Washington residents among those contributing to Ukrainian refugees
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Members of St. Peter and St. Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Carnegie organize donations in the church gymnasium. Donors from Washington County contributed to the thousands of items that will be sent to Poland for distribution to Ukrainian refugees.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Volunteers at St. Peter and St. Paul prepare boxes for shipment to Poland, where donations will be distributed to Ukrainian refugees. The donation is on pause while the church works to organize and ship the overwhelming amount of donations filling the parish gymnasium.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
The Rev. John Charest prays at the front of St. Peter and St. Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Carnegie.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
The Rev. John Charest stands at the altar of St. Peter and St. Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Charest leads the congregation in Carnegie, and many parishioners have family living in Ukraine.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Inside St. Peter and St. Paul Ukrainian Orthodox in Carnegie, the Rev. John Charest prays beside the Ukrainian flag. The church this week collected donations to send to overseas.
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, more than 2 million Ukrainians have fled the country – leaving most of their belongings behind – while tens of thousands of others trapped amid the fighting are without food, water, or power.
To help, St. Peter and St. Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Carnegie is collecting supplies to send to Ukraine and surrounding countries where Ukrainian refugees have fled.
In the days since the church launched its drive, the response has been overwhelming, said the Rev. John Charest, of St. Peter and St. Paul, where the church gymnasium is filled with diapers, medical supplies, canned goods, and hygiene products.
“My reaction is a Mister Rogers reaction: He said look for the people doing good, and that’s this community,” said Charest. “They’ve rallied around a terrible event and done something good. I’m overwhelmed. It’s good to see, and it’s proof that God is in the heart and in the actions of the people who want to help.”
Among those who answered the call are a group of about 10 families in Washington, led by Jan Trifaro of South Strabane Township, who delivered a carload of supplies to the church on Monday.
After Trifaro read about the church’s collection efforts in Sunday’s Observer-Reporter, she reached out to Windsor Highland neighbors and friends, and fellow parishioners at Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church.
“My heart is broken. When you think of those families and the unimaginable circumstances they’re going through,” said Trifaro. “It’s terrible what’s going on over there. I told my husband we have to do something. I said, ‘I’m going to call friends and neighbors to see if anyone was interested in helping out.'”
They were.
The group headed to local retail stores and loaded their carts with hygiene products, medical items, and nonperishable food items requested by the church.
Trifaro and her husband, Joe, packed the supplies into their SUV, and dropped them off at the church hall.
“We jumped at the chance to help out,” said David Getzik, Trifaro’s neighbor. “When you see what (Ukrainians) are facing, you want to do something.”
Nataliya European Food Market in Pittsburgh is transporting the supplies to New York, where they will be shipped to Poland to be distributed to refugees there and those still inside Ukraine.
But currently, St. Peter and St. Paul has paused the donation drive until it is able to move out the supplies that are stacked up at the church.
“It’s a good problem to have,” said Charest, who is in need of warehouse space to store the overwhelming amount of supplies.
He is asking people to hold onto items until space is available and the church can resume the collection.
Visit the website at www.orthodoxcarnegie.org for updates.
A list of recommended items and supplies is available on the church website. Also check the website for an Amazon wishlist for items including sleeping bags and flashlights.
One item St. Peter and St. Paul is not accepting is clothing. The church is having issues with people dropping off used, unwashed clothes and other used items (among them, ice skates), which forces volunteers to use their time to sort and remove those items.
Those who wish to make monetary donations can do so on the website.