On Thursday, August 18, 2022, we welcomed guest presenters Lillia Taschuk and Olena Haverlock, who told us about their efforts to help Ukraine. Olena was Ukrainian-born and adopted when she was little. Lillia is American-born with deep Ukrainian family roots. Lillia had been a Rotary exchange student and told us of her fond memories when she lived on a chicken farm in Sweden in 1995.

Lillia showed us some heartbreaking videos of Ukraine before the war and the devastation in Ukraine since the war started. Lillia told us she and Olena have been supporting Ukraine since the war broke out in 2014, helping through Wounded Warrior helping with prosthetics. Since February 2022, they have sent 11 shipping containers with over $4M in medical supplies that Premier hospitals have donated. She found a group of Ukrainian truck drivers willing to drive all over North Carolina to pick up supplies. The 11th container is on its way to Ukraine from Hartford, Connecticut, containing an ambulance filled with medical supplies. Lillia then had a Facebook call with Ihor Byalko, located in Ukraine, so we could hear firsthand what is going on there and their efforts to help.
Supporting Ukraine - Presentation by Lillia Taschuk and Olena Haverlock