There is an easy, local way to help the besieged people of Ukraine, who have been struggling against Russian invaders for more than two years now. You can visit Little Wing Relief Works to donate goods and money and shop at the thrift store. Little Wing, staffed by volunteers always working toward sending another huge shipping container of supplies to Ukraine, is housed in a warehouse behind the Market on State Street complex in Athens.
War is deadly, crippling and destructive in many ways. For family after family, community after community lives are lost, homes abandoned, neighborhoods turned to rubble, kin separated from one another, and, in this war, Ukrainian children kidnapped and taken away to Russia. There have been more than 30,000 civilian casualties.
In this Goliath against David confrontation, Ukraine’s David has been aided by worldwide, formal government aid topping $270 billion dollars. This has helped Ukraine go on resisting with hope. As a member of NATO, the U.S. must be grateful for the durable strength of the Ukrainians’ continued resistance to the aggressors. NATO members Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania have eastern borders with Ukraine. Our allies would be greatly endangered if Russia succeeded in overrunning Ukraine.
Along with governmental aid, though, the Ukrainian people need non-governmental humanitarian help from people like us. Across America various efforts are succeeding in getting medical and other supplies to Ukraine. For the last two years Little Wing here in Athens has been collecting donations of material and money. The nonprofit endeavor has already sent three huge shipments to the east coast for travel to Ukraine and is preparing a fourth to go in July. Medical supplies, childcare items, hygiene materials, vitamins, packaged food, new clothing, soldiers’ equipment (for instance, dark clothing), large bags of pet food are all needed. The site littlewingrelief.org provides a complete needs list.
Little Wing needs money as well as other donations. Right now, funds to purchase trauma kits, which cost $50 each, are urgently wanted. The kits are critical for the emergency care of persons at sites of attacks, because blood loss is a great threat to life. The organization also runs a successful and large thrift store in the warehouse. You can find nearly anything smaller than a refrigerator. The money from sales pays for the shipments to Europe.
Little Wing’s hours are noon-5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. The warehouse is at 1006-C E. State St., at the rear of the Market on State Street long building. This well organized and bustling project is supported by numerous local businesses and other groups, including Lowes, Tractor Supply, and Rural Action.
Are there packaged foods in your pantry that you’ll never eat? Have you acquired meds, clothes, tools, toys that you’ll never use? I certainly have, and I’m going to take a box of them over to Little Wing. I can also make some small donation toward a needful trauma kit. Can you? We all want to stand up for democracy, and helping Ukraine preserve its autonomy furthers that cause.
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