
Briefing: Responding to the Humanitarian Crisis in Ukraine with Alight CEO Jocelyn Wyatt,
Skoll.org - April 8, 2022:
Alight - April 14, 2022:
Recent posts by ALIGHT
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING UKRAINIANS
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Meeting displaced Ukrainians at critical moments, thanks to you!
Alight is coming alongside Ukrainians on their journey, to help them process, re-orient, connect, and navigate their new reality. We’ve been listening and what we’ve learned has helped us build a human-centered response. Read MoreThe Promise of Safety in Wrocław
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Vitaliy and his wife Katia were living a life they describe as normal: running their own food shop and raising their three daughters, Kira 2, Alina 8, and Vlada 10, in the Odessa region. They didn’t believe war would ever come to Ukraine. In the early morning of February 24th, the phone rang. ReadA Kind Host in Krakow
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When the war broke out in Ukraine, Mariola and her family’s first instinct was to help. Like many people living in Poland, they started taking stock of what they could offer. What resources did they have to help their neighbors forced to flee across the border? ReadFinding Refuge at an Airbnb in Poland
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When the war began in Ukraine, 36-year-old Olena had been working at a coffee factory in Poland for a month. She had gone to Poland with a friend, temporarily leaving her four children with family in Ukraine so that she could earn more money to support them. ReadDoing the Doable for Ukrainian Families
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We are diving in and doing what’s possible
The war in Ukraine has caused the largest refugee crisis since World War II and has disrupted the lives of millions of people. It can feel overwhelming to think about how to help, or even where to start. Read MoreAround the web
Interview with Alight CEO Jocelyn Wyatt,
KTMY MyTalk 107 - March 7, 2022:
Alight Response Team Member Mike Zuckerman,
KTMY MyTalk 107 - March 7, 2022:
A Dire Need: Humanitarian efforts to help Ukrainian refugees fleeing to Poland
Richard Reeve, KSTP - April 15, 2022
How organizations can apply human-centered design in crisis response
Catherine Cheney, DEVEX -April 8, 2022
15 Million have fled their homes.
UKRAINE RESPONSE:
Supporting Ukrainian Families
The war in Ukraine has destroyed neighborhoods and disrupted every part of life for Ukrainians. 25% of the population have left their homes behind. 7 million Ukrainians have fled to neighboring countries, with 5 million entering Poland. Alight’s response team is meeting displaced Ukrainians at critical moments on their journey to help them process, re-orient, connect, and navigate their new reality. They’re holding on to hope for peace. We've supported more than 500,000 people already. And, we'll be there with more support until Ukrainians can return to their lives.
GUIDING TO SAFETY
Alight is there to help Ukrainians make their next move.
Alight Guides
Our guides – Ukrainians themselves – meet displaced people online, at border crossings, transit points and service hubs to help them with their next move in Poland and beyond. Many people begin their journeys in Poland by heading to the largest cities. While these places might offer some support, other cities are often less crowded and offer many benefits. At Alightguides.org, we recommend the best cities to settle in Poland – currently Krakow, Lublin, and Wroclaw – based on the vetting we’ve done of housing, employment, and other services available to Ukrainians.
22,000 safe, secure nights
Your donation will help provide a place for Ukrainian families to land.
UKRAINE BRIEFING
A panel discussion sponsored by INSEAD, featuring Alight CEO Jocelyn Wyatt
Monday, April 25th
11am Eastern/Noon Central
Partnering with Airbnb
Alight has partnered with Airbnb.org to provide Ukrainian families who've left Ukraine with safe, secure places to land and regroup. Wherever our Guides meet families on their journey, they find and book them free short-term housing accommodation for 14-30 days. It's been an amazing service for families like Olena's, who just need a little time and space to recharge and plan their next steps. Our team has placed families in Airbnbs throughout Poland and in several other European countries. Thanks to the amazing support from our partners at Airbnb.org, we've provided families with more than 22,000 nights of safe, secure temporary housing (and counting).
DOING THE DOABLE
The size of the crisis is massive. But small actions will always make a difference. Alight has been doing the doable since our team hit the ground in February. These are just some of the quick-impact projects we’ve delivered.
