Hollywood star Mila Kunis has launched a fundraiser for Ukraine alongside her actor husband, Ashton Kutcher. The actress wants to secure $30 million in donations and has already reached the halfway mark of $18 million and counting in just four days.
Kunis and Kutcher shared a video on Instagram to update the kind people who have heeded their call to raise money for Ukraine. The couple also took this chance to thank the public for their support.
Kutcher said that at least 14,000 people had made pledges to the GoFundMe page he created with his wife. In the video, Kunis also introduced several company CEOs to speak about how the fundraiser will help finance efforts for displaced families in Ukraine.
Proud American, Proud Ukrainian
In another video, Kunis said that she is a proud American and has loved everything about the U.S. since her family arrived in the 1990s. Kunis was born in 1983 in Ukraine and said that she is devastated for what's happening in her birthplace. Despite this, Kunis also said that she is a proud Ukrainian as they have shown bravery amid the threats from Russia.
Kunis was only seven years old when her family immigrated to the U.S. Ukraine was still part of the Soviet Union with Russia at that time, but communism was already falling in the region. At that time, Kunis' parents didn't tell them where they were moving until they got on the plane to Los Angeles.
"Nowadays, if you have money, you think Moscow is great," Kunis said in one interview in 2011. "But that's not the reality of the Russia I grew up with."
Speaking on HourzzTV, Kunis said she didn't have any clue about America, the language, and the people. She admitted that the move was "jarring and shocking" that she cried a lot in her sleep during her first year in the U.S.
Soon, Kunis acclimated to American life and landed a role in "That 70's Show" with Kutcher. In 2015 or years after their show ended, Kunis and Kutcher found each other again and married.
The actress, who has two kids with Kutcher, also explained that she and her husband would support the refugees who have left "everything they know and love" as the Russians invade their country. With most families carrying just the clothes on their backs, Kunis said that countless would need basic supplies and housing accommodations.
Besides organizing this fundraiser, Kunis and Kutcher also pledged $3 million for the Ukrainian refugees. Airbnb offered to provide short-term housing for the displaced while Flexport sent care supplies and relief packages in Romania, Moldova, Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia. Many Ukrainians have found safer places to live.
Other Hollywood Celebrities Helping Ukraine
Reese Witherspoon has donated to Kunis and Kutcher's fundraiser while husband and wife Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively pledge $1 million to the UNICEF Foundation's fundraising drive for Ukraine.
Top model Gigi Hadid has also donated her Fashion Month earnings to the relief efforts. "Real Housewives" reality TV star Bethenny Frankel's foundation, BStrong, is also doing a fundraiser in partnership with Global Empowerment Mission, which is on the ground in Poland in the border of Ukraine.
Related Article : Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively to Match $1 Million Donation for Families Displaced by the Ukraine Invasion
