CLACKAMAS — The Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative, which operates the BottleDrop network, announced Monday, March 21, it is engaging its emergency fund to support humanitarian relief services for Ukrainians through the Portland-based nonprofit Mercy Corps.

Mercy Corps is a global crisis response and humanitarian organization operating in more than 40 countries and has rapidly deployed teams to help people in Ukraine, Poland and Romania who have been displaced by the conflict in Ukraine.

Between now and April 10, BottleDrop is encouraging its Green Bag account holders — more than 810,000 — to make donations from their BottleDrop accounts to support Mercy Corps’ Ukraine relief efforts, according to the news release. The company also announced it will match those donations with a $25,000 contribution from the OBRC emergency fund. BottleDrop account holders can direct their donations by visiting BottleDropCenters.com/Ukraine and logging in to their accounts.

“A devastating catastrophe is unfolding in Ukraine and in the region, costing and threatening lives and livelihoods, driving families apart and causing mass displacement,” Mercy Corps communications director Lynn Hector said in the news release. “We are grateful for the immense generosity we’re seeing from people globally and here in our hometown community and across the State of Oregon to support our efforts to help Ukrainians in urgent need of assistance,” said Lynn Hector, director of communications at Mercy Corps.”

Oregonians also can donate Oregon 10-cent redeemable cans and bottles directly to this effort (and have their funds matched) by taking them to any BottleDrop Redemption Center and letting staff on site know they would like to donate them to Mercy Corps’ Ukraine relief efforts.

More than three million people have fled Ukraine since Feb. 24, leaving their homes, possessions and livelihoods. The United Nations estimated that 10 million Ukrainians — a quarter of their population — could be displaced inside and outside of the country.

“We are devastated by the tragedy in Ukraine, and we wanted to find a way to engage the BottleDrop network and help Ukrainians seeking safety, said Eric Chambers, director of external relations at OBRC. “Oregonians routinely put their bottles and cans to great use supporting nonprofits and community organizations. Now we have a chance to use our BottleDrop funds and redeemable containers to help our distant neighbors in Ukraine during this horrible crisis.”

BottleDrop at BottleDropCenters.com, including for location information.

Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative at OBRC.com.

Mercy Corps at mercycorps.org.