One million zlotys, 16 projects, 2000 beneficiaries. The Sisterhood has settled the 2nd Edition of the Grant Programme

The collection of applications for co-financing under the 2nd Edition of the Programme ended on 30 November. The maximum grant amount that organizations could apply for is 75,000 zlotys. Over 300 applications for co-financing were submitted in the 2nd Edition of the Grant Programme. The Polish-Ukrainian Sisterhood decided to award grants to 16 organizations. In total, they will receive almost a million zlotys, which was collected in the "Hi Girls!" Fund.

– We had an idea at Kulczyk Foundation, which was born very quickly. Let's create a Fund that will support our Sisters from Ukraine. Let's get a group of women together who understand the needs of both sides and want to get involved. Let's invest the collected money in the best initiatives that will allow, at least partially, to restore balance in a reality so disturbed by the war. Today, twelve months later, we already know that we succeeded. We moved from ideas and words to deeds and facts - said Dominika Kulczyk, President of the Kulczyk Foundation.

The projects from the 2nd Edition of the "Hi Girls!" are to help over 2,000 women and children from Ukraine. The projects that will be implemented under the grants are scattered all over Poland. They will be implemented by organizations from Warsaw, Gdańsk, Poznań, Toruń, Łódź and Olsztyn. The full list of winners of the programme is available at www.czescdziewczyny.pl

The grants were officially awarded during the last meeting of the Polish-Ukrainian Sisterhood. The winners of the 1st Edition of the Programme also met with the Sisters, convincing during the talks how difficult long-term help is.

– In our project, we focused on girls with higher education. Many people have left their businesses and careers in Ukraine. For women, there is nothing worse than professional degradation. That is why we teach them how to run a business in Poland, how to run a business, how to promote it. It's important to give these girls a choice. With one life, you can have a second chance. There will never be too much help. Queues for language learning or psychological help, which we provide, never end - judged Julia Bogusławska, coordinator of the project: "Ukrainian woman in Poland".

In the previous, 1st Edition of the Programme, the Sisterhood granted nearly one million zlotys to 11 organizations. Grants were awarded to projects implemented in Kraków, Bielsko-Biała, Żywiec and Suwałki. One of them took over the organization of summer camps for children who came to Poland from Ukraine.

– We found a house in Marki, renovated it, and invited Ukrainian children to the camp. New people came to us for two weeks. A total of 350 children who, thanks to the grant, had a wonderful time. They met specialists. They took part in sports and cultural activities. They got to know beautiful Warsaw. We are very grateful for that. This has become possible thanks to the Kulczyk Foundation and the Sisterhood. We hope that this is not our last joint project - said Natalia Voloshko from the "Educational Center Children of Ukraine" Foundation

Money awarded as part of grants is collected at the "Hi Girls!" Fund. One million zlotys was donated to the Fund by Dominika Kulczyk, the President of the Kulczyk Foundation. The collection for long-term help is conducted on the Foundation's accounts and via the Patronite portal: www.patronite.pl/czescdziewczyny

With the start of the Grant Programme, the Kulczyk Foundation also launched the "Hi Girls!" Center. So far, the workshops organized in Ogrodowa street in Warsaw were attended by over 1,350 women and children from Ukraine. This includes Polish language classes, integration, information, and assistance meetings. Most of them are run by refugee women.

The Polish-Ukrainian Sisterhood is a coalition of women from Poland and Ukraine, which was established as a gesture of solidarity with Ukrainian women fleeing the war. The Sisterhood grants funding under the "Hi Girls!" Grant Programme. The grants go to social initiatives aimed at improving the situation of Ukrainian women and children.