SALT LAKE CITY — Utahns have donated $4 million and collected 250 pallets of donated goods to benefit refugees fleeing war-torn Ukraine as part of a statewide efforts of business leaders, nonprofits, and community members to provide essential supplies.
Most recently, he Larry H. Miller Company and the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation delivered four shipping containers filled with donations to Constanta, Romania, between November 2022 and January 2023 to help refugees needing relief from the harsh winter.
Philanthropic leaders provided $2 million when the "Driven to Assist" initiative launched in March 2022 and encouraged the community to match the donation; they did so, reaching the goal of $4 million.
Over 3,600 donations were contributed to the Utah for Ukraine Fund managed by the Community Foundation of Utah, with ninety percent of the donations from people giving $100 or less.
“In times of crisis, Utahns respond, and the Ukraine Crisis was no different. Together we took action to serve, lift, and love, and that is why I’m proud to be a member of this community,” said Gail Miller, chair of the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation in a press release.
“We are grateful to the generous people of this state who supported the relief effort for those affected by the ongoing war in Ukraine. The donated goods, including coats, blankets, gloves, diapers, and feminine hygiene products, arrived in time to help and comfort refugees during the cold winter months.”
Donations have been funded relief efforts in Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia, with much of the funding going to the United Nations Children’s Fund, Catholic Relief Services and International Rescue Committee.
Other relief efforts have included various groups from around the state; Utah First Lady Abby Cox's initiative, "Show Up," organized efforts of more than 500 volunteers to sort and prepare donations for distribution and collected more than 25,000 cards from Utah children to offer support to refugee children.
The Other Side Academy donated time to sort and count the donations to prepare them for shipment.
In March of 2022, the Gail S. Halvorsen Aviation Education Foundation airlifted 12,000 pounds of the Driven to Assist donated supplies bound for displaced Ukrainian children in Eastern Europe in partnership with several other business, government, and nonprofit organizations.
