Since February 24, 2022, Russia, a global superpower, has invaded Ukraine. It has been over 75 days since the fighting began, leaving Ukrainian citizens with destruction and violence. The influx of need for food, clothing, and medical supplies has only increased since the beginning of the war. To help combat this, Becton Regional High School Seniors Valeria Drybushar and Giana DiLemme, along with the Becton National Honor Society, created a donation drive to aid those suffering due to the conflict overseas.

Before the donation drive was in full effect, a lot of planning and preparation was necessary to make the drive possible. Valeria Drybushar, one of the leaders who led the event, states, “I came up with the idea of doing the drive with a good friend of mine, Giana DiLemme. I have been volunteering at a Ukrainian Church in Clifton and they have been collecting donations, so we figured that local schools would like to help.¨ After the two reached out to Becton´s Superintendent and Principal, Dario Sforza, alongside Administrative Assistant Sharon Skeehan, the event was approved a week later. Both Skeehan and Sforza were more than happy to help, and do anything necessary to make the drive as successful as possible.

From then, everyone went right to work to optimize the success of the event. Skeehan and Valeria worked closely together to create a flyer that was posted school-wide. Skeehan also was in charge of reaching out to all of the other schools in our district, including Carlstadt Public School, McKenzie Elementary School, East Rutherford Faust Middle School, and Maywood Public Schools, to see if they wanted to participate in this drive. The schools were more than happy to help with this great cause! In addition, there were also daily announcements made at Becton to inform all students and staff about the event.

The Ukraine Donation Drive was a very important event that needed to be held at Becton. Drybushar explains, ¨It was important for Becton to do this drive because it showed that the school cared for its students, and it shows that we are not intimidated to talk about issues happening in the world.¨ She also affirms, that ¨A drive like this brings awareness to a situation you cannot control, and the only thing you can do is to find ways to try and help people in need.¨ 

Drybushar also reveals how the ongoing, tumultuous war has been affecting her. She explains how the war has, as a Ukrainian, affected her life greatly. When she found out about the initial invasion, she grew very emotional. She states, “Being one of the Ukrainian-cultured representatives in the school, the war definitely has had an unfavorable effect on me. I am a first-gen American and seeing how upset my friends and family are was really hard for me. Even though I do not have immediate family that lives there, our family friends are still trying to live through the war.¨ Drybushar also affirms that she has tried to help in the conflict in any way she can, such as volunteering at her local Ukrainian Church, attending protests, and spreading the word of the war on all social media platforms.

The Becton event was set to collect donations from March 28, 2022, until April 11, 2022. There was a large collection bin located in the main office where students and faculty could drop off their donations. On April 13, 2022, Valeria, Giana, Skeehan, NHS advisor, Amanda Colangelo, and volunteers from the National Honor Society went to each school district to collect donations. From there, they then took the donations to the Ukrainian Women’s Church in Clifton, New Jersey. This particular church has connections overseas in Ukraine. They are able to ship all the donations which then get delivered to suffering victims of war. The priest at the church, along with the Becton community, were very grateful for all the delivered donations.

As big an impact as Becton wants to make, one school’s actions, although appreciated, are not enough to end this cruel war. Valeria Drybushar advises all students and staff who want to offer help to get involved! She encourages readers to follow social media pages, attend civil protests, donate supplies needed, organize their own events, or call their local officials and congressional representatives to aid victims of war in some capacity. 

If you would like to help or make a monetary donation, please visit CNBC to view some of the top-rated and reliable charities to help Ukrainian citizens get through this horrific war.