NP: From Google today. Information and ways to help. Be a Chum.

[Mark Kohut]

Connecting refugees with resources quickly

We’ve found that time is one of the most important factors in delivering
effective humanitarian support. Between 60-80% of aid sector funding is
spent on logistics
<https://reliefweb.int/report/world/strength-numbers-towards-more-efficient-humanitarian-aid-pooling-logistics-resources>
 alone. To help power faster humanitarian action, Google.org is announcing
a $1 million grant to NeedsList <https://needslist.co/> along with a Google.org
Fellowship
<https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/google-org/googleorg-fellowship>.
Through a free, public version of their crisis response software, NeedsList
plans to move over $50 million of resources to local aid organizations,
supporting 10 million people.

NeedsList is also operating Welcome.US’ Welcome Exchange
<https://welcome.us/exchange> to help those arriving from Afghanistan and
Ukraine with housing, employment, and technology resources. Welcome.US has
brought togethera coalition
<https://welcome.us/press/welcome-us-ceo-council-launches> of over 35 CEOs,
co-chaired by our CEO Sundar Pichai, to scale private sector support for
those seeking refuge. As part of our participation in the Welcome.US CEO
Council, Google has contributed $1 million in grant funding, $1 million in
donated search ads, and 30,000 Pixel phones to Welcome.US.
[image: A screenshot of the Welcome.US’ Welcome Exchange platform that
shows how needs and offers are displayed in the northeastern US.]

Google.org has also supported Signpost
<https://www.rescue.org/press-release/signpost-digital-initiative-reaches-1-million-people-across-three-continents>,
a platform which provides information on critical services like legal
rights, accommodation, transportation and medical care, since the 2015
civil war in Syria and through the Venezualean refugee crisis in 2019. This
year, supported by 15 Google.org Fellows
<https://www.google.org/our-approach/#fellowship> and additional grant
funding, Signpost partnered with United for Ukraine
<https://unitedforukraine.org.ua/> to build out unitedforukraine.org — an
effort to help displaced people find housing, legal aid and psychological
support. This project, along with Google.org grantee Outright Action
International’s Ukraine Emergency Fund
<https://notifications.google.com/g/p/AD-FnEyKTQ0chisyI7O6n1aWzQS6nXc7wYK3TltDAezI-2b356IbSR6ru1r3Ycw6YP_P81IDtts6qxVS40bQctEQzKMOJc9uE3zxzKmXoDm0>
 for LGBTQ+ refugees, are providing meaningful support for those affected
by the war in Ukraine.