Yorkshire Building Society has announced that it is making a £50,000 donation to the Disasters Emergency Committee’s (DEC) Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.
“The priority in Ukraine now is to help people with access to clean water, health care, and immediate support. The experts in organisations like the DEC are clear that in these circumstances, right here, right now, immediate financial support for their efforts on the ground is what will make the most difference. We can step up to provide real help with that, so we will,” Stephen White, interim chief executive at Yorkshire Building Society, said.
Yorkshire also announced that it is unrestricting the causes its employees can support through its paid volunteering scheme, which allocates each employee 31 hours paid leave every year, between now and Easter, to give practical help, sorting and packing donations in support of Ukraine.
Read more: Mortgage firms get behind Ukraine appeal.
Meanwhile, Skipton Building Society has pledged to do everything it can to enable any of its borrowers wanting to be part of the scheme to house refugees fleeing from Ukraine.
Stacey Stothard, head of sustainability at Skipton Building Society, said the company will also sign up to the scheme, offering any vacant properties it owns to refugee families.
“We, in particular, understand the emotional magnitude of having somewhere to call home, somewhere safe, and somewhere where we can live in peace. We simply cannot imagine how traumatising it must be to flee your home against your will, with just the possessions that you can carry, leaving friends, neighbours and loved ones behind,” Stothard said.
“As a mortgage lender we commit today to any of our customers wanting to offer space in their homes to refugees that we will do everything we can to make this happen irrespective of our lending criteria rules or the terms and conditions our customers signed when taking their Skipton mortgage. This is the right thing for us to do.”
Like Yorkshire, Skipton has also donated £50,000 to the DEC’s Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.
Read more: Skipton supports Ukraine appeal with £50,000 donation.
“We’ve already pledged £50,000 to the humanitarian effort. And we will also open our own doors and offer any vacant properties we own to Ukrainian families. Like everyone else, we eagerly await more details from the government, but this will be our starting point. The people fleeing the Ukraine deserve nothing less, and so much more,” Stothard said.
