Beverly Hills PTA Collects Essential Items For Ukraine

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — Half-way through their donation drive to benefit Ukraine, the Beverly Hills PTA Council has received tons of donations, according to Executive Vice President Lorraine Eastman.

Relief efforts have popped up around the country to support Ukraine amid Russia's ongoing invasion, including collection efforts and demonstrations across Los Angeles. The Beverly Hills Unified School District PTA Council, which oversees all BHUSD schools' individual parent-teacher associations, began a donation drive on March 7 to collect essential items for Ukrainians.

The PTA Council will have collection boxes outside all of the district's schools until March 21. Given the influx of donations at Horace Mann Elementary School, the PTA Council encourages residents to bring donations to other BHUSD schools.

Anyone can drop off donations during school hours. Donations will be sorted into boxes and given to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Los Angeles, which will ship them to Ukraine.

Suggested items include clothes, flashlights, first aid materials, diapers, infant formula, sheets, blankets and batteries. See the full list of suggested items on the drive's flier.

The PTA Council is thankful for the huge amount of support they have received, particularly from the school communities, Eastman said.

The PTA Council has held similar drives in the past, according to Eastman. When Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, Hawthorne Elementary School collected around 1,000 pairs of shoes to send to kids in affected areas, Eastman said.

"We're in a fortunate community and we have the ability to help. We should do our part, and this is a great lesson to the kids," Eastman said.

To see a list of the district's schools, visit the BHUSD website.