Long Island woman from Ukraine collecting donations to send overseas
LOCUST VALLEY, N.Y. -- A Ukrainian woman living on Long Island is worried sick about her family still in Ukraine. Now, she wants to do more to help.
Sasha Johnstone said her small community is stepping up in a big way, CBS2's Leah Mishkin reported Monday.
The Ukraine-native has worked at the Karmic Grind coffee shop in Locust Valley, a community of several thousand people, for more than two years.
"Our community is so small. Everybody knows everybody, and the news spread out so quickly," Johnstone said.
Johnstone cannot fly to be with her family in Western Ukraine because she's in the green card process. Her parents, grandparents and younger brother are there.
"Waking up, it's the first thing I do, I check in on them. Check in on them every hour, are they online, is everything OK," Johnstone said.
Johnstone, 27, felt helpless watching the images coming out of Ukraine. She said she channeled that energy and figured out what she could do from the U.S.
A shipping company based in New Jersey is collecting medication and hospital supplies to send overseas. Johnstone sat outside her coffee shop with a Ukrainian flag, telling anyone who stopped by how they can help.
"We had a man yesterday drive all the way from Islip just to hop by and say hello and say kind words and check in on me," Johnstone said.
In just three days, Johnstone collected a room full of supplies. She's also raising money to send to a women and children's shelter in Lviv, which is not far from the border with Poland.
"I don't even have words to describe how amazing it is to see everyone show up and stand up and unite," Johnstone said.