October 17, 2022

Winter is fast approaching in Ukraine, and with Russia now targeting the country’s heating infrastructure, our partners urgently need money to buy generators, heaters, solar batteries, sleeping bags, blankets and warm clothes.

The BEARR Trust has been raising funds since February for humanitarian relief in Ukraine and Moldova. We have received amazing support, raising more than £350,000 thanks to the generosity of over 1,000 donors in the UK, Republic of Ireland and abroad. The majority of these donations have already been spent by small civil society organisations and voluntary groups who are supporting displaced families, adults and children with disabilities, and isolated elderly residents in rural villages.

We now need to raise funds to buy emergency winter supplies for people in Ukraine and Moldova. Every penny donated will be passed on to our partners – local, grassroots NGOs who have been working tirelessly over the last 8 months to provide food, shelter, clothing, medicine, transport and trauma support for hundreds of displaced and vulnerable people.

As of October 2022, three-quarters of our total funds raised have been sent to 50 local organisations in Ukraine and Moldova to purchase and distribute emergency aid. To enable our partners to continue their vital work this winter, please donate to our online campaign here.

We are incredibly grateful to all who have donated to our campaign since February. If you are able, please do consider setting up a recurring donation. A regular income of funds will allow us to plan ahead for the coming months, and ensures we are in a position to support our partners throughout the winter.

100% of funds donated will be passed on to local organisations in Ukraine and Moldova. BEARR is covering any administrative costs and transfer fees from other funds. BEARR’s Ukraine Appeal is managed by a volunteer working group of five Trustees, including the Chairman and the Treasurer, supported by BEARR’s Information Officer.

Our focus on ‘small and local’ emergency funding throughout the war – rooted in BEARR’s long-standing approach to grant giving – has enabled us to send funds quickly and effectively to vulnerable people in places still not reached by international aid.

This was brought into sharp focus on the morning of 6 October, when two of our partners in Zaporozhiya reported on the bombs that fell on their city just before dawn. They immediately requested an emergency grant to provide victims with bedding, clothes and psychological support. Within two hours of the email reaching BEARR’s office, the Trustee working group had approved the request, and by 10am that morning the transfer had been processed. Read more about how BEARR is supporting its partners’ ongoing work in our latest website story here.

We would like to once again thank you for your overwhelming support of our original campaign. We and our partners are strengthened by the generosity of BEARR’s donors, and we ask that you please continue to support and share our campaign as we prepare for the coming winter. Thank you for any contribution you are able to make!

Please contact info@bearr.org with any questions.

Warm wishes,
The BEARR Trust