The folks at St. John’s Church raised money, supplemented by contributions from the United Congregational Church, to send care packages to soldiers on the eastern front of Ukraine.
The project originated with a request from a local Ukrainian woman, Sophia Sushailo, to provide needed items specified by her physician father living in western Ukraine. The items requested and sent were Mylar aluminum blankets (to protect from cold and rain), wool socks, specialized corded ear plugs (to deaden sound), as well as vitamins and pain medications.
Sophia gave a presentation about Ukraine with current pictures of her homeland. She introduced us to Petrykivka decorative painting, a Ukrainian folk art form native to a region in southeast Ukraine. All children from this area are trained in this art form. This style of painting is on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List. The congregation spent a coffee hour stuffing socks with compact blankets, ear buds, energy bars, replicas of the Ukrainian flag and handwritten notes. Several folks went home with genuine Petrykivka art, providing some cash for the civilians living in the southwest.
The two large boxes filled with the 100 pairs of stuffed socks and bottles of medicine had a long journey by ship, arriving several weeks later. We received photos of the soldiers in return. We plan to send more supplies with remaining funds.