The small community fundraises for Ukraine

Since the beginning of the Russian attack on Ukraine, we had great support in the community of our Shattuck-St. Mary's Forest City International School and were able to conduct a few successful fundraising campaigns to support Ukrainian military forces and provide humanitarian aid for those affected. 

                                          #StandWithUkraine support notes in our lift lobby

The first event happened just a few days after the start of the war, and the support we felt was a huge moral boost for our family. The news about war sent us into a state of shock and stupor we couldn't shake off. So it was really helpful to get together with our small community, listen to the words of support and understand that actually we can make a difference. Small difference, but a difference all the same. That day we managed to raise almost 800USD. 

We shared that amount among several Ukrainian NGOs that work in the war zone and sent part of it directly to the people we knew in the civil defense of Kyiv. Hopefully, that small input helped someone to stay alive in the time of war. Thoughts like these gave us at least some comfort in that tough time. And it felt good to be part of such a supportive community.

Treats for those who joined the event

We had a lot of helpers organizing the second event in the school. We had a charity book sale from Violet Lemay, we had cake and coffee from our lovely teachers here and we managed to raise another 400USD which we sent to the Humanitarian fond of the Ukrainian National Bank.

The author and illustrator Violet Lemay sells her books to support Ukraine

 

Without our encouragement or even knowledge, the Junior Leadership Team of our school held a car wash for donation marathon, raising another 450USD to send to the WithUkraine platform.

Students of the SSMFC wash a car to raise money for Ukraine

Just before the summer break, we found out that the friends of ours, the twin brothers Den and Dmytro whom Oksana knew since the time she lived in Donetsk (a city taken by Russia in 2014) joined the Special Operation Forces of Ukraine and their newly formed unit had some specific needs. Again, with the help of our supportive school community and other international friends, we raised almost 500 USD and were able to buy 4 pairs of top-quality combat boots and 2 pairs of specialized anti-concussion earmuffs for them. All the stuff, ordered from Germany and the US arrived to Ukraine safely and the brothers were able to pick it up before they are sent to the frontline. They are officially servicemen now, so they are not allowed to share the photos showing their faces, but still managed to produce the photo-report for us. 

Haix combat boots - waterproof, breathing, with the toes-box protection and melt-proof out sole. The best quality we could find

 

Can't share their faces now, but I can tell they look satisfied

We are grateful to all our friends who supported our initiatives, since the start of the war: Mai, Undrea, Wendy, Euan, Esther, George, Lianne, Mark, Javi, Dani, Shan, Mike, Violet, Fred, Glenda, Miel, Michelle, Chris, Ibuki, Tripti, Reaz, Eymir, Chelsea and Jordan, Pearly, Adele, Ian, Cici, Nicola, LiTeen, Jia, Gregg, Jaques, Yen, Aki, Olga, Kelvin, Phil, Hiroyuki and those who made anonymous donations