We are proud to be among the few organisations in Poland awarded an Airbnb grant to house refugees from Ukraine. In just six weeks since the beginning of this cooperation, we have already managed to cover one-month accommodation costs for more than 130 refugees.
The grant was awarded to us as part of the refugees.fairbnb.coop project – an initiative that launched a service that easily connects those in need of shelter with hosts ready to welcome others into their homes. As noted on the project website, ‘the pilot project was launched in Gdynia in partnership with the Miasto Wspólne Association. Simultaneously, a collaboration was launched with the Open Dialogue Foundation (ODF) to help relocate refugees to smaller towns.’
One example of this support is the story of a family from Kharkiv – grandmothers Olga and Natalia, along with their grandchildren Lizaveta and Andriy – who no longer have to worry about a roof over their heads, having found temporary shelter in a comfortable two-room flat in Warsaw. Our Foundation is additionally providing them with daily meals, cultural guidance, assistance with paperwork, and help with enrolling the children in school.
Obviously, we’re just getting started, and we are determined to keep up the pace. We’d like to thank Paulina Wajszczak from Airbnb for her tremendous support. Our gratitude also goes to all the hosts who kindly offered their homes for an entire month, temporarily pulling them off the market for tourists.
On 8 June, CooTech Hub held a press conference at the InfoBox Gdynia, bringing together representatives of the partnering organisations. Our volunteer, Łukasz Puławski, also took part in the event on behalf of ODF.
Your help matters – support our ongoing fundraiser for Ukrainian citizens and those defending their country.
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