Moscow, March 3, 2015
Over 38 million rubles within 8 days – these are the first results of the new, second fundraising organized with the blessing of Patriarch Kirill in all churches of Russia on February 22, 2015, reports the Synodal Department for Church Charity and Social Ministry. The second fundraising was announced because nearly all the funds raised by the Church earlier – more than 59 million rubles – had been spent by the end of February on food, clothes, transportation, health services, rental and other targeted support for refugees. Owing to the new fundraising this help will be continued.
The first fundraising program in support of Ukrainian civilians was announced in churches of Russia on July 13, 2014. In total, over 97 million rubles have been transferred to the account of the Synodal Department for Charity in these two fundraising programs.
“Today our priority is to deliver humanitarian aid to residents of the Donetsk and Lugansk Dioceses and targeted support of refugees on the territory of Russia,” says Bishop Panteleimon of Orekhovo-Zuyevo, chairman of the Synodal Department for Charity. “With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill we are doing our best to render aid to the categories of the most vulnerable refugees: single mothers with children, families with many children, disabled and elderly people”.
Since the end of July the Church Headquarters to Aid Refugees from the Ukraine (based in Moscow) alone has received 17953 applications for aid. There is a telephone hotline for church assistance to refugees, in many regions refugees are living in church institutions (shelters, parish houses, monasteries and convents). Moreover, there are also church humanitarian aid storehouses. The largest storage facilities are situated in Rostov-on-the-Don (around 190 people there receive aid daily) and in Moscow (around 150 people receive clothes, food and other assistance daily). Over the past two weeks in Moscow alone 1690 people received aid from the church headquarters. From the Rostov-on-the-Don region and other regions of Russia Church representatives are sending humanitarian aid for residents of the Donetsk and Lugansk Dioceses.
Reports on the raising and expenditure of funds are published on the official website of the Synodal Department for Charity, Diaconia.ru. At the present time over 38 million rubles are left on the account of the Synodal Department for Charity.
You can donate funds to support Ukrainian civilians on the Synodal Department’s official website (through a banking card or by printing out a receipt): http://www.diaconia.ru/pomoshh-bezhencam-iz-ukrainy
