Washington, DC – The Hungarian American Coalition has disbursed its second tranche of $20,000 in humanitarian assistance to refugees from war-torn Ukraine.

Since February 26, the Coalition has received $48,000 from almost 360 donors in response to the crisis in Ukraine.  In early March, the Coalition disbursed the first tranche of $20,000 to four organizations working with refugees in Hungary and Ukraine.

László Katona, Coalition Program Coordinator Noémi Bánhidi, and Father Ábel Halmos at the St. Maurice Monastery in Bakonybél, Hungary. The monastery guest house will host refugees from Ukraine.

The Coalition’s Executive Committee has now approved an additional round of donations, totaling $20,000, to support the following initiatives:

• $10,000 to the local government of Bakonybél, Hungary, to house and care for refugee families. The initiative is spearheaded by László Katona, a Hungarian-American professor of English at Pannon University (Veszprém, Hungary). His efforts to help in his own village of Bakonybél (about 140 km west of Budapest) expanded into partnerships with the local government, professionals, and other donors. They plan to house and feed up to 40 refugees for at least a month at the local Benedictine monastery, and are renovating the village administrative building to receive additional refugees. Read more about this initiative here.
  
  
• $3,000 to a consortium of mayors in Hungarian villages bordering Ukraine in aid of local relief efforts. The initiative is led by Sándor Filep, mayor of Vásárosnamény, and Attila Tilki, the local Member of Parliament.
  
  
• $3,000 to the Carpathian Foundation (a Coalition member organization), to facilitate the further delivery of donations and goods, in cooperation with sister organizations in Slovakia and Ukraine. Their aid program focuses on specific donations to Subcarpathia; receiving and aiding the most vulnerable refugees (women, children, Roma) at the border; and providing safe, nurturing spaces for children in refugee settlements.
  
  
• $4,000 to ship medical supplies from the U.S. to Hungary, organized by Creative Cultural Exchange, Inc., a 501(c) non-profit organization and Coalition member. Its award-winning weCare Medical Donation Program collects, organizes, and ships medical supplies to hospitals throughout Hungary and the region. The current project is to ship and distribute specific supplies to support refugee aid, in cooperation with the Hungarian Maltese Charity Service.

The Carpathian Foundation’s flyer thanking its donors. The Foundation purchased and delivered medicine and medical supplies worth more than HUF 1 million ($3,000) to hospitals in Subcarpathia.

The Coalition continues to raise funds to aid Hungarian and Ukrainian refugees and encourages its members and supporters to consider helping this worthy cause. Our fundraiser campaign is available at the following link: https://www.facebook.com/donate/1060779347987875/4907940085960551/

You can also send a contribution via PayPal, indicating ‘Aid to Hungarian and Ukrainian refugees’ (click here); or you are welcome to send your tax-deductible donations via check to our mailing address:

Hungarian American Coalition
P.O. Box 57135
Washington, DC 20037

The Hungarian American Coalition will pass on 100% of all donations to our partner organizations and provide a 501(c)(3) receipt for your records.