The invasion of Ukraine is terrifying, and heartbreaking. In moments, Russia has ruptured hard-fought European peace by invading a peaceful, sovereign nation completely unprovoked. It's hard to avoid doom scrolling in its wake, with constant developments, brief glimmers of hope, and a deep desire for peace.
Amongst that, our team has appreciated being reminded of the beauty of Ukraine. This is a bright, bountiful country – home to 44 million people, building a remarkable future. A future we must do everything we can to protect.
Already, we know of on-the-ground charities fundraising to support Ukrainians through this crisis. If you can, we ask you join us in supporting them.
Who to support
The United Nations have launched their Ukraine Crisis appeal, where donations go directly to UNOCHA managed funds for immediate, rapid response aid in this disaster. UN Crisis Relief accepts donations from all over the world, for their work.
If you're in Australia, UNICEF Australia have created a dedicated page for their Ukraine work. If you're an individual and want to use your community to fundraise for Ukraine, you can create your own page here.
Or if you'd like to give, the Emergency Action Alliance – a coalition of 16 leading international aid and development organisations – are organising an appeal and a list of places you can give. You can find that here.
UNHCR has also been working in Ukraine for around three decades, providing humanitarian assistance. Join Australians supporting refugees and help them raise vital funds to help UNHCR teams provide emergency resources to people fleeing their homes in Ukraine.
We'll continue to update this list with charities who need our support right now.
There's more you can do
Throughout this crisis millions of Ukrainians will seek shelter and asylum. We must open our doors to them, and support those closer who are already providing them with a roof, food, and safety.
Call on your government to admin Ukrainians seeking asylum without caps. We should open the door, and warmly welcome them. Call your representative. Keep the pressure on.
But we must also resist the forces that Putin has used to spread propaganda about this war. They're tech companies, like us. We've long held the view that technology should be socially responsible, and should not amplify or distribute content that's designed to destroy the lives of millions.
Call on Google, Facebook, Twitter and others to ban Kremlin-sponsored accounts that are spreading misinformation. Not running ads on them is not enough.
We're here to help
The whole Raisely team are here to back organisations aiding the Ukrainian resistance, and supporting Ukrainians who are displaced or injured. We're here to help lobby governments to open their borders, and to keep the pressure on – so Vladimir Putin knows the world is watching.
If you're a charity or community group looking to quickly put something together, use our appeal template and then reach out. Our team is here to help speed things along.
Global peace has been deteriorating since 2008 (GPI) and the invasion of Ukraine is a giant step backwards in the fragile peace-building process. This conflict risks taking us even further back. We can't let that happen.
As Ukraine protects its freedom, my hope is that the whole world continues to stand by its side – and that the institutions that have built our modern world remain strong through one of their most trying times.
We #StandWithUkraine.
CEO/Co-founder at Raisely
