Lindenhurst Ukrainian Church To Hold Donation Drive For Refugees

LINDENHURST, NY — A Long Island community is coming together to help those affected and displaced by Russia’s attacks on Ukraine.

Holy Family Ukrainian Catholic Church, located at 225 N. 4th Street in Lindenhurst , will be holding a donation drive on Sunday from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m., to collect supplies for displaced Ukrainian families.

Suzie Bolger, the organizer of the event, said that she was inspired to hold the drive after she wrote a post asking for support on the Lindenhurst Moms Facebook group. The post received an overwhelming amount of comments from people willing to give, she said.

“I wasn't expecting a big response. If I'm being honest, I just thought there were gonna be a few things here and there that people had,” said Bolger. “It's been overwhelming how many people want to support and want to donate.”

According to the United Nations, more than half a million people have fled Ukraine, since Russia invaded on Feb. 21. Many civilians chose to stay and volunteer to fight against the Russian army.

Bolger told Patch that as a parishioner of Holy Family, she had the resources and the opportunity to create the drive.

Her grandparents fled Ukraine during World War II, she said, and still has extended family there. While her family members are safe, she said, many parishioners are even more closely tied with the crisis.

“I know those families, and I know that they're hurting, because they have immediate family members there,” she said. “So it may not affect me personally, but I know it's affecting somebody that I know personally.”

Bolger said that the drive is hoping to collect the following items:

• Socks (new)
• Underwear (new)
• Gloves
• Pants
• Long sleeved shirts
• Jackets
• Shoes: sneakers
• Boots
• Baby supplies such as bottles, diapers, wipes and formula
• Feminine hygiene products
• Basic hygiene necessities
• Pet supplies
• First aid such as bandages, gauze, Neosporin, bacitracin, pain relievers, tourniquets etc.
• Non perishable foods
• Flashlights

Monetary donations and boxes are also welcome, Bolger said, as the price of shipping expenses are quite high.

The donations will not go through a non-profit organization, she said, but be directly distributed to a Ukrainian church in Poland, where many refugees are fleeing to. The other donations will be delivered straight to Ukrainian troops,

These items may seem miniscule, Bolger said, but they can mean so much when you’re running away from danger.

“It's just incredible to see everybody really using their head, and give stuff that we take for granted,” she said. “If you're in a panic and you’re talking about a mother with their children only taking what they can carry, you're not thinking about towels.”

Bolger said that the community has already donated numerous items to the church. Father Olvian Popovici, a priest at Holy Family, has received boxes of supplies at his family’s doorstep, she said.

Thanks to these acts of kindness, the church has already sent 20 boxes of items overseas, and has collected more than $10,000 of monetary donations . Bolger said that she is touched that so many people — especially those who have no personal ties to Ukraine — can come together in such dark times.

“It's not like it's somebody that's on Long Island that they could potentially meet one day, or somebody that's local,” she said. “These are people you will never meet in your life.”

Bolger said that the best way to help Ukrainians is to stay informed of current events and to be an ally.

“You see the videos, you see the pictures, and you hear the stories, and it's just heart wrenching,” she said. “Just here in our own communities, we need to stand up for what's right. I think that's what everybody needs to be doing. Especially now, more than ever.”

To learn more about the donation drive, click here.

To give a monetary donation through Holy Family Ukrainian Catholic Church, click here.

You can also purchase items on Holy Family's Amazon Wishlist here.