A Kentucky-based Ukrainian congregation raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the refugees of the Russian invasion.
On Saturday, a widely successful bake sale was held at the Ukrainian Pentecostal Church of Nicholasville, Kentucky to raise funds for those who have been displaced by the Russian invasion in Ukraine. The Ukrainian congregation's bake sale gave lunch and access to around 100 different donated baked goods on sale that day. The funds raised from the event would go to helping the refugees displaced by the war in Ukraine.
The Christian Post reported that Victor Selepina, the bake sale's organizer, shared that most of the congregation's members were from Ukraine or had family living there. He admitted he was surprised by the amount of funds they were able to raise, saying that it "wasn't planned" and that they "never anticipated to have so many people come out and to raise that amount of money."
"Our community has been absolutely wonderful and we've been very, very, very blessed with a community that we live in, and also the opportunities that this country has given us at one point that we can now organize such events," Selepina remarked.
According to the Christian Headlines, the funds will be donated to churches in Ukraine that are affiliated with the Ukrainian Pentecostal Church of Nicholasville. The churches will then use the money to purchase food and supplies for those displaced by the Russian invasion. After one month of unprovoked attack on Ukraine by Russia, there has been more than 10 million people who fled the war-stricken country.
Selepina shared that some of the humanitarian efforts will possibly take place in Poland, where supplies are more accessible. He urged others to give even a "little bit" of help to the Ukrainian refugees.
Selepina admitted, "there is no way I can do this on my own" and that there had been "anyone from like 13 year olds to about 90 that just did their part, baking a batch of cookies, and that's how it came together."
The White House last week announced that the U.S. would take in 100,000 refugees from Ukraine, Al Jazeera reported. In a statement issued on Thursday, the White House said that the Biden administration is also providing over $1 billion in humanitarian assistance and a separate $320 million to ensure democracy and human rights in Ukraine and neighboring nations are restored.
"This is not something that Poland, or Romania, or Germany should carry on their own," President Joe Biden remarked in Brussels, where an emergency meeting between European, NATO and G7 leaders took place to address the Ukraine crisis. "This is an international responsibility and the United States as the leader - one of the leaders in the international community - has an obligation to be engaged."
Meanwhile, the United Nations refugee agency said on Thursday that the outpour of support for Ukrainian refugees seeking safety from the Russian invasion should "set the example for all refugee crises," the Washington Post reported. U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi urged countries to step up and aid in the refugee crisis created by the Russian invasion, which has displaced 6.5 million inside Ukraine and forced 3.7 million of them to flee the country. The agency described it as the fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War II.
