Andy Close
WARREN, Pa. – First Lutheran Church and the Warren community are stepping up to help Ukrainian refugees.
First Lutheran (which has donated $5,000 to the cause) is one of several local churches and organizations that has stepped up with monetary donations to help displaced Ukrainians, and during Friday’s community meeting at the church, stories were shared and more ways to help were discussed.
Piper VanOrd, owner of Allegheny Outfitters, and her daughter recently spent 10 days in Poland, which borders Ukraine, doing everything she could to help out.
VanOrd put herself in the position of a refugee to help find what they would value most.
“You leave your home and travel a week to get to safety. When we cross that line to safety, what would we want to find in the people that were waiting for us there to try and help us,” VanOrd said. “They don’t speak our language, we just left our entire world behind, what would we want to find? The only thing that we could come up with were those simple felt hearts”
VanOrd was referring to the hearts that were given to Ukrainian children when they reached safety.
“In that moment, kiddos started to cry and just realizing the people that you’re trying to help, we went to the van and we split the bag, took a couple of handful and started handing them out. I know it sounds a little crazy, but it was a beautiful, beautiful moment. The kids lit up. So what do parents do when their kids light up? They light up?”
It’s those simple gestures that sometimes make the biggest impact.
For Fr. Rick Tomasone of St. Joseph Parish, he decided to put his money where his mouth is.
“Refugees don’t stay strangers very long,” Tomasone said. “When I told one of my former players I thought it was a good idea (to adopt refugees), I decided I couldn’t just sit on the sidelines and say good job. I needed to do something to help out.”
Tomasone and some of his parishioners raised over $1,200 without any official word being put out on that first weekend.
Warren County Commissioner Ben Kafferlin was also in attendance and said that there are a number of different ways people can help out.
“There are so many different ways to support refugees,” he said. “What you’re witnessing here is the most American thing you can imagine.”
And don’t expect Warren County to sit on the sidelines either.
“When I first made the suggestion that we bring refugees to Warren County, there was great support,” Kafferlin said. “Some of the naysayers would say that we’re taking resources away locally, and that’s simply not the case.”
All in attendance were given a survey to fill out about ways they can continue to support displaced Ukrainians. Those who weren’t in attendance can still get them at the church and fill them out.
“These people need our help,” Kafferlin said. “Pass the forms around to people who weren’t here.”
