Help the Lieman's Become Official US Residents!

Story

Hello from Allie Launius and Jared Hutchinson (and baby Harlow). Last year, we were fortunate to sponsor a wonderful family from Ukraine to resettle into Austin - the Lieman's. Our initial fundraiser blew us away - and now that the Lieman's have settled in and found employment in Austin, TX - they're eligible to begin the long, expensive process to acquire green cards. This is a second (final) fundraiser to support the upfront costs of beginning the green card process. Where are the Lieman's now? In our first fundraiser, we said "Not only will they benefit from living and working in the US - the US will be a better place with them here." We were right. Anton's employer, Benchmark Cabinetry, immediately extended a full-time offer after seeing his work. Mariia is thriving in at Lakeway Elementary, playing tennis and attending summer camp. And Olha is a Ukrainian translator for a refugee support organization. They’ve driven to see other Ukrainian friends across the country and are thrilled to do more road trips. Anyone that has spent time with them recognizes how lucky we are to have them in our communities. What does the fundraiser support? Now that Anton is fully employed, the Lieman’s are eligible to begin the process to acquire green cards. This multi-year process requires bureaucratic patience, a lawyer, and a lot of savings. This fundraiser will help the Lieman’s cover the upfront costs of hiring a lawyer to begin the green card process. As a refresher (or if you're new here) - who are the Lieman's? Olha and Anton and their daughter Mariia were all born were born in raised in Luhansk in Eastern Ukraine near the Russian border. Shortly after giving birth to Mariia in 2014, Russians invaded and occupied Luhansk. Olha and Anton were forced to flee with Mariia, abandon their lives and careers, and start over. At the end of 2020, Olha and Anton gave birth to a second daughter, Valeriia. Unfortunately, she was born with severe health issues. Fast forward to Feb 2022: the Lieman's are living and working in the town of Bucha just outside Kiev. Anton and Olha launched a business building and designing high-end furniture. Olha also fundraised for a local non-profit supporting victims of domestic violence. Once again, Russians invaded, and they are forced to flee in February with both of their daughters - Maria and Valeriia. In Olha's words --"We were escaping Bucha on Feb 25 - we went left. If we had gone right, Russians were shooting civilians." They escaped barely what is now known as the "Bucha massacre" - a war crime that included hundreds of executed civilians. Olha, Anton, Valeriia, and Mariia were able to arrive in Germany. Sadly, baby Valeriia passed away in Germany due to her health issues shortly after arriving. Why is this important to us? A very special person in our (Allie and Jared)’s lives, Edith (and her husband Frank), were refugees welcomed to the US during World War II. Edith and Frank were blessed to have made it to America in their 20's, but America was even more blessed to have them here. (Edith considered herself a "New Yorker" until the age of 102 and used to say "we Americans..."). Having known the Lieman's for over a year now, we have found them to possess similar qualities to Edith and Frank - they are authentic, devoted, and unbelievably resilient. Their presence makes their country and community a better place.