Money from a recent Grande Prairie fundraiser is already making a tangible difference in the life of hundreds of families fleeing violence in Ukraine. Organizer Bilyana Coburn says an event held on March 12th raised a little over $27,000 for those suffering in the war in the eastern European nation.
Coburn says they’ve received word from those on the ground that the first installment of the cash has reached its destination in the hands of Father Jacob, a Catholic priest who has transformed his church into an evacuation shelter just outside of the City of Lviv.
“As well as he runs a Kindergarten for underprivileged kids, and that was before the war, which has now also been turned into a shelter. Right now he has around 300 families who are in his care. He is driving to the border of Poland, and he gets people to the border, and if they need help, he gives that, and he does it over and over.”
The remaining money, a little over $15,000, will reportedly continue to allow Father Jacob to tend to those who need help getting out of the country. However, she says there are dozens of those in the shelter who refuse to flee and they will continue to need care.
“There are a lot of families who are choosing to stay in Ukraine; they want to stay there while their sons and husbands remain. Most of the money that was sent his way has been used for medical supplies; he is saying a lot of help [for food is coming from Poland, but medical supplies have been an issue.”
Follow the story of Father Jacob and get updates on future fundraisers for Ukraine on the GP For Ukraine Facebook page.