Thursday, October 1, 2026
Tough times bring out the best and the worst in humanity. For Sasha Johnstone, (née Kot), a Ukrainian woman living in Locust Valley, it brought out a desire to help the desperate citizens of her birth country in their hour of need.
Johnstone, 27, was born in Berezhany, a small town in western Ukraine, a five hour drive from the Polish border. She came to the United States almost seven years ago for a summer trip and decided to stay.
Johnstone’s parents and younger brother still live in Berezhany. She’s been communicating with them on social media.
With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Sasha knew that she still had to do something to help.
“Thoughts and prayers are great, but they don’t protect children who are being bombed,” Johnstone explained. “...they don’t heal anyone, they don’t feed refugees, they don’t protect civilians from being killed.”
So, she started a fundraiser on Instagram, to gather medical supplies and other necessities. She didn’t expect the outpour of support from all across Long Island and even upstate.
“It just took off in only a couple of days,” Johnstone said. “...I have no words ... it was so heartwarming to see people, who I haven’t even met before, care so much. ”
The list of supplies she received was exhaustive. All had been specifically requested by shelters in Ukraine — gauze, syringes, Band-Aids, painkillers, fever-reducers and tourniquets. Twenty-five boxes of various essential items were collected.
Johnstone personally escorted the medical supplies, transported by trailer, to a warehouse in Brooklyn. It’ll be consolidated in another warehouse, and then shipped to Ukraine via Dnipro, LLC, a Ukrainian freight and logistics company.
The supplies will be distributed to shelters in Ukraine, mainly to Shelter Lviv, in the western Ukrainian city, although with the large amount Johnstone raised they’ll likely be sent to other shelters throughout the country as well.
She works at Karmic Grind, a coffee shop down the street from her apartment. Co-owners Alicia Zarou-Scanlan and Regina Smith have helped Johnstone. “As the community started to take a supportive stance in Sasha that’s when we started asking what do you need from us,” Smith said. “So, we made Karmic Grind a drop site for the supplies.”
In addition, the two reached out to other Locust Valley businesses to help spread the word.
“Locust Valley has such a close-knit business community and they jumped at the chance to help,” Zarou-Scanlan said. “It’s been a real collective effort.”
Bob Severin, of Islip, a former video recorder for several TV stations, also has been helping Johnstone. “I’m not Ukrainian, but as a caring human being I had to help,” Severin explained.
He put Johnstone in contact with numerous news outlets hoping to amplify her story, and to focus on the supply drive.
Since shipping the 25 boxes of supplies, Johnstone has decided to move from shipping bulk goods, which even at their fastest can take days, even weeks, to get to Ukraine, to directly sending cash.
Despite having lived here for seven years, Sasha feels a deep sense of responsibility to her home country. She said it goes deeper than just loving her country. This devotion to Ukraine is intertwined with the history of Ukraine.
“My heart is still there, with my family and my people,” Sasha explained. “...it’s part of our culture, and it’s why people are willing to sacrifice their lives for our home, to protect our motherland.”
Those interested in helping Johnstone assist the people of Ukraine can contact her through her instagram, @sashi.johnstone, or Venmo her @sasha-johnstone to send money directly.
