Northampton mum helps raise £20,000 for Hope4 in bid to support southern-Ukrainians fleeing war

An international bid to raise cash for Hope4 has been joined by a Northampton mum as they fundraise to help families fleeing across the Moldova border in the south of Ukraine.

The bid is the brainchild of Northampton-based "LinkedIn expert" Lea Turner and reportedly involves a collaboration of LinkedIn experts from "around the globe" to assist those at various sites, including near to the Black Sea port of Odessa.

Lea has enlisted the help of UK-based John Espirian, Ariel Lee and Andy Foote in the US, Netherlands-based Richard van der Blom, and Michelle Raymond in Sydney.

The mum-of-one, who is 36, said she was compelled to act after she had nightmares one night about the fate of Ukrainian families.

She said: “I had a goal in mind of £5,000 by the end of the week, but the LinkedIn community came out in force to support my efforts, achieving over £20,000 in less than four days. I am absolutely mind blown by the response.

“I was pointed towards a post by Chris Lomas of Hope4, who are on the ground in Moldova.

“As money started pouring into my Stripe account which holds it for a week, I immediately started transferring it from my own business account to avoid any delay.

“We sent £1,650 within the first few hours, and another £1,650 later that day, followed by £4,000 on Sunday, and £5,000 Monday, and the money keeps coming in.

“It's been put to immediate use to buy a tumble dryer, microwaves, food, blankets, and pay for heating at the refugee camps which are fast filling with mostly women and children.

“Chris and his small team have been travelling up and down the border of Moldova to camps buying food and provisions for hundreds of refugees.”

Together, the LinkedIn influencers have around 300,000 followers and are set to share their top tips in a paid-for online masterclass.

Hope4, founded by London management consultant Chris Lomas, which began with providing food to impoverished families across Hampshire in 2019, has been based in Moldova for a year. It has already seen a £20,000 cash injection with more funds hoped to be raised in the weeks ahead.

Chris Lomas added: “The need on the ground is massive. Moldova is Europe's poorest country, but has allowed more than 100,000 refugees through its borders, without the infrastructure to cope.

“That means the system is breaking, placing greater pressures on people and institutions. The support we've received means that we can get emergency support to thousands of refugees and those supporting them.

"We are incredibly grateful to Lea Turner, and her LinkedIn colleagues who are making real, tangible and life-changing impact on the ground for Ukrainian refugees.”

As many as four million people are expected to be displaced over the course of the Ukrainian crisis. Funds like these may need to stretch a long way to make sure everyone is looked after.