The Latest on How the Church Is Helping Refugees in Europe

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is actively involved in relief effort for refugees in Europe. This page provides a summary of recent updates.

Are you looking for a way to help? Through decades of experience in providing assistance during natural disasters, refugee crises and other humanitarian conditions, the Church has developed a tested and proven model for identifying needs and providing assistance. This model includes empowering local leaders to use the Church’s financial resources to purchase goods and services in the local economy to provide what is truly needed. Visit this link to donate to the Church’s humanitarian aid efforts.

June 10, 2022

• Over the past two months, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Europe has provided over 1,000 pallets of food for Ukrainians. Combined with earlier relief, the Church’s humanitarian donations in Ukraine total over 900 tons of food and other provisions.
  
  Read more at the UK Newsroom.

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May 23, 2022

• As the conflict in Europe enters a fourth month, see how Latter-day Saints in Poland and Ukraine continue to help refugees.
  
  “There’s such a feeling of love and acceptance [in Poland],” one woman said. “If the whole world were to act like the Polish people are acting, I think the whole world would turn around. … There’s such goodness here. I hope that spreads to the whole world.”
  
  See this link for a story and a video from Warsaw.

May 9, 2022

• A chapel in Lviv, Ukraine, is functioning as a way station where beleaguered refugees can find food, shelter and a shower.
  
  Kym Reichart of Germany, who delivers relief supplies to the building, said “it is humbling to be a part of the Lord`s storehouse here in Europe.” Latter-day Saints everywhere, she added, should know what is happening in Europe. “When we live in safety, I hope we do not get comfortable with our security,” she said. “The need is still there and does not go away in the short term. It is a long haul for so many.”
  
  Read more at the UK Newsroom.

April 21, 2022

• The Church of Jesus Christ in Europe continues to help refugees. This outreach includes projects in in the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom to procure shoes, medical supplies and welcome packs. See the full story at the UK Newsroom.

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April 8, 2022

• From Hungary and Slovakia to the Czech Republic and Iceland, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints continue to rapidly unite to help refugees. Here is the latest from the UK Newsroom. 

April 4, 2022

• Latter-day Saints throughout Europe continue to find ways to help refugees. This update from the UK Newsroom highlights service rendered in the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Moldova, Poland and Slovakia.

March 30, 2022

• Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles posted a social media message about his experience as a refugee in Europe during World War II.

March 25, 2022

The Church of Jesus Christ has committed an additional US$4 million to humanitarian efforts in Europe. (See this article from March 14 about a similar contribution.) This latest donation will help these seven projects:

• Food for food hubs in Europe, where this sustenance will be picked up and delivered to those in need within Ukraine.
• Project HOPE’s efforts to provide refugees with first aid, medication, hygiene supplies, infant care kits, shelter and trauma counseling.
• International Medical Corps’ work to provide refugees in Poland with medication, medical equipment and personal protective gear.
• Food for Estonian Food Bank to feed 17,500 refugees for one month.
• Underwear and other clothing for 30,000 women and children at the Polish border, distributed via the Przemysl Municipality.
• The Association of Neonatologists of Ukraine’s efforts to provide antibiotics for infants in Ukraine. Some newborns are suffering from fungal lung disease because they are being born in hospital basements. These antibiotics will be administered through established clinics within the country.
• Jesuit Refugee Service’s work to provide shelter, transportation, food, water, medical care and psychological support for children and the elderly in Ukraine, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo and Macedonia.

The Church of Jesus Christ continues to be engaged in many other similar projects throughout Europe. Read about them at the UK Newsroom.

March 22, 2022

• Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles made the following comment in a devotional address at Brigham Young University: “I am confident that our Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son are pleased with … what we are doing collectively as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and in association with others. As but one example, the aid to alleviate suffering arising in the current war targeting Ukraine is truly Christlike. We consistently try to focus on the need at hand and not let the right hand know what the left hand is doing, but I hope that as a Church we can provide more comprehensive accounts going forward so that you will know more about what you are doing as part of the body of Christ to feed His sheep.”

March 18, 2022

• The Europe Area continues to take an active part in relief efforts. See this article on the UK Newsroom for recent Latter-day Saint outreach in Poland, Italy, Germany, Sweden, France, Denmark and Austria.
• The Church is helping IsraAID (Israel’s largest humanitarian aid organization) with a project in Moldova for Ukrainian refugees. IsraAID is distributing essential relief items and setting up areas to help parents and children overcome the trauma of being forced to flee or witness violence. IsraAID is also providing self-care and psychological first aid to first responders. The project will benefit some 70,000 people.
• The Church is working with Caritas (an organization inspired by the teachings of Catholicism) in Bulgaria to support 8,300 Ukrainian refugees with one month’s worth of food, shelter and medical care. The project supports Bulgaria’s economy because the food comes from local grocery stores.

March 14, 2022

• The Church has given US$2 million each to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Programme (WFP) to help those displaced by the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. This gift from the Church to the UNHCR will help an estimated 40,000 displaced families. The Church’s donation will help the WFP provide food for some 11,000 people for four months. Read more.

March 11, 2022

• In Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Spain, Latter-day Saints are helping refugees with food, clothing, baby items, shelter and more. Carmen Pârnău, a volunteer in Romania, said she has witnessed heartbreaking scenes. “I have seen many mothers with little children that struggled because of the cold weather and extreme exhaustion.” Stacy Chandler, a local women’s leader in Poland, said this humanitarian crisis “will change the face of the Church in Poland forever.” Read more at the UK Newsroom.

March 5, 2022

• An update on service rendered in Austria, Germany, Poland, Prague and Ukraine: The Kyiv Stake presidency is helping Latter-day Saints who live in the stake boundaries. The Austria Vienna stake is also collecting and organizing supplies to be distributed by leaders in Kyiv. Missionaries in Berlin are visiting train stations with large signs showing the languages they speak. They are helping refugees from Ukraine find transportation and other assistance. Two trucks loaded with supplies from the Church departed from Frankfurt, Germany, for Hungary and Romania. Donated items include 1,000 sleeping bags, 500 cots and 10 tents. The Order of Malta and the Red Cross in Hungary and the Jesuit Refugee Service in Romania are distributing these items to refugees who arrive in those countries. Visit the UK Newsroom for more information.