Refugee Resettlement Project
The two Stillwater Rotary clubs, Stillwater Sunrise and Stillwater Noon, are assisting a Ukrainian family of three with immigration paperwork, finding travel arrangements, connecting with local resettlement agencies, getting housing secured, assisting with transportation, enrolling the children in school, finding employment, and walking through the medical system. We embarked on this journey in June 2023, filing our application with the US Government and receiving approval to sponsor a family shortly after.
You can help with this ongoing project! Donations are accepted through our GoFundMe page: https://gofund.me/3c5221c0. Household items will are needed - see below. At some point, we will be looking for a used car the family can use to get to work and navigate in their new community. Do contact us if you have some ideas here. Our goal is to help our new friends achieve a point of independence; a goal they share equally. Keep us in mind; share our good news and don’t hesitate to reach out to a Rotarian to learn more.
November 28, 2023 - Moved In!
Oksana and her daughters have moved in to their new apartment on Greeley Street, and they are reported to be very happy in their new home. Many thanks to the dozens of volunteers and donors that made this wonderful result possible.
November 15, 2023 - Household Items Needed!
Oksana and her daughters are moving to their new apartment on November 18, and there are many things that would help in their new place. If you can help, please check out the list of needs and enter what you can supply. You'll be contacted by someone from one of the two clubs with information about how to deliver the items. Thanks for your help!
See the list: Requested Items List
Submit your response: What I Can Supply
Check Other Recent Responses: Response List
October 18, 2023 - Update
We are now pleased to announce that Oksana and her daughters, who left their home in Odessa shortly after the war started, have finally arrived in the US, welcomed by a group of Rotarians who have been working on their behalf.
Within a week’s time, our group of Rotarians dedicated to this effort, connected Oksana with a resettlement agency in Minneapolis, enrolled the two girls, Varya and Masha, in Stillwater schools and connected them with Ukrainian speaking friends while they learn and improve their English.
For all that has been accomplished up to this point, we all know that the journey has just begun and that the most rewarding days are ahead. As Rotarians, we lean into this effort with hearts filled with the joy of bringing some good into a dire situation. Fellow club members have supported the team of thirteen Rotarians with donations and by spreading the word. Community members and friends have done the same. Good people step up when we do good in the world.
October 16, 2023 - Household Items Sought
The family's apartment will be available around the 15th of November. Many of you have said you may have something to donate (household items, furniture, etc.) and that is so greatly appreciated! We have determined that the best way we can handle this is to have you submit a picture(s) to Jeanne Matlock to be coordinated with our team working on this part of the Rotary project.
First and most important is that this will give the mother, Oksana, agency in selecting what they like and will be living with in the future. It will also help us in not having to arrange storage space, in not guessing what they may like or need, and finally in not having to return to you or donate somewhere else items they may not choose.
Please send a picture (cell phone pictures are very acceptable) to Jeanne Matlock with any particular details, e.g. measurements for any furniture pieces, general condition of item(s), etc. We will be purchasing new mattresses and, most likely, European-style platform bed frames & bedding as this would be what they are used to having. And there is an allergy to pets, so we cannot consider any upholstered item that has been in a home with pets. Please include any other applicable information.
Once again, we (Jack & Jeanne Matlock, as well as Stillwater Sunrise & Noon Rotary Clubs) greatly appreciate any help you can provide and your understanding that we will not be able (most likely!) to accept everything offered.
(If you need contact information for Jeanne - please request it using the Contact Us link, above)
