Hi, my name is Trish, and I am putting out a request to help our student Olya.

As most of you know, Olya's home country Ukraine has gone through a devastating attack from Russia. Her hometown has been invaded, and her parents and 8 yr old sister have had to flee to a remote part of the country to stay safe. Her dad's bank cards have been cut off, which has resulted in her bank card being cut off as well. She has less than $100 right now.

Exchange students come with their own spending money and pay for almost everything here (toiletries, spending money etc). While we have offered to pay for her needs, she is having a tough time asking for anything. I know events are coming up where she would usually buy things; prom is one. Right now, she has started to look for babysitting jobs to fund this but hasn't been successful yet.

I have been thinking about this for a bit but hesitant to request as asking for anything is very awkward and humbling for me. Today Olya told me that her sister is in the hospital right now due to anxiety over everything that has happened to her. I would love to take any worry off her family and raise some funds to give Olya. She and her family will not see this post, as I would love to surprise her with anything raised. She would also be hesitant to ask, as she hasn't asked our family for anything.

So many friends have reached out, asking about Olya and how you can help. If you can, anything donated would be so appreciated. This is uncharted territory. Olya does not know when she will be going back to Ukraine. She had plans to return in the middle of May to take exams and get into college for the fall but that has been postponed and her life plans are up in the air. Through all of this she has remained gracious and more positive than I would be in this situation.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.