CAPE MAY – A new group, Cape May Shelters Lutsk Inc. held another fundraiser to help support victims of the Russian attack on Ukraine Sept. 25.
The group was started by three businesswomen who decided to use their abilities and resources to support those in the war-torn region. The founders are Charity Clark of Cape Resorts Realty, Shirley Phinney of Elaine’s and Vesna Palifrova from Crest Savings Bank.
To date, the group Cape May Shelters Lutsk, Inc., has raised roughly $114,000 for the relief effort. The group was started after the others learned that Palifrova was sending her personal money to her brother who is still in Ukraine.
Clark said Phinney had asked Palifrova how her brother was, and learned that his city, Lutsk, had been bombed and there was a shelter filled with widows, orphans and senior citizens. Palifrova and her husband were sending every penny of their money to help relatives. Phinney was so moved she handed Palifrova a check immediately.
The team of women decided to host a fundraising event in May and set up a GoFundMe account. They also filed for 501(c)3 status for the nonprofit. The event in May turned out to be highly successful, Clark said.
Not only did it raise money, but it drew supporters as well. Jack Wright from Exit Zero came on board, along with Patrick McGonigle. Although he is new to the community, McGonigle has been a match donor and accompanied the group on a trip to refugee centers for Ukrainians in Warsaw, Poland.
Warsaw is relatively close to the Polish border with Ukraine and has served as a good access point for the group.
A group of about 10 from Cape May carried 18 large suitcases filled with winter clothes, sweaters, socks, and so on, and brought them to a refugee center in Warsaw. There, the refugees seemed well but were showing signs of distress over being forced from their homes and country. Many also mourned the loss of loved ones.
“They are the lucky refugees because they are not living under missile attacks,” Clark said.
The bags were headed for Lutsk, which, it has turned out, is one place where people are getting some relief, thanks to Cape May Shelters Lutsk, Inc.
“Literally, yesterday,” Clark said in a conversation recently, “the Ukrainian Parliament sent a representative to Lutsk because he heard they had food there.”
Clark said after the Ukrainian forces took back the region, three truckloads of relief supplies were packed up and sent from Lutsk to Izium under the guard of Ukrainian forces.
“We will be the first to have eyes on what is happening in this town,” Clark said. “There is no other humanitarian aid.”
Clark said this has only encouraged them to raise more to replace what was collected for the shelters they were already supporting.
The people in Lutsk now know about Cape May, Clark says. They are receiving pictures from the refugee shelters, and one little girl sent her artwork to Cape May and asked them to sell it to raise money for her pregnant, widowed mother.
“With every dollar we send we literally know who we are touching and who we are helping,” Clark said.
Clark said all the marketing, event costs and travel expenses are being paid out of pocket by the group’s members.
Another fundraising event for Cape May Shelters Lutsk, Inc., is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 1, from 3 to 8 p.m. at Harpoon’s on the Bay in North Cape May and they’re advertising their efforts on Facebook.
Local Woman Goes to Help At Refugee Center
As Cape May business owners fundraise for Lutsk, the President of Cape Hope, a social service organization in the county has gone to Poland to volunteer.
Denise Venturini-South arrived in Warsaw, Sept. 26, to begin volunteering at the Modlinska Humanitarian Center, where hundreds of Ukrainian refugees are being housed.
By coincidence, South met a wealthy Polish businessman named Kristof Szczesny. Szczesny owns a sports arena that now serves as a refugee center. Though the Polish government had previously helped to fund the operation, Szczesny had to turn to American friends for help. Through a mutual friend, South found out about the humanitarian center.
South asked if there was a way to get involved. She was told there were few ministers there, but few leaders of ministries for women and mothers, of which there are many at the center.
South said she had a feeling about a year ago that God wanted her to use her experience in some way and she thought it would be with Cape Hope. Then, she said, she was presented with the opportunity to work with about 1,200 Ukrainian refugees.
“I realized this was what God wanted me to do,” South said.
Many of the women at the center have left their husbands, who are fighting the Russians. Many have been forced to single parent because of the war.
“These are women who had lives, careers, businesses, families – and their children were in school – and it was all taken away from them. A lot of these women won’t leave the refugee center until they go home. They aren’t allowed to walk around Warsaw,” South said.
South said her role will be to minister to these women and children with the goal of bringing hope to the desolate.
She said she was also reminded of the story of Exodus and the release of Israel from bondage in Egypt. “This might be a burning bush moment for these people,” she said.
Ed. Note: The author, Christopher South, is married to Cape Hope President Denise Venturini-South. Thoughts? Email csouth@cmcherald.com or call 609-886-8600 ext. 128.
