GREENFIELD, Wisc. — It's a labor of love that volunteers with the Ridge Community Church accepted without hesitation.
The volunteers are packing hundreds of thousands of boxes full of much-needed goods will be sent overseas to help those seeking refuge from the war in Ukraine.
"It's more than just packing boxes or giving supplies, it's really helping to save lives," said Tyler Volker, a volunteer.
It all started after the Ridge Church teamed up with four other area churches and 25 local businesses to collect critical items that shelters in Moldova and Romania need to aid Ukrainian refugees.
"There's a guy that attends church here that owns an international shipping company and then there's a member here that is from Ukraine who then connected us with Pastor Olay and some of the people on the ground there, and that just set everything in motion," said Ridge Community Church lead pastor, Mark Weigt.
In just 10 days, the Ridge Community Church collected thousands of toiletries, food, diapers, and more mainly for women and children fleeing the devastation in Ukraine.
"Ninety percent of the people they are seeing coming across the borders into Moldova into Ukraine are women and children," said Jodi Tonarelli, the executive pastor.
However, in order to ship the supplies, it'll cost $110,000. That's when the WeEnergies Foundation stepped in to help by granting the church $50,000 to continue its mission.
"We see these images of these families that need help and so this is a way to say we can do something here that gets help to those that need it the most," said Brendan Conway, a spokesperson for WeEnergies.
The church says they're accepting donations until Wednesday night, and a flight to get these items over to eastern Europe is scheduled for March 29.
"To be a light when it's really dark, and it's a dark time right now, this is an opportunity to show others good can happen," said Volker.
If you would like to help and donate to the cause, click here.
