Help me to help Ukrainians affected by the war

I will be travelling to Poland on July 30th to help support Ukrainian refugees affected by the war against their country.

While the situation is a lot calmer now compared to the mass exodus we saw in March following the initial invasion, there is still a real need to support Ukrainians both leaving areas undergoing renewed attacks and those looking to return home to relative safety.

After landing in Krakow, I'm travelling to Przemyśl (near the Ukrainian border, not far from Lviv) to help the Polish Red Cross at the Humanitarian Aid Centre for one week. I am not medically or legally trained, so my support could be anything from handing out food and supplies, moving boxes, cleaning - essentially anything that needs doing!

After speaking to several volunteers in Poland and Ukraine, including the Polish Red Cross coordinator at Przemyśl (see quote below), direct donations and support are preferred. This is so that they can have a more immediate impact and can adapt to the needs of the organisations and people there.

"Cash is always helpful to buy supplies as we are always in need or you could help purchase travel for refugees directly"

I'm covering all my expenses myself, so 100% of your donations will go to helping the people and organisations that need it. I will distribute the donations while I'm there to pay for things like medical supplies and food for the Polish Red Cross and for accommodation or onward travel for Ukrainian families. I will record every penny spent where possible and do my due diligence. Any donations remaining after I have returned will be donated to the Ukrainian Crisis Appeal of the British Red Cross.

It would've been a harder decision to go without the support of the company I work for. I am incredibly fortunate to work at one of the best companies in the UK - Matillion - and I am eternally grateful to them for supporting and actively encouraging volunteering and fundraising efforts like this one. Matillion's values are a core part of the business and this is an example of one of them ("We Care") in practice.

I'll post updates to this page to keep you informed of progress.

I really appreciate any donation you can afford to make.

Thank you!

Rob Callaghan