GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — They say it takes a village, and in response to the conflict in Ukraine, we've seen donation efforts across Northeast Wisconsin. But, have you ever wondered how the donations get overseas into the hands of those who need them the most? It's a big effort that the Wisconsin Ukrainian's group knows far too well.
"I know that we are helping," said Oksana Kobzar, one of the first members of the Wisconsin Ukrainians.
The group has been collecting donations to send to Ukraine since the conflict began a little more than a month ago. Already 20,000 pounds of goods have been transported to Chicago to be sent overseas. They packed up their fourth truckload of donations this week, with a key player in the passenger seat, and behind the camera, keeping followers updated every step of the way.
"We have people from all over the country reaching out to us, and they're asking us, 'Hey, I'm from, you know, Massachusetts, I'm doing this thing', or 'Hey, what do you think of this?'", said Jonathon Pylypiv, one of the founding members of the Wisconsin Ukrainians. "We even got, like, some items sent to us from Pennsylvania.”
So where do they go? The donations sent off this week were taken to a warehouse in Germantown belonging to the Help Heroes of Ukraine. The Chicago-area non-profit was started by a group of men from Ukraine. They work as a logistics company to help distribute goods to proper charities in Ukraine, while covering the cost of shipping, as well. For example, these goods from Germantown were sent to Warsaw, Poland, and then from there, they're transferred to Lviv for sorting.
“Then they ship to the east, because there is a lot of closed roads and people cannot go themselves," said Roman Zabolotovskyy. "They deliver, for example, medicine or protection for the soldiers, or for the kids to the right place, and they're gonna make sure it's gonna get in there.”
All of the non-profits involved have ties to Ukraine and contacts that help get products to the right place. Pylypiv said as a child coming from Ukraine, he and other members of Wisconsin Ukrainians have direct connections, whether is family or friends, in Ukriane.
“Our organizations can work on not only getting these items locally in Wisconsin and work with collaborative partners like HHU, but we can also work with people that we know and trust and trusted entities in Ukraine and Poland,” he said.
This fight is far from over, and the need for help is still there, Pylypiv says. Right now, Wisconsin Ukrainians will no longer accept physical donations, but rather monetary. That money helps to buy items like generators overseas, versus shipping them. Check their Facebook page, as the need for different items changes every week.
