EAST PENNSBORO TOWNSHIP, Pa. (WHTM) -- A Cumberland County church is collecting donations to help refugees in Ukraine, and the community's response has been overwhelming.
"I'm just speechless," church owner Galina Bychik said.
A trailer full of donations now sits outside Word of Life Baptist Church in East Pennsboro Township.
"Thanks God for the people who open their hearts for this donation," church owner Sergey Bychik said.
The new owners Sergey and Galina Bychik started collecting clothes, diapers, and other supplies for Ukraine on Monday.
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"As a Christian, we [are] looking for people who need the help,"
Sergey said.It started as a small effort, but word quickly spread.
"People were driving an hour and a half, two hours, just to drop off stuff," Mary Bychik, Sergey and Galina's daughter, said.
Sergey and Galina's children, as well as other children in the church's youth ministry, helped collect and repack donations.
"We pack up, pack it up into boxes, put a label what's in the box and then pack it into the house," Mary said.
Donation boxes are now piled high in not just the trailer outside the church, but in a neighboring garage and three separate rooms.
"At first, we thought that maybe people that were Ukrainian would be more prone to coming, but then we saw all kinds of people coming together," Daniel Lyashchuk, who helped pack supplies, said.
This donation drive is personal for the church community.
"We have a lot of friends in Ukraine," Sergey said.
Many members have family in Ukraine. Galina's sister, brother-in-law and their nine kids live in Mariupol, a city under heavy attack from Russia.
"For 20 years, they had their own house, and then they just left everything," Galina said.
Galina's sister and her family are now in a safe place in western Ukraine after leaving Mariupol.
"They were driving for two days," Galina said.
These donations are for families like them.
"We're praying for them, and we're praying for Ukraine," Galina said.
Sergey and Galina said they have received so many donations that they cannot take any more physical supplies. They are still accepting cash donations, and the money will go to friends and relatives in Ukraine.
Cash can be donated in person at the church on 927 Wertzville Road, Enola, PA. Donations can also be made through Venmo @WordOfLife-ChurchHBG.
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