Some refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine will be getting some help from our area. Saint Mary’s Church in Westville hosted a drive-thru event on Saturday collecting donations for those impacted by the war.

Kathy Bott of Danville was one of those who donated…

{AUDIO:  ‘’Because I’ve been wanting to give something to Ukraine, and I thought the church would be collecting money for it. And I didn’t know where to send my money. So I was happy that I was able to find out about this…my prayers have been with them everyday.’’}

State Representative Mike Marron and Senator Scott Bennett were both on hand in Westville thanking those who donated.  Marron says Don Hall, who attends St. Mary’s Church, came up with the idea to hold the event….

{AUDIO: ‘’He had contacted me and wanted to do something. And I think everybody is watching the news and seeing the heart-wrenching stories over there – and all the fall-out from the war.  And we all feel helpless to do something, so Don decided he wanted to get something done. And so he contacted me and I contacted Senator Bennett, and we all kind of organized this and put this together. And we’re just trying to raise some money to help some people out,’’ said Marron.}

(Senator Scott Bennett (on left) with Representative Mike Marron at Westville event.)

Marron noted Westville was the perfect place to collect donations to help those fleeing the war…

{AUDIO:  ‘’I couldn’t think of a more appropriate place to have this because this is a community that’s got a strong immigrant background. A lot of those immigrants came from Eastern Europe, and I think everybody’s very proud of that background and what this community is made up of.  So I think, you know, we’ve already had a good turn-out this morning and started to raise quite a bit of money for those efforts.’’}

Senator Bennett thanked those who donated and outlined where the money will be going…

{AUDIO: ‘’There’s two groups that we’re giving it to – international relief funds essentially. We had talked about diapers and things like that we could collect. The problem, of course, is the cost it would take to send it across the world into a war zone. So we switched that over to just monetary aid at this point.’’}

‘’The Ukrainian people are really going through a terrible tragedy, but are really showing some courage,’’ added Senator Bennett. Although the war is thousands of miles away, Senator Bennett says it hits home…

{AUDIO – ‘’As has been said, Westville was founded with a lot of help from immigrants from Eastern Europe. Hard-working families came here to work in the mines and later the factories – and left a lot of family over there.  And so, just as we kind-of have been blessed over here with our hard work and good fortune, we want to make sure we share a little of that with those who are going through a really tough time right now in Ukraine.’’} 

Despite Saturday’s rain and cold temperatures numerous people stopped by the church along route one in Westville to make donations.