Notice the Ukraine flag on Johnson Street? Holiday Automotive shows support with a $10,000 donation
FOND DU LAC – "We stand with the people of Ukraine."
These words flash on a digital sign outside Fond du Lac's Holiday Automotive, catching the eyes of drivers on Johnson Street and Rolling Meadows Drive.
As Ukraine's military works to block Russian forces and take back its territory a month after the initial invasion, individuals and businesses across Wisconsin have pushed to donate money and do what they can to help, including Holiday Automotive, 321 N. Rolling Meadows Drive.
For the last few weeks, Holiday has shown its solidarity with Ukraine and its people by flying the Ukraine national flag on the flagpoles of its main campus, alongside the American flag and Wisconsin state flag. The neighboring Holiday Ford and Holiday Mazda followed suit.
However, Holiday Chairman Mike Shannon said in a news release he and his team wanted to support aid efforts more directly.
“Seeing the people of Ukraine rising up to defend their country and others fleeing their homes to escape the destruction in their communities, raising their nation’s flag just didn’t seem like enough," he said.
The Mike Shannon Automotive Foundation and Holiday employees collectively donated $10,475 to Catholic Relief Services, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Maryland that provides overseas relief.
According to its website, the organization is assisting Catholic churches in Ukraine and surrounding countries, providing food assistance and transportation, as well as shelter, clothing, hygiene products and counseling services for displaced families at reception and evacuation centers.
The assistance is extended to Ukrainian refugees in Moldova, Romania and Poland.
So far, Caritas Ukraine, of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, has received nearly 315 tons of relief items from partners like Catholic Relief Services, affecting almost 56,000 citizens, according to the Catholic Relief Services website.
About 92% of the organization's expenses go to its programs, which also include COVID-19 and hunger aid.
Contact Daphne Lemke at dlemke@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @daphlemke.
RELATED: New construction at LaClare creamery aims to enhance goat-focused offerings, garden center
This article originally appeared on Fond du Lac Reporter: Holiday Automotive Fond du Lac makes donation for aid in Ukraine
