Southern Tier Tuesdays: St. John’s Humanitarian Fund awarded $2,000 grant

JOHNSON CITY (WBNG)-- St. John’s Humanitarian Fund is this weeks winner of a $2,000 grant from Upstate Shredding through Southern Tier Tuesdays.

Chairman of St. John’s Ukrainian Refugee & Humanitarian Assistance Committee Stephan Wasylko said the St. John’s Humanitarian Committee was created in 2014.

“We happened to find a couple of Ukrainian Refugees in the area and St. John’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church started to support these people,” Wasylko said. “That was a time when the Russians had invaded Crimea and were taking on the Donbas region of Eastern Ukraine.”

Wasylko said with Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine the needs of Ukrainian people are tremendous.

“There are over 10 million people that have been displaced from their homes seeking shelter in Western Ukraine and there are millions that have had to flee the country as refugees,” Wasylko said. “We’ve been doing whatever we can to help them with their financial needs and humanitarian needs.”

Wasylko said the community has been supportive.

“The community here has been fantastic in terms of coming out and asking how they can support and contribute to our humanitarian fund,” Wasylko said.

Wasylko said some of the immediate and on-going needs include food, medical supplies, and support for soldiers killed or injured and their families as well as support for orphaned children.

The St. John’s Humanitarian Fund will support the efforts of several nonprofit organizations including Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA, the United Ukrainian-American Relief Committee, Together for Ukraine Foundation, RAZOM Emergency Response Project and Rotary Clubs in Ukraine.

“We just got a note from the Rotary Club in Ukraine that is one of our beneficiaries and they said the $2,000 that we just sent them is being used to house 41 women and children in Poland,” Wasylko said.

Waslyko said this grant money will be used to continue providing assistance to Ukrainians in need.

Donations can be made online or by check payable to St. John’s Humanitarian Fund c/o St. John the Baptist UOC, One St. John’s Parkway, Johnson City, NY 13790.

Southern Tier Tuesdays is a philanthropic endeavor of Adam Weitsman, owner of Upstate Shredding, and his daughter, Clover. For more information or to nominate a Southern Tier non-profit go to southerntiertuesdays.com.