IN UKRAINE
We’ve provided hundreds of tons of food for displaced people in Lviv and Kharkiv, non-perishables like soup, tuna fish, cereals, and baby food. And we’ve sent medicines and medical supplies including tourniquets, wound dressings, and plasma transfusion kits to hospitals in Sumy and Kyiv. We've also provided support to a Lviv orphanage sheltering more than 600 children. And we're funding loads of small organizations providing support and relief deep inside eastern Ukraine - each grant averaging around $10,000. One organization called Mother's Kitchen has led numerous distributions, including a recent Alight-funded distribution of clothes, crockery, blankets, bedding, shoes, and food to the village of Zahaltsi.
IN POLAND
In the early days, Alight was providing lots of blankets, hats, socks, and mittens, as well as beds and warming tents to receive families as they came across the border. We're still at the border, but now we're also providing supplies and supporting vital services at the reception centers and service hubs where Ukrainians go for support.
FAITH-BASED PARTNERS
We know we can make an even bigger impact if we amplify the efforts of others. Faith-based groups are already critical providers of warmth and sanctuary, and there are so many providing amazing support for Ukrainians. We've been supporting and partnering with these groups across Poland and beyond. We’re working with the Jewish Community Center and Salam Lab in Krakow, Women on the Road and Catholic churches and sisters all over Poland and in 12 countries in Europe.
THE DOABLE, DONE
Doing the doable, Alight has provided critical support to more than 510,000 Ukrainians through quick impact projects. The most recent including:
- 1-week of groceries for 500 families in eastern Ukraine
- 1-week of Summer Camp in the Carpathian Mountains for kids from orphanages and occupied territories across Ukraine
- 4 generators to provide electricity in the Ukrainian towns of Losova and Bliznyuki
- Food and veterinary medicine for the animals living at 12-Months Zoo outside Kyiv
- Clothing for wounded civilians in Vinnytsia
- Hygiene kits & tablets to help children in Odessa continue with their online education courses
CREATING SAFE HAVENS
Ukrainian families need longer-term solutions so they can continue with their lives.
SAFE HAVENS
There is a major housing shortage in Poland, where millions of Ukrainian families are now living. Temporary housing solutions are running out. In imagining longer-term safe havens for families, our number one goal is to honor Ukrainians mothers’ entire purpose for fleeing: to protect their children. Alight has begun transforming vacant buildings into safe spaces for families. Working with IDEO and MASS Design, we’re co-designing with Ukrainian mothers to create havens where they’ll feel able and empowered to move forward in their lives.
HOUSING FOR LGBTQI+ REFUGEES
As in every crisis, Alight also seeks to assist the most marginalized groups within displaced populations. Alight is working with ORAM - Organization for Refuge, Asylum & Migration to specifically support the short-term housing needs of LGBTQI+ refugees from the Ukraine crisis. We are also interested in setting up a community center to provide this group with a safe space to gather and support one another.
DIGNITY OF WORK AND FINANCIAL SECURITY
Aside from housing, employment and money are among the top concerns of Ukrainians.
AID2ART
Without income, families have no way to pay for the things they need. It's one of the biggest concerns people have. Alight is working with Ukrainian artists and designers to ensure their families have food, shelter and the services they need by providing a $1,000 cash transfer. And those artists are creating and donating works of art Alight can auction to further support those creators AND Alight's ongoing relief efforts. Stay tuned, art will be available for purchase soon!
WILL YOU JOIN US?
HERE ARE SOME THINGS YOU CAN DO:
Get Your Community Engaged – Start a Fundraiser
You can start your own fundraiser, to support Ukrainian families through Alight’s emergency response team. Get started and setup your fundraiser here: https://give.wearealight.org/forUkraine
Use your talents!
People are doing whatever they can to help Ukrainians, using their skills and talents to help from afar.
Make A Donation
Right now, financial contributions are needed most – you can make a donation here.
REACH OUT!
Have any questions about our work with Ukraine? Is there something you're excited about and want to help make happen? Get in touch with us.
FAQs
Answers to some of the frequently asked questions about Alight's response and giving, here.
People are made up of more than being fed, clothed, housed, educated and given some kind of political voice. There is something more to a human being that’s really not visible on the surface.”
– Dr. Curt Rhodes, Questscope Founder