29 April, 2022 – Moved by the plight of Ukrainian refugees and inspired by the efforts of colleagues in Poland, VikingCloud, (formerly Sysnet), a provider of cyber security and compliance solutions, has joined forces with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.
VikingCloud has pledged to match donations made via the UNHCR website up to US$500,000* (€475480.00), which means a potential $1 million (€0.95 million) could be donated to aid people impacted by the conflict in Ukraine. The money raised will help UNHCR provide emergency shelters, repairs for homes damaged by shelling and emergency cash assistance.
Commenting on the initiative, Robert McCullen, chief executive officer of VikingCloud, says, “We are deeply saddened by the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. As a cyber security provider, we can help businesses to protect themselves from the increased malicious cyber activity related to the conflict, but we also want to help protect people. That is why we are calling on our fellow industry players to make donations to UNHCR through this initiative, which we will match up to a total of $500,000 (€475480.00)* for a potential total donation of $1 million (€0.95 million) plus.
“The lives of countless Ukrainians have been lost or forever disrupted by the war with Russia. The threats they face hunger, loss of shelter, lack of medical care, loss of loved ones are very real. We are incredibly proud of our team members in Poland who have taken in refugees from Ukraine, and to show our solidarity with them, VikingCloud is helping to cover the associated costs. It is their generosity that has inspired us to work with the UNHCR to provide relief from this terrible situation.”
With teams across Ukraine and in neighbouring countries hosting refugees from Ukraine, UNHCR is providing protection and humanitarian assistance.
Emma Cherniavsky, chief executive, UK for UNHCR, adds, “We are grateful to the whole VikingCloud team for their support and generosity. We urgently need this help to continue providing life-saving protection to families forced to flee their homes. UNHCR has stepped up its operations and capacity in Ukraine and neighbouring countries and remains firmly committed to supporting all affected populations in Ukraine and countries in the region.”
This is yet another example of how the tech community has mobilised to use their skills to help people in Ukraine affected by the war, including remote work platforms, a voluntary Airbnb service for hosting refugees and websites matching tech professionals and companies to NGOs to help digitise their work.
VikingCloud announced the launch of the initiative at the recent ETA Transact event in Las Vegas and has been overwhelmed with the support received so far. The campaign with UNHCR is ongoing and will continue to support refugees from Ukraine. To donate, visit here
To learn more about this initiative visit here
*VikingCloud will match donations up to a total amount across all donations made under this initiative of $500,000 (€475480.00). All donations made via the links provided are made directly to UNHCR. VikingCloud’s donation match applies only to donations made to UNHCR via the dedicated links provided.
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