How Ontarians can help the people of Ukraine as fighting with Russia intensifies

As the violence continues in Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion of the country, many people in Ontario are searching for ways to help the Ukrainian people.

Here’s a few ways individual Ontarians can help the people of Ukraine:

• The Canadian Government has said it will match all donations to the Red Cross to help bring humanitarian relief to Ukraine. The federal government has said it will match all donations by Canadians dollar-for-dollar, to a maximum of $10 million. The campaign will run until March 18.
• UNICEF is also collecting donations. The organization said money donated will help support its ongoing programs and “response to the escalating need in Ukraine” and will help provide communities with safe water, medical and healthcare services, child protection and education.
• Donations are also being collected by Save the Children. According to the organization’s website, money donated will help provide children and families with winter kits of warm clothing and blankets, psychosocial support and child-friendly spaces, education, water, sanitation and hygiene programs, cash transfers for food, medicine or other essentials and access to healthcare.
• GlobalGiving has also launched a Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund and is seeking donations for humanitarian relief.  The fund has raised more than $2.9 million dollars to date.
• The Canada-Ukraine Foundation and Ukrainian Canadian Congress have launched a joint appeal for monetary donations. According to the website, the organizations are seeking to collect $5 million through the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal to “provide humanitarian assistance to those in need in Ukraine to address any further aggression by Russia.” To date, a $2,390,000 has been collected.
• The United Nations Refugee Agency, the UNHCR is also seeking donations, saying “your support can help ensure that Ukrainians forced to flee their homes are sheltered and safe.”
• Veterinarians Without Borders Canada has launched an emergency fundraising campaign, saying “thousands of animals in shelters across Ukraine are in desperate need of food, water and basic resources in order to survive.” The organization said it is working with those on the ground to help support shelters to transport food and to provide support to people and animals who are fleeing the country.

3:19 Ontario Premier Doug Ford condemns Russian attack on Ukraine

The Ontario government announced last week that it will be donating $300,000 in humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

The money will be donated to the Canada-Ukraine Foundation and used to “support humanitarian purposes” including “providing medical aid, emergency shelter and food security” in Ukraine, a press release said.