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In this undated photo, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Moldova supply refugees with blankets at the Ukrainian border.

Courtesy Intellectual Reserve

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In this undated photo, members and friends of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints help prepare blankets for refugees arriving at the Romanian eastern border.

Courtesy Intellectual Reserve

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In this undated photo, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Moldova supply stuffed animals to refugee children arriving in the country.

Courtesy Intellectual Reserve

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With the growing numbers of Ukrainian refugees, among them members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the church has created an online landing page with current news, links, contact information and guidelines on how to help people emotionally in times of crisis.

The new link is: uk.churchofjesuschrist.org/ukraine-europe-area-emergency-response. A newly created Facebook page was also launched to reach people on social media. Volunteers with various language skills assist those seeking help. One of these volunteers is an English teacher from Ukraine who just arrived in Germany with her child and mother-in-law.

On Monday, the church announced it has given $2 million each to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Programme (WFP) to help those displaced by the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.

The donations will buy core relief items and help an estimated 40,000 displaced families, according to the church.

The Church of Jesus Christ is continuing humanitarian and relief projects at a time of great need in Europe. The new online resources were launched to coordinate efforts and reach out to displaced individuals. Other initiatives have been started, including:

• More than 100 members and friends of the Madrid Central, East, and West congregations volunteered to assist refugees recently relocated to the Madrid area. They gathered nonperishable food, coats, baby items and cleaning products. Church service providers also created labels to identify the care packages in both Spanish and Ukrainian. Almost 400 packages were prepared and delivered.
• In Moldova, church members are picking up refugees at the Ukraine border and helping them with food, lodging and other necessities. Most of the refugees left their homes, belongings and sometimes other family members behind to seek refuge.
• In Slovakia, church members have opened their arms and homes to help people from Kyiv, providing housing for more than 13 adults as well as children as young as 18 months.
• In Romania, church members have been gathering food and supplies, including clothing, diapers and baby food, for distribution to refugees crossing the border from Ukraine. Refugees cross all day long, some by car and some by foot. “The images are heartbreaking,” said church women’s service leader Carmen Pârnău. “I have seen many mothers with little children that struggled because of the cold weather and extreme exhaustion.” The local women have also organized group activities in which church members made blankets for refugees. In addition, Latter-day Saints Charities, the charitable arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has supplied 100 cots and 100 sleeping bags to refugee camps.
• Among the displaced people streaming into Poland are some Ukrainian members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Polish church members, in response, have opened their homes, made room at their tables and shared their closets. Stacy Chandler, a church women’s leader in Poland, predicts “this will change the face of the church in Poland forever.” She adds “Refugee members made their way here, stopped for a rest and attended our Sunday services.”
• Church members from across Europe are sending clothing, blankets, food and water in cars and minivans to Polish church meetinghouses. Their common beliefs and shared religious cultural experiences motivate Polish members to feel a deep responsibility to care for their displaced brothers and sisters.

Members of the church in Europe and across the world who desire to help are invited to do so through their respective congregations, by donating to the church’s humanitarian aid or fast offering fund or by working with established relief organizations.

The church’s newsroom has set up a summary page that will be continually updated on humanitarian aid needs and news as they occur. Visit How the Church Is Helping Refugees in Europe at churchofjesuschrist.org.

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