Helping Ukrainian Loved Ones: Woman Sells Shirts To Raise Funds

OAK CREEK, WI — When Solomiya Kavyuk hears planes flying overhead in Milwaukee, they remind her of her family in Ukraine, who have been forced to hide away in bomb shelters.

Russian forces launched a full-scale invasion of the country in February, almost exactly eight years after Russia annexed Crimea in February 2014. Kavyuk's family back in Ukraine — her aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins — have been at the top of her mind, so she's been trying to help by designing and selling T-shirts.

Kavyuk said the shirts are meant to raise funds and awareness for what's happening in the country where she was born. She said she's sold about 160 shirts so far, raising about $3,500 to go to humanitarian and medical aid in Ukraine through a fund organized by Kavyuk's church, St. Michael's Ukrainian Church in Milwaukee.

Kavyuk left Ukraine with her parents when she was 6 years old to immigrate to Wisconsin, Kavyuk told Patch. She became a U.S. citizen when she was 19 and has since graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

"Ukraine is a sovereign country," Kavyuk said. "It's a free country, and what Vladimir Putin and his administration is doing is completely unacceptable and, to be quite frank, barbaric."

Reminders Of A War

Kavyuk lives in a part of Oak Creek near Mitchell International Airport. Before the invasion started, she said, the planes flying overhead every day blended into the background noise of the city.

"I don't even give it a second thought. I can, you know, go to bed, and it's like, 'Oh, OK there's a plane flying,'" Kavyuk said.

But as the war continues, the planes flying in and out of Milwaukee's airport have been a reminder of what's happening in Ukraine.

"Anytime there's a plane anywhere near your airspace, everyone has to go into a bomb shelter. My grandparents, the people I love the most who are living in Ukraine, they've been spending their nights, they've been spending their days at various points throughout the day in bomb shelters," Kavyuk said. "They're completely innocent civilians."

On Monday, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said at least 400 civilians have been killed in the war in Ukraine, and at least 800 civilians have been injured so far, CNN reported. The real totals are likely even higher, the U.N. said in its report.

More than 1 million Ukrainians have so far fled the country as Russian forces have advanced.

Designing T-Shirts To Help Ukraine

Kavyuk said orders for the first batch of T-shirts were placed through local print shop, Create My Shirt MKE.

One of the designs includes an outline of Ukraine surrounded by the words "If Russia stops fighting, there will be no war. If Ukraine stops fighting, there will be no Ukraine."

People have been ordering the shirts straight from Kavyuk, while some have been sold at in-person rallies that are being organized by the Facebook group Ukrainian Milwaukee, she said.

Some shirts have sold directly to Kavyuk's fellow churchgoers. She said if the demand is there, she could place another bulk order for the T-shirts.

Kavyuk said she wants her community in Oak Creek to do whatever it can to support Ukraine. If you can't donate money, she suggests signing petitions and calling representatives to make sure they're keeping Ukraine in mind.

"If there's anything they can do, even if it's just a prayer or a well-wish, that's, you know, appreciated as well," Kavyuk said.

Kavyuk also said people should be aware of propaganda coming out of Russia. She said people need to be cautious about where they're getting their facts from.

For Kavyuk, Putin's war in Ukraine has been long-lasting. It started with Crimea in 2014 and has lasted to this day. She said there was no reason for the destruction of peace, aside from "some unhinged dictator wanting to expand his empire and bring back the Soviet Union."

People looking for ways to donate can contribute to the fund organized by St. Michael's Ukrainian Catholic Church here. The church is raising money for humanitarian and medical aid in Ukraine, with over $25,000 being raised so far, according to St. Michael's website.

For those looking to buy a shirt from Kavyuk, she said she's considering creating a Redbubble account (a print-on-demand online marketplace) with her designs in the future. The proceeds would go to Ukraine.

SEE ALSO:

• Wisconsin Ukrainian Community 'Shocked' After Invasion
• Wisconsin Facebook Group Starts Charity For Ukrainians
• Putin 'Responsible For Tragedies' In Ukraine: WI Politician

Reporting by the Associated Press was used in this article.