Local woman donates Airbnb rental stay in Ukraine

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – A creative campaign to get money directly into the hands of Ukrainians facing Russia’s invasion is getting support from around the world and at here at home.

The popular booking app, Airbnb, is serving as a direct tool to send immediate relief to Ukrainians.

People around the world are booking overnight stays at rentals in Ukraine without ever intending to show up in order to assist fleeing Ukrainians. Not only is this a direct line of support to a specific family, but for one local family it’s also a way to connect.

“We were able to immediately get money to people that were in need,” said Meredith Klapheke, a local woman who participated in the donation. “And also it was really neat to be able to talk to the person, even if it was just via email, back and forth, just to hear that this is a real life human that is in the middle of this. And every little bit helps.”

The CEO of Airbnb says that more than 61,000 nights were booked in 48 hours, raising almost $2 million for hosts in Ukraine.

The company also announced on their website that they will offer free short-term housing for up to 100,000 refugees.