Action4Ukraine raised nearly €14,000 for the Irish Red Cross Ukrainian fund at two charity events this month.
The organisation was founded by four Trinity students and recent alumni, Andiry Babiy, Yuriy Kovalchuk, Daryna Kushnir and Donnacha Binchy, who met during their time at Trinity. Babiy, Kovalchuk and Kushnir are Ukrainian.
On March 11, Action4Ukraine held a public auction that raised around €7,000, donated directly to the Red Cross to help humanitarian efforts in Ukraine. The auction items were donated by Irish and Ukrainian artists, businesses and students. Over 150 attended the hybrid event, hosted online and on campus, in Regent House.
On March 18, the group held a virtual raffle for the Red Cross, again raising nearly €7,000 for the Ukrainian fund. The prizes were supplied by businesses across Ireland.
Speaking to Trinity News, Kushnir said that it was “amazing to see that much money coming in so quickly” at the auction. She highlighted that many donations came from Trinity lecturers at the auction, and the Provost Linda Doyle bought a piece.
Kushnir said that those who wanted to donate further could do so directly through the Red Cross.
She added that people could follow Action4Ukraine on Instagram, where the group advertise Ukrainian artists and businesses still operating from Ukraine. Action4Ukraine also hopes to hold more fundraising events in future.
“Mostly we don’t want people to lose any urgency about helping,” Kushnir said. “There have been more refugees displaced from Ukraine in one month than from many other wars over the years combined.”
She continued: “The scale is rarely expressed but I’m so glad so many people have the compassion to help regardless of statistics.”
The Ukrainian Red Cross Society is working across Ukraine to deliver humanitarian aid and assistance to people affected by the conflict. It has 3,000 volunteers and 550 staff operating from 280 local branches and 24 regional branches.
In a press release, Action4Ukraine stated: “We chose to donate money to the Red Cross because they rescue civilians from dangerous areas and reinstate vital infrastructures such as water supplies and electricity.”
“Without this help, so many more people would perish and it would be very difficult to protect the country.”
