Between Monday 14 March and Thursday 17 March, over 70 staff and students are cycling the 1,070 mile journey on spin bikes at the University’s Collegiate Campus.
So far, the team have raised more than £8,000 for the Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine appeal and are aiming for over £10,000 by tomorrow (Thursday).
The campaign was launched by members of the Department of Law, but participation has spread across the University. Among those cycling was the University’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Chris Husbands.
Senior Lecturer in Law Gillian Pastuch, and Severyna Magill Senior Lecturer in Human Rights, both co-organisers of the fundraiser have familial connections to Ukraine. Gillian’s late grandfather was born there, before moving to the UK after the Second World War and Severyna’s 92 year-old grandmother was born in Lviv and now lives in Poland.
Gillian said: “I know I have other colleagues in the same position and a lot of us still have friends and family in the country.
“We wanted to do something with our students where we could all work together and have a bit of a united front to do something positive in a really horrendous situation.
“I’m sure we all feel the same in that whatever we do is not enough in this situation, but it is something. As well as being a tangible help in that it’s raising money, it’s also improving people’s morale in a really difficult time.”
Severyna said: “This illegal war is a horrific crime against the people of Ukraine and against the principles of rights and freedom. It’s therefore so nice to staff and students coming together to demonstrate their solidarity with the people of Ukraine and standing up for social justice and human rights.
“My grandmother was born in Lviv and the international lawyers Raphael Lemkin, and Hersch Lauterpacht who developed both the crime of genocide, and crimes against humanity studied there, so Ukraine feels like my cultural and ideological home.”
The money raised will go to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), an organisation working to provide shelter, food and medical assistance to Ukrainian people.
Alongside the sponsored cycle is a charity sale, with cakes, candles, and ribbons bearing the colours of the Ukraine flag on offer.
Staff from the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice at Sheffield Hallam University, led by Professor Sital Dhillon OBE, have also established a resources page of useful advice and information for anyone affected by the invasion.
The team have set up a JustGiving page for donations.
