Lake Barrington coffee shop hosting fundraiser for Ukraine Friday

CHICAGO (CBS)-- A Lake Barrington coffee shop is hosting a fundraiser to help send supplies to people in Ukraine. 

Husband and wife Nick Nagorski and Yana German organized the fundraiser from 10 a.m. to noon Friday at Pepper Park Coffee to raise money for those trying to defend their country. Yana is from Belarus and Nick is from Ukraine, and he still has family there. It's a big reason why the fundraiser is so important to them. 

Yana spoke with a soldier in Ukraine Friday morning. He said there's much they still need amid the third week of the Russian invasion; including bulletproof vests and helmets, because there aren't enough to go around.

Yana and Nick have been working to raise money not just to help soldiers in Ukraine, but also the families who are still there. Nick's father, grandparents, and aunt are still in Ukraine, and his brother is one of the soldiers on the front lines.

Nick said he wakes up every morning sick, not knowing if anyone will pick up the phone when he calls his family to check in.

"You do what you need to do. ... I can help here more than there, so that's why we're doing all this fundraising, all this help," he said.

"We all have God in us, we all can pray, but it's about the actions, and that's what we stand for," Yana said. "I'm a mother, and there are fathers, and sisters, and brothers, and aunts and uncles, and we all just want to see tomorrow."

If you can't make it to the fundraiser in person, you can visit the United for Peace Fundraising page on Facebook. They've raised more than $13,000 so far, but still have quite a way to go to reach their goal of $30,000.

Proceeds go to "United For Peace" to purchase first aid kits, helmets, food and sleeping bags.