The co-founders of the online booking and accommodation service Airbnb — Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, and the couple Nathan and Elizabeth Blecharczyk — made a commitment to make a donation of up to US$ 10 million this Tuesday (15). 51.7 million) to Airbnb.org, after the nonprofit announced two weeks ago that it will provide free short-term housing for up to 100,000 refugees from Ukraine.
According to the Airbnb Blog, the organization’s “parents” have been touched by the way the Airbnb.org community has embraced the cause of providing housing for the Ukrainian outcasts. Launched on February 28, the program has already received offers from 21,500 people worldwide, offering their homes for sharing, 14,000 of which in Europe. What is most impressive is that a quarter of the bidders are not an Airbnb Host.
Airbnb.org campaign results
In order for Airbnb.org to be able to cover the costs and meet its target of allocating 100,000 refugees from Ukraine, it has already received, in the initial two weeks of the campaign, US$ 17 million (R$ 87.7 million) from Airbnb Inc. and its founders, more than US$ 625 thousand (R$ 3.2 million) from employees, in addition to US$ 5.2 million (R$ 26.8 million) in direct donations of small amounts.
Utah Jazz, the eponymous foundation of the Salt Lake City basketball team, also joined the campaign on Wednesday, offering more than 32,200 nights of temporary housing to Ukrainians who have left their homes. .
To connect refugees from Ukraine with the housing on offer, Airbnb.org works with several partnerships across Europe, such as the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the government of Germany. But anyone in the world can participate. To get involved, simply access the campaign website, promoting, making donations, or offering free (or discounted) stays.
