FIA SPORT AND MOBILITY MEMBER CLUBS JOIN FORCES TO SUPPORT UKRAINE
In reaction to the humanitarian and refugee crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, several FIA Member Organisations in both Sport and Mobility have mobilised to provide support and assistance to the Ukrainian people in these difficult times.
Some Clubs have been very reactive and have started collecting essential goods to be sent to Ukraine or to the zones welcoming refugees. It is the case of the Magyar Autoklub (MAK Hungary) which called upon its members, employees and partners to donate essential products such as hygienic products, baby care products and non-perishable foods. Donations can be done across the 66 locations of the Club across the country and will be delivered to the Ukrainian border. Österreichischer Automobil- Motorrad – und Touring Club (ÖAMTC Austria) has also organised support and is sending aid transports to Moldova. A first shipment carrying medical goods, blankets, rain ponchos, hygiene, and baby articles was sent on 4 March. In Latvia, the Latvijas Automobiļu Federācija organised a collection of humanitarian aid for Ukraine in a collaboration with the country’s Embassy in Riga.
Actions were also taken to facilitate the transport of these essential goods with Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club (ADAC Germany) very significantly reducing the cost of renting vans for volunteers wishing to rent a van to drive supplies to the Ukrainian border, and Automobile Club Du Luxembourg (ACL Luxembourg) providing a van and offering the help of its employees to ensure the transport to the SHUK reception centre of the clothes designed by the association “LUkraine” to meet the urgent needs of women and children who have arrived recently deprived of everything.
Other Members provided financial support by donating to existing humanitarian organisations or by creating dedicated funds. Algemene Nederlandse Wielrijders Bond (ANWB Netherlands) donated €125,000 to “Giro555”, a dutch relief coordination organisation and ACL Luxembourg made a donation to the Red Cross while the Latvijas Automobiļu Federācija (Latvia) set up a fund where donations can be made for Ukraine. In Germany, the ADAC is supporting Aktion Deutschland Hilft, the alliance of German aid organisations, and published a link on its website to invite people to donate to the alliance to support Ukrainian citizens.
Clubs such as the ADAC Germany, ÖAMTC Austria, ANWB Netherlands, Automobil Clubul Roman (ACR Romania), Automobil Club Din Moldova (ACM Moldova), Autoklub Slovakia Assistance (ASA Slovakia), MAK Hungary, have also mobilised to help Ukrainian refugees driving by car on their territory if they need breakdown assistance.
Other Clubs expressed their strong commitment to help Ukraine and its refugees. The Federation of Auto Sport of Kosovo showed its support to the Automobile Federation of Ukraine (FAU) in a letter and offered to provide accommodation for up to 30 members of the FAU and their family until the end of these difficult times. Hrvatski Autoklub (HAK Croatia) also decided to make its support visible by illuminating its headquarters with the Ukrainian colours.
More information about FIA Clubs’ initiatives to support Ukraine will soon be published on a dedicated page on fia.com that will be updated regularly. All FIA Member Clubs who have offered any form of support to Ukraine and its citizens are invited to contact members@fia.com and tell their story. We will do our best to cover this in the next issue of the FIA Sport and Mobility Newsletters.