As the world witnesses the devastating destruction of Ukraine and people in villages, towns and cities around the world organize donation collection points, let’s take a look at the celebrities who put their money there where they are, making financial contributions and launching fundraisers using their public platforms.
Many of these celebrities are of Ukrainian descent.
Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher created a GoFundMe campaign on March 4 with a $3 million donation. Their goal is to raise $30 million and, in partnership with Airbnb and freight company Flexport, provide housing and ship supplies. So far they have reached half of their goal, $15 million.
Mila Kunis was born in Chernivtsi, Ukraine.
The Real Housewives of New York City star’s nonprofit, Bethenny Frankel, BStrong, has raised $6 million in cash donations so far, according to the latest updates. This is in addition to the $10 million the organization has already pledged to support Ukraine.
BStrong began helping Ukrainian refugees resettle in Poland in February.
Frankel told The Cut: “BStrong and our partner Global Empowerment Mission are in Poland, on the border, where people cross. We have 100,000 crisis kits coming in, which are survival kits for refugees. But in addition to survival kits, we need to help people rebuild, so the money people donate will go to cash cards, which help people rebuild their lives.
For organization updates, click here.
Nadya Tolokonnikova of feminist post-punk rock and performance art group Pussy Riot has helped raise over $6.7 million to support the Ukrainian military. The fundraiser organized by UkraineDAO attracted thousands of users who bid for a share of a digital NFT of the Ukrainian flag. The group said the proceeds would be donated to “Come Back Alive”, a campaign to aid Ukrainian defenses.
Tolokonnikova is a renowned political activist and one of Putin’s most vocal opponents.
Lee Young-Ae, the South Korean actress, donated 100 million pounds (about $80,000) to Ukraine in a gesture that was personally thanked by the Ukrainian Ambassador-designate in Seoul, Dmytro Ponomarenko.
Share a photo of the check to Twitter, he wrote: “We are very excited and touched by the letter and the great financial contribution of the famous Korean actress Lee Young-Ae in favor of Ukraine and the request to end the war as soon as possible! Donations will be donated to the needs of the victims of the attack 🇷🇺.
The Weeknd, singer-songwriter and global citizen artist Abel Tesfaye, known as The Weeknd, has pledged up to $1 million to the World Food Program to support Ukrainian refugees and people in d other humanitarian crises around the world.
In addition to an initial direct donation of $500,000, the artist will match that with up to $500,000 from their upcoming tour.
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds donated $1 million to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in return for public donations. Their challenge to match public donations of $1 million was met in 48 hours.
JK Rowling, the author of Harry Potter, has pledged to match donations of up to £1m ($1.3m) for the Lumos charity emergency appeal. Lumos is a UK-based charity that helps children in Ukraine and neighboring countries.
Supermodel Gigi Hadid has pledged to donate all of her Fall Fashion Week 2022 earnings.
She said this week: “Our eyes and our hearts must be open to all human injustice. May we all see each other as brothers and sisters, beyond politics, beyond race, beyond religion. In the end, it is innocent lives that pay for war, not leaders. »
Hadid’s father is Palestinian – she will continue to donate to the Palestinian people affected by the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Leonardo DiCaprio has made private donations to various humanitarian groups in favor of Ukraine.
DiCaprio’s grandmother was born in Odessa, Ukraine, and emigrated to Germany in 1917.
Kit Harrington, Adrian Lester, Simon Pegg, Hugh Bonneville and David Tennant took part in videos and radio ads to help raise $120 million for the Disasters Emergency Committee, a coalition of 15 leading nonprofit humanitarian organizations plan in the UK, which is helping the Ukrainian relief effort. .
Here is Kit Harrington’s call on Youtube.
Peta Murgatroyd, the Dancing with the Stars pro, created Peta’s closet, where fans can buy her clothes, shoes and handbags. All proceeds will go directly to Ukraine. The ballroom professional revealed that she raised over $5,000. “All of this money will go to Ukrainian families who are now refugees,” she told her supporters. “We can buy so many hotel rooms for these families. I think it’s close to $5,000, that’s going to go a long way. Thank you from the heart.”
Peta’s husband, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, was working in Ukraine when Russia first invaded. He and his brother, Val Chmerkovskiy, are both Ukrainians and both actively try to help their people. Maksim was able to return to the United States in early March.
Val had this to say:
“My parents fled this country for this exact reason”, Val, 35, written via Instagram Story in February. “Not because it wasn’t good for them, but because their children would eventually see war. It is a cruel irony that 28 years later my brother is in an air raid shelter in [Kyiv]. If they hadn’t gone, I’d be on the front lines defending my home right now.
A Buckingham Palace source confirmed to ET that the Queen has made a generous private donation to the Disaster Emergency Committee for Ukraine’s humanitarian appeal.
Angelina Jolie, Kendall Jenner, Regina Spektor, Neil Gaiman, Kim Kardashian, Vera Farmiga (Ukrainian parents), Karina Smirnoff from Kharkiv and Milla Jovovich from Ukraine also drew attention to the crisis on social media.
Ukrainian Olympian Oksana Baiul helped organize a peace rally in Las Vegas before calling on the United States to help Ukrainian athletes get out of the war zone and to safety. The 44-year-old former ice skater told Newsmax on March 6, “We have to stop Ukrainian figure skaters from being killed by the Russians and bring them here.”
the SAG Last week’s awards saw Michael Douglas, Lady Gaga and Brian Cox raise awareness of the situation.
Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn is currently in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, filming the events of a documentary.
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