Source: Good News Network
From charities and governments to celebrities and everyday people, millions are pitching in to ease the burden for fleeing or sheltering Ukrainians. In turn, they’re inspiring the world with their generosity and strength.
We searched the internet to find heartwarming positive stories about Ukraine, and hope they will be an antidote to the daily barrage of reports about the pain and hardship.
1) Dog Company Delivers Tons of Food for Ukrainian Pooches
A dog transport company is helping to feed pooches in war-torn Ukraine after collecting nearly 11,000 pounds worth of food (5,000kg).
Daisybrook International Pet Transport was inundated with 300 bags of dog food and other donations from around the UK, and the Staffordshire company has dropped off the supplies at the Polish border, with owner Matthew Hunt delivering it in their specialized dog van, crammed to the roof with food—and with plans to make the trip once a week.
2) David Beckham Hands Over Instagram Account to Ukrainian Doctor
English soccer has turned been turned on its head over the war in Ukraine—with the British government sanctioning the Russian billionaire owner of Chelsea FC, the third best team in the country. Now David Beckham, legend of Manchester United, gave control of his Instagram account with more than 71 million followers to Iryna, the head of the regional perinatal center in Kharkiv.
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Choosing only to be known by her first name, Iryna is working 24/7 to help mothers give birth safely in one of the conflict’s hottest zones.
“We are probably risking our lives, but we don’t think about it at all,” she wrote. “We love our work.”
View this post on Instagram
3) Ukraine Joins European Power Grid, Ending Its Dependence on Russia
Belgium-based utility company ENTSO-E connected the Ukrainian electrical grid to a largely-distributed system stretching across most of Europe, allowing it to end dependence on Russian power stations. Read more about it here.
“This step will give Ukraine the opportunity to receive electricity if (Russia) continues to destroy our power infrastructure, and thus to save our power system,” said Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, who chairs the management board of Ukraine’s grid operator Ukrenergo. “We are sincerely grateful to our European partners for their great support and assistance during these difficult times.”
As well as reducing dependence on coal as a nice bonus, Ukraine could export nuclear power to elsewhere in Europe, which Brussels sees as a win-win.
4) Celebrity Chef Cooking For Free For Thousands on Ukrainian Border
José Andrés, the founder of World Central Kitchen, set up an emergency relief kitchen in the town of Przemyśl—just several miles from the border with Ukraine that is receiving tens of thousands of refugees every day. In twelve massive paella pans and twelve large ovens, they are cooking hundreds of thousands of meals.
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A warehouse in L’viv, in the west of Ukraine, is shipping trucks of these meals to cities further east like Odessa and Mykolayiv. To date they’ve served one million meals.
Thank you @RealRonHoward @RealImagine @NatGeoTV for telling our story and most importantly to the @WCKitchen team & every volunteer working to make this dream of Feeding People a reality..especially those right now feeding the people of #Ukraine #ChefsForUkraine #ChefsForTheWorld https://t.co/vVjvelEFXg
— José Andrés (@chefjoseandres) March 19, 2022
5) Hero vet is crossing into Ukraine to rescue trapped animals
32-year-old Polish veterinarian Jakub Kotowicz launched a rescue trip into the war zone last week and has since rescued around 200 cats and 60 dogs from L’viv, in three convoys.
Now being cared for in his veterinary clinic are the rescued animals, including a pygmy goat with diseased legs and a large Sphinx cat who loves to cuddle. Jakub plans to keep the two-month-old pygmy goat kid, named Sasha, who shares a soft bed with two Chihuahuas, as part of his service with ADA Foundation. Jakub founded the animal rescue charity when he was 17, and runs a no-kill animal shelter in Przemysl, Poland, just 30 minutes from the border with Ukraine.
People can donate in dollars here, or in euros here.
6) Celebrities Donate Millions to Help Ukrainians
A number of A-listers have used their fortunes and their platforms to support relief for Ukrainians.
J.K. Rowling has pledged to match every pound sterling up to £1 million ($1.3 million) in donations to Lumos, a charity that’s focused on helping children in the war zones.
I will personally match donations to this appeal, up to £1m. Thank you so, so much to all who’ve already donated, you’re enabling @lumos to do crucial work for some of the most vulnerable children in Ukraine. https://t.co/XK8yTtB1nl
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 7, 2022
Mila Kunis and Aston Kutcher have pledged $3 million from their film and TV fortunes towards a GoFundMe drive with a target of $30 million. “While my family came to the United States in 1991, I was born in Chernivtsi, Ukraine, in 1983,” Kunis wrote on the GoFundMe page.
Last week they passed their goal, exceeding it by $4 million.
Another celebrity couple helping out is Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, who tweeted that they would personally match any donation towards helping Ukrainian refugees up to $1 million.
7) Russia-Ukrainian Chef Duo Host Dinner-Fundraiser for UNICEF
Ukrainian chef Olia Hercules and Russian chef Alissa Timoshkina, long-time colleagues living in London, have started the Cook for Ukraine moment, which is encouraging restaurants to add small extra charges as a way to contribute a bit of sales to UNICEF’s work helping children in and out of Ukraine.
“Cook for Ukraine is hosting an event at The British Library Theater on 22 March to help raise awareness for the incredible food of Ukraine, and how it crosses many borders and communities,” Euronews writes. The fundraiser has already made £280,000 ($371000).
8) Italian Government Announces It will Rebuild the Mariupol Theater
Italy’s culture minister, Dario Franceschini, tweeted that a proposal introduced in parliament has passed to use Italian government funds to rebuild the destroyed theater in the city of Mariupol.
He noted that “Theaters of all countries belong to the whole of humanity.”
Italy is ready to rebuild the Theatre of #Mariupol. The cabinet of Ministers has approved my proposal to offer #Ukraine the resources and means to rebuild it as soon as possible. Theaters of all countries belong to the whole humanity #worldheritage pic.twitter.com/FPictnEloy
— Dario Franceschini (@dariofrance) March 17, 2022
