Lavine, Ukrainian-Americans band together to help

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Ukrainian-Americans of Long Island have teamed up with Assemblyman Charles Lavine of Glen Cove to collect supplies for Ukrainian’s humanitarian relief. The drive is in response to the violent escalation of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has left its people in crisis. First launched on March 7, the drive has taken off in the past few days.

“We are working with multiple organizations, elected officials, as well as [the] Ukrainian-American community here on Long Island to collect them to ship,” Volodymyr Tsyalkovsky, community liaison of Ukrainian Americans of Long Island said.

Lavine decided to hold the drop-off location at his office because of his experience collecting supplies for his communities. Previously, he held a supply drive for Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria and community toy drives during the holidays.

Russian forces illegally deported 2,389 children from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine to Russia on March 19, according to Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The humanitarian crisis in Ukraine remains dire as the Ukrainian city Mariupol has been under constant attack. On Monday, defenders of the city rejected the Russia’s ultimatum to surrender.

“I can only imagine the emotional trauma our Ukrainian neighbors feel as a result of this horrible aggression on the part of Putin,” Lavine said. “And we are all neighbors, and we have to watch out for each other and that’s what we do.”

People island-wide have been joining efforts to help alongside Ukrainian-Americans. Tsyalkovsky said that every ethnic group and community have volunteered to step up and a lend a helping hand.

“I have the utmost respect and admiration for Long Islanders, for us Long Islanders, because the response from the community has been overwhelming,” Lavine said.

The main priority of the drive is to collect the donations, make them ready for shipment, and then send it to a shipping company which will manage which organizations receive the supplies.

Lavine said that Tsyalkovsky has taken the necessary steps to guarantee that reputable transports are shipping the supplies to Ukraine. The shipping company Meest is managing most of the shipments for the drive and has been able to ship to residential addresses in Ukraine with some limitations due to military conflicts in the area.

Tsyalkovsky said the supply shipments will go through countries surrounding Ukraine and are helping with Ukrainian refugees, before entering the country. The Ukrainian Americans of Long Island are working with Ukrainian Congress Committee of America as well to ship the donations.

“Our community is larger than we ever thought,” Tsyalkovsky said. “Everybody is working toward this common goal and finding time to take some action.”

Lavine said he is worried that the crisis in the Ukraine is going to continue for a long time. “And as long as that crisis continues,” he said, “we are going to do everything we can to play a role to help the Ukrainian people.”

Long Islanders can drop off donations from Monday to Friday at Lavine’s office, 1 School St., Glen Cove. Drop-off hours are from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Lavine said the drive will be open for as long as the help is needed in Ukraine.

Monetary donations can be made to the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America through Venmo, Facebook, Zelle, bank transfer, or a check. Donations are tax deductible.