Aid for Ukraine
The “Aid for Ukraine” project, which was established in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and subsequent outbreak of war, has been the largest fundraising campaign in the history of the Rainer Winter Foundation. The foundation has deliberately resolved not to cooperate with major aid agencies in order to be certain that each and every euro donated ends up exactly where it is needed. “Aid for Ukraine” involves organized direct, emergency aid for children and young people on the ground.
Thanks to the commitment of many uvex employees, families with children were identified who could be helped quickly and unbureaucratically. One such family was the Godjak family. Tatjana Godjak and her two daughters, Anna (4) and Sofiia (12) were initially taken in by Dennis Eckhoff (Head of CIS & The Baltic, uvex safety Polska) and his family in the town of Podkowa, located on the south-west outskirts of Warsaw. Through the Rainer Winter Foundation they received emergency aid, school fees and financial support for leisure activities in an effort to help them move on from their terrible experiences, at least for a little while. The aim was to help the children impacted to lead as normal and regular a life as quickly as possible. The Rainer Winter Foundation covered the kindergarten and school fees for the next few months and beyond, while Tatjana Godjak herself now works at uvex safety Polska.
Diana found herself fleeing the war in Ukraine too. She was taken in by a family friend and received emergency financial aid from the Rainer Winter Foundation. Today she attends an art academy in the Munich area.
Support for women’s refuge
In partnership with uvex safety Polska in Reńska Wieś, the Rainer Winter Foundation made preparations to accept refugee mothers with their children at the “Dom Matki i Dziecka” women's refuge in Opole, which is located close to the border with Ukraine. Overall, 100% of the donations in the amount of 10,000 euros was exclusively put towards supporting the children.
The "Mother and Child Home" was founded in 1993. The majority of beneficiaries are women fleeing various forms of violence who have no livelihood and no roof over their heads. In recent times, it has supported children of Ukrainian women too, in the hope that they can lead a life without living in fear of falling bombs.
STELP: Building a school in Novo Pejcev
Through the foundation’s advisory board, the Rainer Winter Foundation was able to get in contact with the aid organization STELP e.V. After a few exceptionally positive conversations and meetings in-person with Serkan Eren, a large portion of the “Aid for Ukraine” fundraising campaign was made available to STELP e.V. to finance valuable reconstruction work on a school building in eastern Ukraine. The school is located in Olyzarivka and educates children of all ages from the beginning of primary school through to those gaining school leaving qualifications.
The area was hit by three low-flying Russian bombs, one of which destroyed the main entrance to the school. Thanks to the great efforts of the headmaster Viktor and his colleague Olena as well as the incredible commitment shown by the entire village community, the roof has already been repaired. This was important in ensuring that the building was not left open to the elements, which could have caused additional damage or even compromised the structural integrity of the building.
