Newton Woman Collects Medical Supplies For Ukraine
NEWTON (CBS) – A Newton woman is moved by the overwhelming show of support to those suffering in Ukraine.
"I'm touched, but the American public has been very generous when there's a crisis in the world," said Katya Malakhova.
She heads a non-profit called Sunflower of Peace that's collecting much needed medical supplies to people in her home country.
Strangers dropped off donations to her front door in Newton. Boxes of medical gloves, gauze and much more stacked taller than people. It's a way for them to feel like they're connected – and to help.
Related: How To Help The People Of Ukraine
"Coming up here with a small bag from CVS and then seeing this incredible amount of boxes. It feels like less of a drop in the bucket," said Erica Smiley of Watertown.
It's a small gesture of kindness, but a meaningful lesson of compassion for her four-year old son.
"We took our 4-and-a-half-year-old son to CVS," Smiley told WBZ-TV. "We told him what they need, that some people are getting hurt on their bodies and he enjoys the opportunity to be a helper."
Earlier in the day, MIT students used their voices to bring awareness to the violence by holding a rally on their campus in Cambridge.
"I'm so far away and there's so few things I can do from here," said student Maria Smyk who's thousands of miles away from her loved ones in Ukraine.
"We've been going to rallies all across Boston," she said. "We're trying to do all we can."
By speaking out, holding up signs or dropping off donations – it's a way for people to feel like they're making a difference.
Malakhova's organization Sunflower of Peace has also raised more than $840,000.