CLACKAMAS, Ore. — Oregonians looking for a way to help Ukrainians impacted by the Russian invasion can help relief efforts through BottleDrop.
The Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative (OBRC), which operates the BottleDrop network, announced a fundraising campaign on Monday. Between now and April 10, green bag account holders can make donations from their BottleDrop accounts to support aid provided by Mercy Corps. OBRC will match donations with a $25,000 contribution from its emergency fund. People can also donate 10-cent redeemable cans and bottles by taking them to any BottleDrop center.
Mercy Corps, a Portland-based nonprofit, has deployed teams in Romania and Poland to get much-needed supplies into Ukraine and to help those needing to cross borders. The humanitarian organization also has a team inside Ukraine.
"We're grateful for the immense generosity we're seeing from people globally and here in our hometown community and across the state of Oregon to support our efforts to help Ukrainians in urgent need of assistance," Lynn Hector, the director of communications at Mercy Corps, said in a news release.
Since the Russian invasion began on Feb. 24, the United Nations estimates more than 10 million Ukrainians have fled from their homes, or nearly a quarter of Ukraine's population. The U.N. migration agency, IOM, said Monday that number includes an estimated 6.5 million people who are displaced within the country of Ukraine.
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