‘We see these funds as sacred’: Group of men delivers Utah donations to Ukraine border
Mar 24, 2022, 5:10 PM | Updated: Jun 18, 2022, 8:51 pm
SALT LAKE CITY — A group of six men from Utah left for the Ukrainian border to help refugees who were fleeing the war.
Several of the men lived and volunteered in Russia and still have friends there. As they departed the Salt Lake City International Airport Thursday, they carried the emotional and financial support of their communities.
“We happen to be in a position where we could go help. We have the support of our families and friends and coworkers, and we have this opportunity and decided to seize it,” said James McCoy, one of the humanitarian volunteers.
Brian and Amanda Grow, of Kaysville, started organizing this humanitarian mission a week ago and the financial support and manpower grew quickly.
Thursday the five men from Utah, and another from Arizona, left the Salt Lake airport, bound for the Ukrainian border in Moldova.
“They need the help,” said Grow. “So, we said OK, we’ll bring some more troops.”
Last week, he and his wife were just putting the pieces together on this humanitarian mission.
Right now, a bigger group than they expected is on its way to the Ukrainian border because generous donors delivered more than they expected in financial aid.
“People in the community wanted to do something, and it allowed us to raise more funds and more awareness,” Grow said.
In Moldova, they will join other volunteers already doing humanitarian work. Four of them speak Russian and previously volunteered there near the Ukrainian border.
McCoy and Grow were together in Russia nearly two decades ago.
“Knowing the people, understanding their culture, just feeling the connection to them we were feeling a desire to go help, and these people have lost everything through no fault of their own,” McCoy said in an interview at the airport.
In one week, the group raised more than $25,000 on GoFundMe. Their children and friends raised money through bake sales and generous donations.
Each day in Moldova, they will use three rented vans to deliver supplies to refugees at the border and then drive them where they need to go.
“It might be a train station to send them further into Europe. It might be taking them to another family who has offered up their home,” Grow said.
They will also give refugees blankets and SIM cards.
All six men paid their own way so that the money raised goes directly to refugees who need it.
“We’ve got support coming from all avenues, and so we see these funds as sacred, and we want to go over there and use them as effectively as we possibly can,” McCoy said.
The humanitarian volunteers said they’re excited to get this mission going and they were humbled by the extraordinary support.
You can contribute to their efforts here.*
*KSL TV does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisers and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
