Members of Kansas City’s Ukrainian community gathered Sunday at an Overland Park church to collect coats for friends and families in the war-ravaged Ukraine.
Although there are only a few hundred Ukrainians in the area, most have loved ones in parts of Ukraine where the fighting with pro-Russian rebels continues to be intense, in spite of a weekend truce.
Marina Savage, a Ukrainian singer and organizer of a local meet-up, had a friend in St. Joseph, Mo., whose brother is working with refugees in Ukraine. Her friend said thousands are being forced to flee their homes with almost nothing.
"I'm trying to raise awareness here in America," Savage says. "If we could help, Ukraine will have so much more of a chance."
Vera Glywa says she recently spoke to her niece who lives in Donetsk, where much of the recent fighting has occurred.
"She told me people were having a very tough time. They don't have money to buy anything," she says. "Their homes are destroyed and there is no food in the town."
The United Nations estimates more than 5,400 have died in the fighting in the Ukraine.
