Help Me Help Aliona and Her Family

Allie Sonevytsky is organizing this fundraiser.

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Aliona, her mother, and her 9 year old daughter Emilia came to DC from Ukraine to visit Aliona’s sister in Christmas 2021, never expecting that their one-month visit would turn indefinite. With their plans to return home happening right when the devastating Russo Ukrainian war began, they knew it would be unsafe to return home. Again, hoping that would only extend their trip a tad - it has now been over a year and they’re not sure when they’ll ever be able to return, or even what is left of “home” anymore. Just imagine leaving your home and all your things - exactly how they are - and never seeing them again.

Now they’re trying to do the best that they can to build a life here with just the mere things they packed, Emilia in a new school she never expected to start, leaving the life they all loved so much behind unknowingly. Aliona has finally been granted Temporary Protective Status, but is having a difficult time getting a job that works for the hours needed as a parent because of her limited English, so she’s now trying to afford English classes. To make matters worse, Aliona’s mother just broke her leg falling off of a bike. With no insurance, she’s now in a deeper hole to help support her family.

Through this unexpected hardship in their lives, this family has become dear to ours and we’ve been trying to help them as much as we can, but it’s not enough. It would mean so much to me if we could present Aliona with a financial cushion to help soften the blow of this situation they landed in.

THANK YOU to all of those who have already donated Barbies and clothes for Emilia - hearing about the Barbies she misses back home and watching her receive new ones.. it just brought the light back in her eyes that every little kid deserves to have at this time.

If you can even spare $5, $10, $20 - collectively, I know we can help get this family in a better position to have a fighting chance here. At the end of the day, they just want to be home :-( I’m hoping we can show them that their unexpected reality can feel as close to home as possible by helping them see that managing daily life here is a lot more obtainable than it has been so far.

Thank you so so so much for anything you can give!!!

UPDATE: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to all who helped Aliona’s family get some financial assistance to help with her mom’s medical bills! I cannot thank you all enough and she was SO touched!

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