Ukraine Take Shelter. Harvard students made a website connecting Ukrainian refugees with people who can offer them temporary shelter
Two Harvard freshmen Avi Schiffmann and Marco Burstein spent 3 sleepless days creating a suitable website for Ukrainian refugees.
The idea of making a website came up to Avi Schiffmann. He made a website for tracking the spread of the coronavirus two years ago and was presented at Webby Person of the Year award online in 2020 by Anthony S. Fauci.
He and his classmate launched Ukraine Take Shelter on March 3, 2022, a site in 12 languages where Ukrainian refugees fleeing war can immediately find hosts with spare rooms, unused resort condos, mother-in-law apartments, and school dormitories. To find a shelter refugees type in their current locations and dozens of host offers to pop up from the closest towns in neighboring countries. They can also specify the number of people who need shelter and whether they have pets or family members with special needs.
In the first week, more than 4,000 potential hosts around the world, including in the United States, have offered a place to stay through Ukraine Take Shelter, Schiffmann told the Washington Post, noting that the number of hosts grows each day.
