Freshmen Adriana Kalivoshko ’25, Ana Lebed ’25 and their families have been volunteering at St. Josaphat’s Ukrainian Catholic Church in Parma making thousands of first aid kits for Ukraine. They’ve been working alongside members of the Ukrainian Boys and Girls Scouts called Plast. They were recently featured on Channel 19 for their efforts. Click here to watch the news story.
Other Bruins have been giving back by helping with collections for Ukraine at Pokrova Ukrainian Catholic Church in Parma. Since the war broke out, students have been going to the church hall on evenings and weekends to sort and pack donations of medicine, first aid supplies, food and money.
Padua’s Ukrainian students have also been selling blue and yellow ribbons that look like the Ukrainian flag during lunch periods to raise money to support refugees. So far, nearly $1,000 was raised for Catholic Relief Services for Ukraine.
Melanie Polatajko ’22, whose grandparents escaped Ukraine to start a brand new life, was collecting signatures at Rudy’s Strudel and Bakery in Parma’s Polish Village. She is helping Plast, which is sending a petition to the U.S. government, in hopes that NATO will close the air space over Ukraine and for Americans to accept Ukrainian refugees. Click here to watch the FOX 8 news story.
Alumna Marta Vilshanetska ’16 lives in Ukraine. She chose to support Ukrainians by raising funds via Venmo for medical supplies and protective gear for those fighting for their lives on the frontlines. Marta continues to fill vans with supplies and then delivers them to an army base, which distributes donations to hot spots like Kyiv. To learn more about her efforts, visit her Facebook page.
