Hamden Hall Community Works Together for Ukraine Donation Drive

Over the last few weeks, the Hamden Hall community organized and collected items for a donation drive benefiting Ukrainian families. All school divisions participated in the effort with students, faculty, and staff overfilling donation boxes with medical supplies, toiletry items, and children’s items such as coloring books, toys, and crayons. 

 

All donations were transported to Maidan United Inc, a non-profit organization in Hartford, Conn., that works to provide aid and medical supplies to Ukraine. The monetary donations collected go directly towards purchasing other necessary items and medical supplies

 

In addition to contributing to the overall donation, a group of Middle School students took it upon themselves to create their own fundraiser and held a candy sale during their recent Beckerman Night. Seventh-graders Anand Persaud and Anderson de Graaf came up with the idea and worked the sale. Other students involved were classmates Sam Seigel, Felix van Dokkum, Cooper Zebrowski, Landon Sassu-Martin, Kieron Cain, and Jacob Charlesworth. The fundraiser raised over $600.

 

While the in-school drive has concluded, students and families can still contribute items. Shelley Amen, parent of Grade 6 student Sophia Amen-Risinger, has started her own initiative called 1000 Bags of Hope. The initiative began as a grassroots project that evolved into a donation relief effort to “restore hearts and minds of those in need.” Shelley uses gallon Ziplock bags and fills them with other bags of supplies ranging from medical supplies, bandages, feminine products, cold medicine, teacher supplies, and more. The bags are assembled with a selection of each items and packed to be shipped to a transfer station that will be brought to Ukraine and displaced families in Poland as well.

 

The community can also help by filling out supportive message cards that will be send to Ukrainian hospitals as people are recovering. Shelley noted this is an effort to support and uplift those in need. Anyone interested in donating or learning more on how to get involved can email Shelley at 1000bagsofhope@gmail.com.