access to medical and psychological care. We conduct Polish and Ukrainian language courses, help to find accommodation for a longer period of time and to find a job. It is important that in this difficult situation we are not alone. I believe that the mutual good will stay with us forever.
The Civic Fund provided financial support of PLN 11,605 to cover the costs of gas.
AVE Foundation
Humanitarian aid delivered to Sosnovka
The AVE Foundation delivers humanitarian aid to Sosnovka, near Lviv. In-kind donations are provided through the Ukrainian Eco-My Mercy Foundation, which has taken in and is caring for 150 refugees from eastern Ukraine. It goes to the refugees in Sosnówka, and will also be sent to Kiev and Zaporizhia. The amount of PLN 3500 will cover the costs of transporting the humanitarian aid (mainly fuel) in May and June this year.
Piątka plus informal group
In defense of Ukraine: humanitarian aid
Kamil Piątek from Włodawa is a volunteer travelling with humanitarian transports for Ukraine. He delivered food and medicines to Bucza, Irpin and Lviv, he transported blood-filtering pumps to Kiev and power generators were sent to field hospitals near Kharkiv and Mariupol. On his way back to Poland, Kamil takes refugees with him. He tries to reach the places that need help the most. Often the aid goes to the west of Ukraine, and not much further, so the informal group Friday Plus delivers humanitarian aid to Donbass, which is struggling to survive, and plans further trips to the south of Ukraine, near the occupied areas.
- We take donations to specific places with needs, we make sure the aid gets to where it is needed. We do not leave things in warehouses, collection points, but we bring them to specific hospitals and brigades in the most affected areas. Of course we are still evacuating people - says Kamil Piątek.
Read the article in Dziennik Wschodni "The most difficult to bear is the sight of killed children. Kamil from Wlodawa about visits to Bucza and aid for Ukraine".
We have donated 4900 PLN for the organization of aid transports to Ukraine.
Photo: Piątka Plus
If you have any questions, please contact us: darczyncy@funduszobywatelski.pl, phone: +48 881 603 700