Northbrook Dealership Donates Truck To Ukraine, Receives Mail Surprise

NORTHBROOK, IL — With the Russo-Ukrainian War currently in its ninth year of conflict, a pair of local business owners were looking for a way to help the war effort. Eli Reznik and Serhii Shelep are the co-owners of Carneed, a used car dealership in Northbrook that opened in 2020.

Shelep, who was born and raised in Ukraine, knew he had a responsibility to get involved in any way he could. When Russia invaded his home country last year, Shelep decided it was time to step up.

The pair, through their Commercial Avenue business, got actively involved by participating in a number of donation efforts organized by friends and other volunteers.

"At some point, we decided to make a bigger impact. We thought of ways we could help, and we realized that our new business was the perfect way to offer support," Shelep told Patch.

Since they knew cars, the solution was simple — donate an SUV pick-up truck to the Ukranian army. Reznik and Shelep began asking friends and some of their clients to help. They soon raised $5,000 in less than a week. They covered another $4,000 themselves, according to Shelep. The price included the vehicle cost, reconditioning and exporting it first to Poland and then to the west part of Ukraine.

Shelep said the SUV is currently in his native Ternopil and is getting ready to be delivered to the war zone.

"We understand that it is a small thing that we’ve done but believe it will make a good example to other people and serve as a reminder that the war is still actively going on," Shelep said. "Any donations, big or small, make a change to Ukrainians and we encourage others to help with anything they can."

In August 2020, Shelep and Reznik decided to take what they call one of the "biggests risks" of their lives and open Carneed. The family-owned dealership sells luxury used cars, including Audi, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Acura, Porsche and more. The two immigrants, who both have young children, were ready to buy into the American Dream.

"Check out our Google reviews; every customer we work with describes their experience with us like shopping with family," Shelep said. "It’s the little things that matter to us, that's why we are the best used car destination in all of Chicagoland and nationally as well."

Knowing the SUV they donated was being put to good use was more than enough for Shelep and Reznik. Last week, though, while checking the mail, they would receive a big surprise — a hand-signed gift from General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, commander in chief of the Ukraine Armed Forces.

"It was an honor, something that motivates us to help even more and ask people to be a part of it," Shelep said.

Moving forward, obviously the local business owners are hoping for a peaceful future in Ukraine as the war continues to drag on.

"We hope that it’s only temporarily and very soon with international help this war will end," Shelep said. "Ukraine is an independent European country and will always be."

North Shore residents and beyond looking to help out can contact the Carneed team at 224-567-8838. Shelep said donations don't necessarily need to be money, but things like clothes, medicine, first aid, hygiene kits are needed and can be mailed to organizations like United24, Razom for Ukraine, and the Prytula Foundation.