Its refugee agency (UNHCR) has launched a Kickstarter campaign asking the public for help to chip in funds, to buy water, sleeping bags and clothes for Syrian refugees flooding into Europe.
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Kickstarter, the crowdfunding website, on Tuesday launched a campaign for the coming week to encourage donations to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
A blog post by the White House outlined the dire situation emanating from the civil war in Syria: 12 million people displaced, and counting. The next goal, $1,225,000, would support 5,000 people.
“This is a complex and evolving crisis, and there are no overnight solutions”, UNHCR said.
The White House’s latest effort to stem the funding shortfall comes as hundreds of thousands of desperate refugees fleeing Syria’s bloodshed continue to arrive on European shores. “We’ve seen what the Kickstarter community can accomplish over the last six and a half years and we felt compelled to act”, Kazmark explains. And unlike previous projects, there are no prizes or rewards for contributing to this campaign, other than the satisfaction of having helped with the unfolding refugee crisis.
Residents inspect a site damaged by what activists said was a barrel bomb dropped by forces loyal to Syria’s president Bashar Al-Assad.
Joshua Miller, a White House director, said it would not be the first time a crowdfunding project did a few good.
The UNHCR, which is a partner in the campaign, is keen to make the point that small contributions can make a difference. And while anyone can donate to relief efforts directly through the agency’s homepage, aid groups hope the White House’s social media kick – flagged with the hashtag #AidRefugees – will draw more attention to the cause. A $70 donation provides two people with an emergency rescue kit, “including water, food, a thermal blanket, and dry clothes”, according to the Kickstarter site.
Airbnb said that its platform was not designed in a way that would help refugees find housing.
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As Syria’s conflict drags on into its fifth year, there are also fears that donor fatigue will set in. The $3.47 billion funding gap has resulted in the reduction of food assistance for 6 million refugees, the agency reported in June, while 750,000 children were not able to attend school.
