Big and small fundraiser in Southern Minnesota take initiative to support humanitarian efforts in Ukraine

Jun. 1—LANESBORO — Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, communities across Minnesota have mobilized to support humanitarian aid initiatives in Ukraine and Poland by organizing auctions, information sessions and friendly fundraising competitions, all with the goal of donating the funds raised to on the ground relief efforts.

Three organizations in Lanesboro — the Lanesboro Public Schools, Discovery Faith Community and the Sons of Norway Heimbygda Lodge — all held fundraisers that together raised more than $12,000, while a series of art auctions hosted by the International Owl Center in Houston brought in w whopping $222,000.

"Early in the conflict with the information that people were receiving, the community thought it would be definitely a way for us to share and do national humanitarian acts," said Andrzej Zalasinksi Jr., executive director of the Lanesboro Area Chamber of Commerce.

After hearing about the invasion, Alison Leathers, the president of Lanesboro's chapter of the Sons of Norway, said the group was in the process of planning an April meeting when the group decided to dedicate the meeting to learning more about the conflict. The Sons of Norway reached out to Zalasinski to speak on a program titled "Thoughts on Eastern Europe."

"I've been traveling to Poland due to my mom passing just recently, and I've been to Poland just when the conflict occurred," Zalasinski said. "I didn't have a first-eye view on the internal conflict, but being in Krakow, I was able to see the waves of refugees coming in."

At the meeting, Zalaskinski played videos recorded by his cousin, Pawel, of initiatives happening in Poland as volunteers meet refugees fleeing Ukraine, and the work to get them temporary housing and other necessities.

"It was really neat to hear a first-hand account of something you normally might not necessarily make a connection to on the news or national media," Leathers said.

Leathers said they decided to hold the seminar with Zalasinski and take donations for Alight, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit organization that is currently working on providing aid to Ukrainian refugees, because the group felt helpless and wanted to find a way to support relief efforts.

"We were just thinking about what we could do with current events in Ukraine and Poland," Leather said. "It was just a good night to come together and feel like we were doing a little something to be of help."

On April 4, Lanesboro Public Schools launched a "penny wars" fundraiser to support on the ground relief networks for Ukrainian refugees. Sara Twait, a kindergarten teacher at Lanesboro Elementary School, helped organize the fundraiser, which ended up exceeding the $1,200 goal by bringing in about $3,000.

According to Twait, the staff wanted to do something to boost morale as the school year closed out and decided on a fundraiser to support Ukrainian refugees. By doing this fundraiser, Twait said the staff wanted to teach their students values like compassion, understanding and empathy.

"The kids all seemed super excited about it," Twait said.

Within the first 24 hours of the fundraiser, the students had already met half of the fundraiser's goal, and according to Twait, the fundraiser was not just made up of parent donations as students mentioned taking money from their piggy banks to contribute to the penny wars.

Just 30 miles over in Houston, Minnesota, the International Owl Center is preparing for two art auctions later in the summer to raise money for UNICEF. The art sold at the auction, according to executive director of the International Owl Center Karla Bloem, came from children in Ukraine.

The Owl Center, which has annually hosted the International Festival of Owls since 2003, conducts an owl art contest for children as part of the festival. The contest morphed from a local coloring contest into a competitive international competition.

"So we had many pieces of art that had been sent to us from Ukraine over the years," Bloem said. "When war broke out, we pulled out some of the images and shared them on our social media and e-newsletter and said, 'We're thinking of these kids and are hoping they're safe.'"

Bloem said after people started sending inquiries looking to buy the art, the Owl Center partnered with the Houston Area Community Foundation to set up an online auction.

"Going into it, I thought 'Well, if we do good, we'll get $100 a piece in that first auction,'" Bloem said. "We got over $1,000 for every one in the first auction and raised $100,000, so I was just speechless."

The Owl Center ended up auctioning over 200 pieces of art in their three auctions so far and still has about 100 more pieces to sell. "Everybody in Houston was just extremely proud of how we did," Bloem said.

It has been just over three months since the invasion. Alissa Jordan, the global activations lead for Alight, said she has gone on two humanitarian aid tours in Poland and mentioned that Alight's team in Poland is still meeting refugees as they cross Poland's border with Ukraine.

Since the invasion, 6.8 million refugees have fled Ukraine with 3.6 million of them landing in Poland. In Poland, Alight has been working on finding temporary housing for refugees through a partnership with Airbnb and is working on converting old buildings in Poland into housing.

"(We are) still seeing a lot of people crossing the borders every day, of course, as things continue to be just unstable throughout Ukraine," Jordan said. "A lot of people are finding refuge in Poland in particular because of its border with Ukraine and there are opportunities there in terms of jobs and housing."