Ukrainian Immigrant Offers Humanitarian Help To Refugees At Ridgewood Church

RIDGEWOOD, NJ — Born in Ukraine, Anastasia Bard, who immigrated to the U.S. at 15 years old and now lives in Ridgewood, said watching the ongoing, "senseless" war in her native country has been difficult for her, and that the only thing keeping her sane is her ability to help others affected by the conflict.

So, Bard, whose father lives in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, took to Facebook in June to ask if anyone has storage space that could be used to display and distribute humanitarian aid to Ukrainian refugees. Her friend Lyubov Ferara soon responded that she had been using a room at St. Elizabeth's Episcopal Church of Ridgewood to store aid, and the following week, they started clearing out space there.

Since the store opened on June 17, hundreds of Ukrainian refugees, some with children, have come to pick up what they needed; some people have traveled from outside the village, even as far as Pennsylvania or New York, Bard said.

Everything from toiletries, to toys, to dry food, to clothes, to school supplies are provided for free at the space, which was filled with donations from families in just a matter of weeks, Bard said.

Bard's friend Ferara — who has much of her family, including her mom, in Ukraine — is also a Ridgewood resident and, like Bard, has kids of her own. Both seek to support those who are fleeing Ukraine to the U.S., and are spreading the word of the humanitarian assistance offered at the Ridgewood store.