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Open Eyes, SoftServe’s corporate charity fund, and the band “Okean Elzy” have announced a joint charity project, “Drive for Life: Okean Elzy Edition.” The goal of this project is to purchase, equip, and deliver 30 ambulances to the front line.
This fall, the band will begin the next phase of their Help for Ukraine charity tour, celebrating the band’s 30th anniversary. The tour will take the band across Europe, North America, and the UK. “Okean Elzy” will donate a portion of the proceeds from ticket sales, as well as all proceeds from charity merchandise sales and auctions, to the Open Eyes fund to purchase and equip the ambulances. The band calls on everyone who continues to support Ukraine’s defenders, particularly combat medics, to join the campaign.
Over the past two and a half years, we have raised and delivered over UAH 250 million (over $6M) worth of aid through music, says Sviatoslav Vakarchuk, leader of Okean Elzy. During the previous tour in North America, we were able to deliver 100 Mavic 3 drones to the Armed Forces and the National Guard. This time, we are launching a major fundraising project in partnership with SoftServe’s fund to provide 30 fully equipped ambulances to the front line. I often visit the front and speak with medics, in particular. Their stories of incredible self-sacrifice, rescue, and sometimes loss and failure, touch me deeply. They need our help every day. So this time, we will focus on purchasing ambulances to save the lives of our defenders.
Since the beginning of the full-scale war, the Open Eyes charity fund has been supporting Ukrainian medics and hospitals, including sending ambulances to the front. As of the end of July, more than 170 medical units have received 242 ambulances from the fund. In cooperation with Okean Elzy, the fund plans to purchase another 30 ambulances and the necessary medical equipment.
This is the first partnership of this kind for our fund, and we are extremely proud to start this journey with Okean Elzy, comments Viktoriia Mishchuk, director of the Open Eyes fund. We share common values, and each of us has been systematically supporting Ukraine’s defenders in our own way. Now, we are joining forces to raise UAH 30 million for 30 ambulances by the end of the year to strengthen the medics who save lives every day. With the strong support of Okean Elzy, we believe we will be able to reach more hearts around the world and multiply the impact of our help.
The project is being launched as part of the 10th anniversary of the Open Eyes fund and the 30th anniversary of the band Okean Elzy. Anyone can join the charity project by making a donation for an ambulance on the Open Eyes fund’s website, and later on the band’s website using payment systems in Ukraine, Europe, the UK, and the US.
We urge those abroad to join us on tour in Europe, the US, Canada, and London. And if you’d like to congratulate us on our 30th anniversary, there is no better gift than a donation to this project!
Vakarchuk concludes.
