University of St Andrews Ukraine appeal raises over £75,000

An appeal launched to raise funds to support University of St Andrews students directly affected by the war in Ukraine has raised more than £75,000 in just a few hours.

The University’s Ukraine Hardship Appeal, which was launched in an email to all staff and students from the Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sally Mapstone FRSE, earlier this week, has received donations of over £75,000 from members of the Development Family Programme, mostly parents of students currently studying at St Andrews. Several generous donations have also been made by University staff who learned of the appeal in the Principal’s Ukraine update this week.

The Appeal, which now has more than 100 donors, will be launched to St Andrews global alumni family in the coming days.

The funds are being used to support over 100 students from the regions affected by the Russian Government’s invasion of Ukraine. Most of them are currently in St Andrews, while a small number remain in Ukraine and Russia.

The war has made futures uncertain, separated families, cut off access to funding and living expenses, and increased stress and mental health pressures hugely.

If the conflict continues, some of the St Andrews community may not be able to return home to Ukraine or Russia at the end of the semester.

The Hardship Appeal fund aims to provide peace of mind that St Andrews will remain a safe and supportive haven for anyone directly affected by the war.

Some of the University’s Development team members were moved to tears by the response and it is confirmation that the University can make a small but positive difference to lives which have been upended by the war.

Director of Development at St Andrews, Robert Fleming, said: “We’re watching these terrible events unfold on our TV screens and I imagine a lot of us have been feeling utterly powerless, as I have.

“I know that I and others have been following Professor Phillips O’Brien and colleagues in the School of International Relations closely as they provide expert comment and analysis on the war, a reminder that the independent academic voice has never been more important.

“The other way that St Andrews is showing that it can make a difference is in the generosity of colleagues, the parents of our students, and our wider family of alumni.

“Many of my team gave to the appeal when it launched, but they’ve been particularly moved by the warmth and speed of response from parents. We’ve been inundated with messages of support and promises of further help.”