How to help the people of Ukraine

And EXCELLENT trustworthy effective org:    www.directrelief.org/   

Btt...

donate.redcross.org.uk/appeal/ukraine-crisis-appeal

www.peopleinneed.net/

UNICEF and Doctors Without Borders are also suggestions.

Thank you.  I just made a donation and shared the link with others.

Both of my grandparents were Ukrainian Canadian too.  They moved to Canada from the Ukraine when they were teenagers.  They didn't meet each other until in Canada where my grandmother was a cook in a Ukrainian restaurant and my grandfather was a customer.  He loved her cooking and said a woman who cooked like that was one he had to marry.  They married and had 7 children, 6 boys and one girl.  After many years of living in Canada, all but one son moved to California as did my grandparents.  One of my uncles began a letter correspondence with relatives in the Ukraine.  I know one was a cousin that was living in the house where my grandfather was born.  

I also met a relative, Oxana, (I can't remember exactly how we were related) who came to the states to teach English to some Russian children.  She planned to get a foothold in the states and then have her husband and child move here too.  She spoke several languages and was well educated. When she arrived on the east coast, she found out they lied to her and the job was being a nanny and housekeeper.  She was kept with several other young women in a house with bars on the downstairs windows and were driven to their jobs every day. Their employer kept their passports and they were not treated well.  

Oxana and another young girl escaped by jumping to a tree from the second-story window and climbing down.  She had heard of my uncle in California and began hitchhiking across the states until someone in her family could contact my uncle for help.  He ended up sending her money to fly to California and eventually brought her husband and little girl to the states.  

My cousin, a minister in Washington State, arranged for a home and jobs for both of them with the help of his congregation.  My sisters and I met them right before they left to move to Washington.  They all spoke excellent English, including their little girl, age 4.  I was really impressed that she spoke 3 languages and embarrassed that the only Ukrainian words that I knew were the names of several foods my grandmother made.  My grandparents chose not to teach their children to speak Ukrainian.  I so wish they had.

We did have a laugh at Oxana's husband though.  When he saw the ocean for the first time, he had us stop so he could walk the beach.  Suddenly he began taking his clothes off and ran for the water in his underwear!  This was in November, so the water was freezing to us.  He swam in the ocean and was laughing and whooping.  When he saw how surprised we were at his going in the water when it was so freezing cold, he laughed at us and said his idea of freezing cold is much, much colder, having grown up in the Ukraine.  He was thrilled to be able to say he swam in the Pacific Ocean.  Neither Oxana or their little daughter was interested in trying it, much to his disappointment.

I must have relatives still living there somewhere.  My uncle that corresponded with his cousin has passed and I am hoping that Oxana and her family are still safe in Washington.  I should write to my cousin and find out.

Loved the Etsy hack - I saw it last night on Instagram and immediately found a cross stitch designer that does the cutest Holiday Gnomes! She got a fair bit of my money last night.

Thanks for this thread, um off to "errands" but will come back later to read and decide.