For immediate release: Friday, June 12 2015
HELPING UKRAINE A FEW CLICKS AWAY
Make tax-deductible donations to help Ukrainian Crisis Relief Fund raise one million Australian dollars
In partnership with Rotary Australia World Community Service (RAWCS) and Caritas Ukraine, the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations (AFUO) has established the Ukrainian Crisis Relief Fund, to provide humanitarian aid to a war-affected nation. The fund today launched a website – www.ukrainecrisisappeal.com – appealing for donations that can be made directly online.
Donations to the fund, Australia’s largest fundraising effort for emergency aid to Ukraine, are tax deductible in Australia and can be made safely and securely.
AFUO Chairman, Stefan Romaniw, said the aim of the fund is to meet the immediate needs of a crisis-affected Ukraine:
“Innocent victims of violence in Ukraine desperately need our help as they continue to deal with this ongoing conflict. By partnering with Rotary Australian World Community Service and Caritas Ukraine, we can ensure that the Ukrainian Crisis Relief Fund will make a real, immediate impact to the lives of those affected.”
“With the creation of this fund and through its donations, we will meet the immediate life-saving needs of the crisis-affected civilian poplation in Ukraine and provide early recovery assistance as soon as feasible, while providing assistance to save and preserve lives, ease suffering and promote self-sufficiency.”
“Our aim and hope is to raise $1 million dollars from Australians to ensure these efforts continue.”
Caritas Ukraine, one of Ukraine’s top social aid and humanitarian relief organisations, works closely with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) as well as the international donor and NGO community. Currently, over $300 million in aid is needed to relieve the suffering and meet the urgent food, medical and accommodation needs of over 5 million displaced persons from eastern Ukraine. Funds raised in Australia will go directly to Caritas in Ukraine to support these efforts.
The Ukrainian Crisis Relief Fund builds on the ongoing assistance to other Ukraine-based humanitarian organisations provided through AFUO’s UHELP initiative. Since its inception, UHELP has successfully raised over $200,000.
AFUO Contact: Stefan Romaniw +61 419 531 255
