NFT collection designed to save Ukrainians: the Helping to Leave project
In the modern world, cryptocurrencies have become a powerful and innovative tool for charity. During the war in Ukraine, representatives of the crypto community have donated tens of millions of dollars, and the creation and sale of NFTs not only allows to allocate additional funds to charity, but also serves as another way to tell the world about the situation in Ukraine.
In this article, we will talk about our partners in charity, Helping to Leave, and how cryptocurrencies and NFTs help them to save the affected people in Ukraine.
Helping to Leave is a charitable organization that helps Ukrainians affected by russia's military aggression to evacuate from dangerous areas and receive the immediate assistance. Over two years, they has helped more than 167,000 people to receive informational, financial and psychological assistance, or evacuate to a safer area in Ukraine or to the EU.
In November 2023, the Helping to Leave website has improved crypto donation functionality with Whitepay, a very convenient and secure gateway to accept crypto payments. All funds are safely stored with WhiteBIT, one of the largest European crypto exchanges that has Ukrainian roots and is chosen by more than 4 million users worldwide.
With the help of Whitepay, Helping to Leave is now able to accept over 140 different cryptocurrencies from any cryptocurrency wallet or CEX. Whitepay guarantees a high level of protection for processed funds and poersonal data by using a multi-layered security system. A one-time QR-code is generated for each transaction.
During the following two months after the gateway integration, users have donated ~$1,500 through the platform.
Why cryptodonations?
Helping to Leave has consistently highlighted the exceptional value of crypto donations in enabling their work. What are the benefits of cryptocurrency for the charity?
One of the priority areas of Helping to Leave's work is the evacuation of Ukrainians from the territories temporarily occupied by russia. This activity has its own specifics, as it is currently possible to take people out of the occupation and into the territories controlled by Ukraine only through the territory of russia. Helping to Leave performs difficult evacuations of people with limited mobility, which requires not only significant finances but also painstaking organization of the departure of people who cannot travel a long way and take care of themselves. Crypto donations have a significant advantage over other donation options, as they allow you to pay for various services during the evacuation process quickly, profitably and, most importantly, anonymously.
NFT collection designed to save Ukrainians
Marking 22 months since russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, Helping to Leave launched a special project: an #NFT collection that consists of unique images and the real stories of Ukrainians evacuated from areas of military conflict.
In 22 months of russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Helping to Leave’s volunteers have evacuated more than 53,000 Ukrainians. The images in the collection are based on the real stories of the people they helped. Each story is available in the description of the token.
Mariupol, Bakhmut, Izyum, Kharkiv, Kakhovka, and Kherson are just some of the locations from where Helping to Leave managed to evacuate older people, mothers with children, and people with serious health issues. Each story is about the grief, fear, pain, and hope that these people experienced losing their loved ones, their home, and their usual life. With the consent of the heroes, their names, routes, and evacuation details have been preserved.
Why NFTs/crypto: the new fundraising methods
Helping to Leave: “We can't stop the war, yet we can draw attention to the cause and help evacuate more Ukrainians, using the newest technology trends and reaching new audiences”.
The stories of people assisted by the Helping to Leave organization can help save the lives of other Ukrainians. With the funds raised, Helping to Leave will be able to carry out the most complex evacuations, including those that require medical support for people with limited mobility.
It is crypto donations/funding that allows volunteers to take people out of the temporarily occupied territories, where people face human rights violations, unlawful interrogations, and torture. The final goal of Helping to Leave is for all Ukrainians to be safe in a free Ukraine.
Purchase an NFT. Each one will cover the cost of one or more of the upcoming evacuations by Helping to Leave.
The token pricing is categorized according to the complexity of the evacuation process. For example, ~2.2 SOL – a regular evacuation cost for one person; ~10 SOL – the cost of evacuation of a person with limited mobility (for 1 SOL ~ $100).
What makes NFTs a valid and authentic tool for fundraising?
- NFTs represent unique digital items such as digital art, music, videos, or virtual experiences, and perfectly fall under the definition of collectibles.
- NFTs help charity organizations reach a global audience, as digital assets can be easily shared and traded worldwide. This widens the scope of potential supporters and donors beyond geographical boundaries.
What makes NFTs special?
- NFTs serve as a digital record of ownership.
- The limited edition: The exclusivity and uniqueness of digital collectibles may increase their perceived value with time, especially if the collection is dedicated to an important cause or event.
- NFTs can be sold on secondary markets to collectors (but do not take this as financial advice).
- Blockchain technology, which underlies NFTs, provides transparency and traceability of transactions.
What blockchain and tools are used for token minting/storing?The collection is #minted on Solana Network, the SolSea platform – the first open NFT marketplace on Solana with integrated minting. It introduces NFTs with embedded licenses (NFT-PROs), calculates Rarity Rank for collections, and is regularly updated with new features. By buying an NFT, you become the owner of the token(s) and can resell the NFTs or keep them in your digital wallet.