Help family in Ukraine

Dear friends:

I am humbly asking you to join us in helping my Ukrainian family, who until very recently were life-long residents of Kharkiv. They are now refugees and survivors of the ongoing Russian war.

The war has changed my family’s life forever. They have endured constant daily air bombings, shelling, and despair. They were sheltering in the cellar without heating or electricity. They lived through horror of separation and not knowing if all the family members were physically unharmed. My middle sister was separated from her son and the rest of the family. She could not cross Kharkiv’s Russian occupied territory to reach my mom and rest of my family. My mother sheltered my middle sister’s son, my youngest sister with her 2 young children and my sister’s husband in her house. When they no longer thought they could survive in Kharkiv, despite the constant bombardment, they drove for 6 days to Western Ukraine. My middle sister also fled after a bomb landed in her back yard shattering all the windows. She had no electricity, no heat or water for over several weeks. She drove through Russia to Latvia and she is now in Lithuania, hosted by kind strangers.

My family was forced to leave everything behind to escape the Russian bombardment and invasion. They all lost their homes, their jobs, and the business they built over many years. Everything they have known and cherished all their lives has been ripped away. Uncertainty is now their daily reality. However, their resilience is extraordinary.

We are asking for your thoughts and prayers, and any donation you can give to assist us in helping them during this difficult time. Your donation, however small, will help them to start over and rebuild their lives. We are very grateful for any support you can provide.

With love and gratitude,

Tanya Lutzker

Greg Trachiotis

P.S. The picture above is a painting created by my youngest sister's daughter. She is 13 years old. She and her 10-year-old brother are now in Western Ukraine.