Paul Niland, an Irish businessman and CEO of Statement Email, writer, and political commentator living in Ukraine, has launched a new crowdfunding platform to gather funds for Ukrainian veterans which at the same time allows individuals to show they have contributed to this campaign and show their patriotism. By donating $10 annually to help veterans of the war in Donbas recover, donors will also get a signature for their email, ending in @UkrainianPatriot.com.
75% of the amount goes to Patriot Defence, a charity which started out providing NATO-standard medical kits to the frontline and is now helping Ukrainian soldiers with PTSD. In partnership with Pobratymy, they will be building and implementing the courses and programs to help veterans.
The initial goal of this initiative is to raise needed funds to help Ukraine’s war veterans find the necessary support and understanding needed to assist them in dealing with the horrors they have witnessed as they have defended their country against Russian aggression.
The number of Ukrainian servicemen and women who have taken their own lives following service to their country is disputed: official figures put the number of veteran suicides at just over 500, while some estimates exceed 1,000. Ukraine’s situation today is not unique: service personnel, existing and former, worldwide are at a higher risk for experiencing Post-Traumatic Stress (PTS) and other psychological difficulties as they try to reintegrate into civilian life after military service.
“There’s no similar project in the world, not just in Ukraine. We have built and launched a new crowdfunding platform. This is unique. As I said earlier though the kicker with this is people can show they’ve contributed. No other crowdfunding platform has a way contributors can show that they took part other than their names appearing fleetingly on a list,” Paul Niland told Euromaidan Press.
The other 25%, Mr.Niland explained, covers the operational costs of the charity, half of which is a tax burden, as Statement Email’s HQ is located in Cyprus, the legislature of which does not allow tax relief for charities registered in other countries. However, expenses of the charity are likely to drop in the future,, as the company’s accountants intend to lobby the Cyprus government to get this tax relief.
More information is available at the presentation of the platform at the Ukrainian Crisis Media Center and on the website of Ukrainian patriot.
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