Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
In A Church In East Hollywood, Volunteers Show Up Every Day To Pack First-Aid Supplies For Ukraine
A rally at the Federal Building in L.A. to protest Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
(
Robert Garrova
/
LAist
)
In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, an average of about 30 local Ukrainians have been showing up daily to the St. Andrew Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Los Angeles to help pack boxes with a variety of emergency aid.
They’ve been packing things like first aid and hospital supplies, along with items that can be used by the military — such as flashlights and binoculars — and other critical items such as baby formula, said Seva Mohylyak, who’s coordinating the effort.
“The basement in the church is packed with stuff ready to go,” said Mohylyak, a Ukrainian immigrant whose father is a surgeon in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv.
It’s all headed for Ukraine on a flight scheduled to leave LAX on Thursday.
Support for LAist comes from
Mohylyak said he got involved a little over a week ago, after he asked his father what kind of medical supplies would be needed to help people injured in the fighting.
He began collecting medical supplies in his apartment, then eventually connected with the church and the broader Ukrainian humanitarian effort in L.A. that’s been growing since Russia invaded Ukraine last month.
This past Sunday, local Ukrainians and others gathered at the Ukrainian Culture Center in East Hollywood to coordinate efforts. At the same time, volunteers assembled a large number of medical first-aid kits to send over.
Mohylyak said these, along with the supplies that are being packed at the church, will be flown to Poland on Thursday by a shipping company with local offices that serves Eastern Europe. From there, the plan is to truck the supplies to Lviv, which is near the Polish border and has become a hub for relief shipments.
More aid flights from L.A. are planned in the coming days and weeks, Mohylyak said.
Here’s more information on local efforts to help Ukraine.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake. -
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
Best of LAist