Ukrainian Americans in NYC raise nearly $1 million to send medical supplies to Ukraine: "I have to do my part"
NEW YORK -- A group in the East Village is working half a world away to help people in need in Ukraine
As CBS2's Ali Bauman reports, in a small single room in the heart of the East Village are the women behind one of the world's largest digital charities for Ukraine.
"Right now, our focus is on providing emergency response for people in Ukraine with medical supplies, hospital supplies and support for displaced persons," said Dora Chomiak, president of Razom for Ukraine.
Razom for Ukraine, which translates to "together for Ukraine," was founded in New York eight years ago with a couple dozen members to promote their culture.
"Now all the gears are being shifted to support Ukrainian army and to support the refugees," said Mariya Soroka, co-founder of Razom for Ukraine.
Over the last two weeks, Razom has enlisted hundreds of volunteers and raised nearly $1 million to buy and transport medical supplies to Ukraine.
"They still need the tourniquets. They still need the gauzes," volunteer Maria Genkin said. "There are people, both Polish and Ukrainians, going from Warsaw and other Polish towns, picking this up, taking it to Lviv and then, like, you know, they're trying to distribute it."
In addition to fundraising, Razom also organizes call campaigns and protests throughout the city, rallying outside the United Nations on Tuesday for NATO to enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine.
"That means NATO will shoot down any plane that will be flying over the territory of Ukraine," Soroka said.
These women spend 20 hours a day fundraising and orchestrating, separated from their families by 5,000 miles.
"My grandmother is in Kyiv right now. She's 94," Genkin said. "If I don't work and start thinking too much about that... I think all of us are like that. We can't process this, but we know that we need to do things and we can be helpful."
Soroka's father is a linguistics professor now fighting in the Ukrainian army.
"And I call him to make sure he's OK and I'm crying and he's telling me that I have to be strong because I have to do my job, I have to do my part," Soroka said.
Doing everything they can from halfway around the world.
For more information on Razom for Ukraine, visit razomforukraine.org.