Members of the Altrusa Club of Central CT helped pack care packages for expectant mothers and their infants in Ukraine this past weekend. Supplies, including diapers, formula and clothing, are being flown to Poland, where they will be given out. Shown here is Ukrainian Olena Stetskiv, who organized the effort.

Altrusa International of Central CT spearheaded a recent effort in Middletown to aid Ukrainian mothers and babies in the local area, by collecting diapers, formula, personal products and other goods.

Altrusa International of Central CT spearheaded a recent effort in Middletown to aid Ukrainian mothers and babies in the local area, by collecting diapers, formula and other goods.

Altrusa International of Central CT spearheaded a recent effort in Middletown to aid Ukrainian mothers and babies in the local area, by collecting diapers and other goods.

MIDDLETOWN — Altrusa International of Central CT members and volunteers took part in a local humanitarian project last weekend to supply expectant mothers and newborns with sorely needed supplies in war-torn Ukraine.

They spearheaded a recent effort in Middletown to aid those who remain in Ukraine by collecting diapers, handmade and other afghans, personal hygiene items and other goods, according to member Patti Nettis Deegan.

The event was dubbed “Let’s Help Children and Their Moms.”

“We are focusing efforts on the moms who are about to deliver babies,” Deegan said in a news release. “Can you imagine being born in a war zone?” the statement said. “How can you prepare formula without running water?”

They chartered a flight from the United States to Poland and will be delivering diapers, formula, clothing for all ages, and other much-needed supplies and equipment to refugees, Deegan said.

“It is truly amazing to see the generosity of our local community and our family and friends [who are] not local,” Deegan said.

Ukrainian Olena Stetskiv, who organized the drive, is part of a grassroots effort to provide aid, Deegan said. Some of her family members are still in Ukraine, including a doctor who works in a maternity hospital in her hometown.

Stetskiv attended school in the United States to learn English as a second language, became a dental assistant, got married, bought a condo and had two children in the United States, Deegan said. “She’s giving back to her homeland, which is in dire need.”

Items were collected at the Arborview Dental Office in Middletown and Company N Temp Dance Studio in Cromwell.

As volunteers prepared boxes for infants and children Saturday and Sunday, the room was full of activity, as seen in a video Deegan provided. When they were done, boxes were plastic wrapped in large pallets, ready to go.

Donations arrived from many other states, including New Hampshire, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Florida, California, New York, Maine, Virginia, Oregon, Minnesota, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Maine, Wisconsin and Georgia, Deegan said.

Cassandra Day is an award-winning multimedia journalist and resident of the North End of Middletown who has been reporting nearly every facet of the city for over two decades.