Maria Regina Students Raise Funds To Help Ukraine

HARTSDALE, NY — Maria Regina High School’s students answered the call March 3 by raising and donating $1,667 in a single-day drive to help Catholic Relief Services address the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.

The initiative by the students of the all-girls Catholic high school was led by the Maria Regina CRS Club. In November, Maria Regina became the first high school within the Archdiocese of New York to establish a CRS Club, which supports the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. The agency alleviates suffering and provides assistance to more than 140 million people in more than 100 countries, according to CSR.

Dr. Valerie Torres, campus minister, said the students were deeply moved, as everyone was, by the unimaginable suffering of millions of Ukrainians, many of whom were made refugees virtually overnight.

“They understood the critical importance of supporting the CRS sudden emergency mission to provide sustenance and shelter for so many who have been displaced, many of them children,” she said.

The students also created a memorial to the Ukrainians that is located in the lobby of the school. It is a draped pedestal with seven illuminated candles and a large circle with a blue background and gold heart rendered in the colors of the Ukrainian national flag.

“It is a daily reminder of the need for continuing support and prayers for the suffering Ukrainian people,” said Anna E. Parra, president of the school.