About Us
We run shelters in and around Jarosław, Poland. They provide the best possible quality of life for hundreds of Ukrainian refugee women and children
Our (short) story
February 2022
Vladimir Putin launched his brutal invasion of Ukrainian
on 24 February. The following day, Patrycjusz Gaweł –
a local property developer
in Jaroslaw, Poland – gathered a group of friends to try and offer refugees shelter. That band of volunteers quickly became a registered charity, Fundacja Unitatem – which,
in English, we call Poland Welcomes. We were soon offering shelter to hundreds of Ukrainian women and children.
In our first 3 months, we started running 3 big shelter buildings – in Jarosław, Radymno and Boratyn, all close to the Ukrainian border in south-eastern Poland. Volunteers fixed bathrooms, painted walls and built bunk beds. We formed a partnership with Compass Group to provide daily hot meals to our Ukrainian guests – and a supportive partnership with International Organization for Migration, an agency of the UN. Nearly 1,000 refugees took shelter with us.
June 2022
We now have more than 20 staff, a monthly turnover of over US$100,000, and supportive donors all over Europe and the US. But UNHCR estimates that up to 750,000 more refugees will flee to Poland from Ukraine in the harsh winter months. Poland Welcomes wants to scale up from 700 to 1,300 beds – but our funding is not secure. If you can, please donate so that we can continue to do our vital work.
November 2022
Vladimir Putin launched his brutal invasion of Ukrainian
on 24 February. The following day, Patrycjusz Gaweł –
a local property developer
in Jaroslaw, Poland – gathered a group of friends to try and offer refugees shelter. That band of volunteers quickly became a registered charity, Fundacja Unitatem – which,
in English, we call Poland Welcomes. We were soon offering shelter to hundreds of Ukrainian women and children.
By the
Numbers
20+
People employed
The Poland Welcomes Team
Our board of directors
Patrycjusz
Gaweł
Founder and President
Gabriela Gaweł
Board member
Paweł
Szczepanik
Vice-President
Maciej Gumiński
Board member
