Ukraine Humanitarian Fund Awards Enable CORE’s Robust and Comprehensive Relief Efforts in Ukraine

Press RElease

Ukraine Humanitarian Fund Awards Enable CORE’s Robust and Comprehensive Relief Efforts in Ukraine

February 2024 – CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort) is pleased to announce three generous awards from the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund (UHF), totaling nearly $6 million, including a top-up this month of $665,000. This critical funding will be used to assist thousands of Ukrainians in need as temperatures plunge across the region through the harsh winter months. 

As of November 2023, there are roughly 3.6 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who’ve fled their homes because of the ongoing war. With the onset of frigid winter weather, countless individuals and families are subject to the harsh elements. Through UHF support, CORE will implement a multifaceted and comprehensive approach to address the needs of Ukrainians most at risk. This vital work will increase safety, habitability, and comfort for hundreds of families in the country.

During the past 22 months of war, the cities of Kharkiv, Kherson, and Mykolaiv have seen severe damage to infrastructure, from hospitals and schools to entire blocks of neighborhoods. CORE will repair 750 households that have been destroyed to support Ukrainian families in dire need. This UHF grant will enable the restoration of two critical water supply systems in Kherson and Kharkiv and two water towers in Mykolaiv. These measures will give families community-level access to potable water and provide heating solutions for those who rely on boilers. In Kherson and Mykolaiv, CORE will supply 2,000 dignity kits — enough to meet the hygienic needs of 5,200 people living in highly vulnerable households — promoting better long-term health outcomes. 

Members of CORE staff take window measurements in a village in Kharkiv Oblast in Ukraine in an effort to help winterize damaged homes. CORE Photo by Oleksand Riabkin

Liubov and her family, who were forced to flee their home because of the war, sit inside her new apartment in Kyiv funded through UHF.

In Lviv, CORE will expand its existing rental assistance program to 200 additional displaced families. This will provide six months of rental and utility support for those who have spent time living in collective centers and face significant financial barriers preventing them from affording a place of their own. This essential support will go a long way in giving Ukrainian families a calming place to call home.

To further prepare those in need for the winter, CORE is distributing nine tons of heating fuel in the form of sunflower briquettes. This vital fuel source will provide adequate heating material for 2,000 households in Zaporizhzhia Oblast to combat freezing temperatures. In Donetsk Oblast, CORE will deliver 8,400 cubic meters of firewood to 2,100 frontline households in dire need of fuel to survive.

Each one of these efforts, on its own, is important and builds toward a collective goal of ensuring IDPs in western Ukraine and vulnerable households across eastern Ukraine are cared for this winter. None of this would be possible without UHF. 

“UHF’s support of CORE’s efforts in Ukraine has been essential in helping CORE assist as many individuals as possible in Ukraine as these colder months arrive,” said Ukraine Response Director Jan Willaert. “With UHF’s support, CORE can help thousands of displaced Ukrainians by providing them shelter, heat, and most importantly, hope.”

About CORE

Founded by Sean Penn and Ann Lee, CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort) is a global crisis response organization that brings immediate relief and long-term recovery solutions to underserved communities. When a crisis strikes, CORE responds immediately to fill gaps, mobilize resources, and establish trust and collaboration from within communities. CORE has played a pivotal role in providing critical relief to marginalized and vulnerable populations since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine as it continues its mission of empowering communities in and beyond crises worldwide. For more information, see www.coreresponse.org and follow CORE on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. 