On February 24, 2022, people all around Ukraine woke up to air raid sirens and bomb explosions. Their lives changed forever. Russia has bombed hospitals, kindergartens, and densely populated residential areas. Civilian infrastructure has been destroyed and people are cut off from sources of food and water. Many people have been left homeless and are hiding in basements, subways and bomb shelters.
City of Goodness is a social service and support center that was originally established to care for women and children fleeing domestic violence. With the onset of the war, City of Goodness has become a shelter for women with children, families (with their pets!) and elderly people from all over Ukraine. They settle them, feed them, provide medical treatment, and try to make this time a little less traumatic for the little ones. They have also taken in evacuees from three orphanages from the South of Ukraine – children from birth to 7 years – and are constructing additional buildings (with bomb shelters) so they can accommodate another two hundred evacuee children.
Our gift will help with construction costs and the constant need for food, medicine, hygiene items, pillows, baby food and formula, and clothing.
Throughout Lent, in the bulletin and on the website, we will share their story with you as we prepare for our collaborative-wide Special Second Collection on March 25-26.
To learn more and donate online, please visit our 2023 Collaborative Lenten Gift page.
Our gift will allow each of us to share in easing the suffering and to answer Lent’s clarion call to love extravagantly.