PRA Group has thousands of employees worldwide, including an office in Poland.

It’s there, in one of the countries neighboring war-battered Ukraine, that the Norfolk-based company has sent supplies over the border and aid to refugees. Employees at the Poland office have been busy supplying food, medical and hygiene items, volunteering at border crossings, securing housing and providing shelter to refugees.

“They are an inspiration to their colleagues around the world, and as a company, we are determined to support them,” PRA Group President and CEO Kevin Stevenson said of the team in Poland.

Stevenson said that when he helped found PRA Group more than 25 years ago, he wanted to build a company that did things the right way for the long term.

The nonperforming loan purchaser recently donated $50,000 to support the ongoing cause. The funds are helping supply several shelter facilities with medical and educational needs, food and water, clothing, heating, fuel for transport and other essential services.

Karol Pietka, country operations director for PRA Group Poland, said in a news release that the company is working to ensure the contribution reaches refugees where it will make the greatest impact.

Following the donation, Stevenson received word that an employee at PRA Group in Canada was searching for assistance to help her cousin escape from Lviv. Pietka volunteered to retrieve her and her 7-year-old daughter at the border. The two were safely reunited with their family in Canada, but only after learning their hometown had been bombed.

“I speak on behalf of the entire company when I say we could not be prouder of the profound empathy with which our Poland team is responding to this devastating crisis,” Pietka said.

Sandra J. Pennecke, 757-652-5836, sandra.pennecke@insidebiz.com