Helping Ukraine from Ohio

Vlad and friends do what they can
Hi! I’m Vlad from Ukraine, and I’m currently staying in Ohio. This year was an amazing opportunity to challenge myself with things I did not have an opportunity to try back home. One of these things was volunteering!
Of course, this time is extremely difficult for all Ukrainians. Therefore, I couldn’t stay out of it when I saw the horror of war in my country. Thus, my friends and I decided to take part in several events that were aimed at helping those in need in Ukraine.
I couldn’t stay out of it when I saw the horror of war in my country.
These are the events we have been to so far:
1) Crosstown pack-out at Child’s Hope International | This event is held annually. Many young people go there to learn more about humanitarian crises in different parts of the world as well as about the ways we can help. This time, the goal was to pack as many meals for children in Ukraine as possible. Together, we packed more than 180,000 meals!!
2) My friend Natalie's project | We collected such things as paper products, Band-Aids, diapers, etc. Afterward, we loaded all the donations into several trucks and drove them to a volunteering center, where we dropped them off. Our "Dollar Day" was also a big success! After talking about the drive during different classes at school, we collected $1,000 for Ukraine!
3) Mural | Numerous members of my art class decided to take part in spreading awareness about the war by painting a mural outside of our school. We painted all kinds of sunflowers, which is one of the symbols of Ukraine, as well as quotes and other things. A local TV station interviewed members of the class and showed us on TV late in the day. A local newspaper was also interested in publishing an article talking about the initiative of Oak Hills High School students.
—Vladyslav (FLEX, Ukraine), hosted by the Moreland family (OH)