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#UkraineRussiaWar: Global citizens raise funds for relief
Ukraine and Russia crisis has made many, from the world over, come forward to auction their creations, to raise money and help those stuck in the war. From art to cookies and even handbags, are being sold to raise funds for charity.
A global crisis can rattle life the world over, and can also bring people together in solidarity. Amid the Russia-Ukraine war, citizens of different nationalities are coming forward to host charity auctions. From auctioning paintings and sculptures to baking cookies, and even selling handbags, here’s all that the citizens of the world are doing to raise funds to support humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.
Canada-based artist Adam Young says he was shocked when the auction of his painting, done in the colours of the national flag of Ukraine and featuring a field of its national flower sunflower, raised $25,000. “We expected maybe $1,000 and it ended up getting $25,000. We were shocked. We went on to make a limited edition of prints and made another $40,000 for a total donation of $65,000 which we still cannot believe happened,” he says. Revealing the story behind his work of art, Young adds, “About a week ago, I was working on a piece, and could feel the weight and sadness of everything going around. I put that piece aside and starting working on a new one, which was my take on the Ukrainian flag, with a bright blue sky over a field of sunflowers. It was therapeutic to work on it. And when I showed it to my wife, she loved it and immediately said ‘Let’s do a fundraiser with it’! We decided to hold an auction and commute 100% of the winning bid to Voices of Children Ukraine.”
Young says he didn’t set out to make this much donation, but it so happened by chance. “We are heartbroken to see the images and videos coming out of Ukraine. I’m a parent myself, and it’s a nightmare to see what these families are going through. We just wanted to help in any way we could, and want others to see that any little action can help. We can all play a part in spreading more kindness and hope in this world,” he shares.
Zeynep Boyan, an artist and designer based in Montreal, Canada also felt compelled to “do something” upon hearing the news from Ukraine. “My time and art are the very first things that come to my mind to contribute to helping others. That’s how the idea of having an auction emerged, knowing that this is the least I can do. The auction for a sculptural piece of mine was announced on my Instagram page, and it lasted for four days. Many people shared the cause, some started their own auction or raffle and contributed by bidding. The auction ended on March 1. There are many women, queer, elderly, people of colour, and people with disabilities who are in need for our help right now. And direct donations are the most important at the moment,” shares Boyan, who has also added a screen shot of her $600 donation to Ukrainian non-profit Razom.
British contemporary artist Jane Askey, who is also rasing funds “for charities supporting the people of Ukraine” through the sale of an oil and graphite painting online, recently posted on Instagram. And in the NFT space too, artists are coming forward with their pieces, to be part of charity auction by Polygon Alliance, which called “all artists, metaverse creators and social influencers” to come together to help people in Ukraine. SOMA, a duo of an engineer and a machine learning programmer, donated an artwork Sunflower Solidarity featuring the Ukrainian flag colours and sunflowers. Another NFT artist, who goes by the name @vivionajourney on Twitter also shared a work named Raining Cloud for the charity to Ukraine “to spread love and peace”.
Besides, Julia, founder of a US-based handbag brand TWEVLElittle also put together a charity auction of “one-of-a-kind bags”, which indicates that all proceeds will support the non-profit Save the Children, while matching the entire amount that’s raised, to double the final donation.
And then there are some delicious gestures, such as #CookiesForUkraine by Mallika Bhatia. A psychotherapist based in Munich, Germany, when she recently began baking cookies to celebrate her older one‘s half-yearly results, her love for baking was overcome by the thoughts of concern for “all the children who didn’t even have homes anymore; since the war had started just a day before”. Feeling sorrowful, she adds, “I knew many others would loose the comfort of home and safety that we take for granted. By the time my last lot of cookies came out of the oven, I had made up my mind to start #CookiesForUkraine.” Bhatia tells us that she was scared, but couldn’t get herself to not to do anything, and soon posted the idea on Instagram and Facebook, urging people to buy her home-baked cookie jars. “The message is simple, ‘Humanity is above everything’. Religion, race, nationalities or age don’t matter, humanity and empathy do. That’s what I teach my children too. And they helped me in baking,” adds Bhatia, who has decided to share all proceeds with Friedensdorf International, which works for children in crisis affected zones.
Author tweets @siddhijainn
