Sean Penn joins Krakow's aid for refugees

- We were all convinced that Europe so severely affected by the Second World War would never again witness the bestiality of war so directly. Unfortunately, this was not to be. But there is always balance in nature: we are dealing with unimaginable evil, but the last few weeks have also shown us how much good there is in us," said Kraków Mayor Jacek Majchrowski. He stressed that the city is doing its best to help refugees.  

- I would like to thank the inhabitants for this kindness, for the help, which was and still is immense. Above all, I would like to thank the foundation for all the actions it has taken," said the Mayor of Kraków.

 - What we've seen in any country in the world is that crises on this scale take more than a government and it needs citisen participation. CORE's history has been and will continue to be that while our innitial teams are populated by many expats we will soon be be a Polish-led and staffed organisation and we intend to stay the course," said Sean Penn.

He also pointed out that currently we are dealing with a very heartbreaking situation. This is a huge crisis for the whole world.

- With the private and public sectors as well as civil society we all have to step up. CORE is committed to providing support, both material and organisational, to help absorb the current flow of refugees and refugees to come. The Polish people are to be highly commanded, the Polish families who support and are hosting families from Ukraine," stressed Sean Penn.  

CORE will be working with Mayor Majchrowski and his office, provide financial support for volunteer, human resource efforts - declared Sean Penn.  

 - We are grateful to the CORE Foundation for bringing its know-how. This is extremely important in this situation. This collaboration will be a day-to-day support, as well as responding when dealing with minor problems or deeper crises. This is the first large foundation that has extended a helping hand to us - as a city, but also to its inhabitants. Thank you for this," said Deputy Mayor Andrzej Kulig.

CORE's cooperation with the city

The aim of the agreement is to provide humanitarian aid to Ukrainian refugees travelling through and settling in Kraków and to support Kraków in this regard. The cooperation will involve financial support for the activities of volunteers and employees who operate warehouses, a relocation and information centre at the Main Railway Station and carrying out of various aid activities, as well as the technical knowledge necessary to coordinate the work of volunteers. The Foundation also pledges to assist the informally operating refugee centres in Kraków and to support them in securing needs as they arise.

CORE's international activities

CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort) is a non-profit organization founded by actor Sean Penn in response to the earthquake that struck Haiti on 12 January 2010. While conducting relief efforts in Haiti, the organization employed nearly 350 people, 95 percent of whom were Haitian. It assisted 500,000 patients at two community clinics, providing free emergency care and basic medical care for a nominal amount. Extensive health and hygiene education campaigns were also conducted at these clinics. Since 2020, CORE has employed a team of over 100 people in Haiti working to rebuild communities.

In 2019, the organisation changed its name and added Ann Lee as a co-founder in order to receive contracts and donations for its work around the world.

In March 2020, due to the pandemic, CORE began conducting free testing for COVID-19 in the United States. As of June 2020, CORE has nearly 1,000 people working on the COVID-19 response at 45 testing sites, including 10 mobile sites, across the United States.

Currently, CORE is working in Poland to support the immediate needs of refugees from Ukraine.

CORE's initial efforts focus on distributing hygiene kits and providing cash assistance to refugees to help them gain access to safe shelter and life-saving items such as food and water.