9 Ways Your Home Decor Buys Can Help Refugees From Ukraine and Beyond
Including a Cold Picnic rug fundraiser.
Published Mar 2, 2022 1:59 PM
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Home is where we retreat, recharge, and reinvent. Where we find time for ourselves and gather together with loved ones. It should be a right, but in reality, it’s still a privilege—one made all the clearer as Russia forces many of Ukraine’s citizens to leave their houses knowing they may never see them again. When conflict is happening halfway around the world, it’s easy to feel unsure as to how to help. Donating to vetted organizations like Save the Children and UNICEF, joining local protests, or even sharing information from reliable sources on social media are all solid places to start. But on top of that, a number of businesses in the home space, from Airbnb to Cold Picnic, are donating their services or a portion of proceeds to those affected by the turmoil.
While European nations are swiftly opening their borders and homes to thousands of Ukrainians, many refugees in other parts of the world, particularly from the Middle East, continue to face discrimination and barriers to the same assistance. So we’ve gathered a few shops and resources looking to aid not only those in Ukraine but asylum seekers everywhere.
Airbnb
Partnering with its network of hosts in various European countries, Airbnb is funding the stay of more than 100,000 Ukrainian refugees. The company is doing the same worldwide for those fleeing Afghanistan. You can sign up to host, even if you don’t have a dedicated rental property: All you need to offer is a comfortable bed and basic amenities for anywhere from a couple of days to a few weeks.
Cold Picnic
The textile brand is auctioning off one of its fan-favorite crocodile runners, in any size, and all proceeds (bidding starts at $500) will go toward a verified organization that benefits humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.
Ferm Living and Normann Copenhagen
A number of Copenhagen-based brands are banding together to gather donations for the Danish Red Cross, which gives vital first aid and emergency health services to Ukrainian civilians. If you live outside of Europe, you can donate via this website.
Emko
For every purchase made from Emko, a Lithuania-based furniture and home decor brand, 3 percent of the total will be donated to Blue/Yellow, an organization that has supplied aid packets to schools, families, and the elderly in Ukrainian war zones since 2014.
The Beaux Store
This U.K.-based antiques dealer and rug curator has partnered with blogger Lucy Williams on a curated collection from which 20 percent of profits will be donated to the Ukraine Red Cross, which is offering safe shelter and food to fleeing families in need. Refresh your gallery wall with a colorful seascape or fruit still life.
The Little Market
Visit this nonprofit’s website to discover a selection of products from Massachusetts to Nepal that not only help the Little Market aid internationally displaced peoples, but in many cases are created by refugees themselves. The organization Prokritee, for one, employs 2,000 Bangladeshi women to craft handwoven baskets out of holga leaves and recycled iron.
Devon Reina
Reina, a Brooklyn-based artist, is cleaning out his studio and selling a series of framed watercolor paintings. Half the profits will be donated to Ukrainian organization Voices of Children, which arranges psychological support for local children affected by conflict.
Preemptive Love
Nonprofit Preemptive Love’s shop features items handmade by refugees from Syria, Iraq, and beyond. Directly support their businesses by purchasing a candle in a hand-carved wood vessel, a hand-stitched tea towel, or soap crafted from local ingredients.
Soup for Syria
The publisher of humanitarian cookbook Soup for Syria donates all proceeds from book sales to benefit the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR, which advocates for refugee rights and gives much-needed food relief to Syrian refugees. Flip through recipes from more than 80 acclaimed chefs, from Mark Bittman to Sami Tamimi, the head chef of three Ottolenghi outposts.
