Some of the students at St. Catherine School helping with the Christmas Boxes for Ukraine effort. Photo supplied by Bilyana Coburn.

By Curtis Galbraith

Community

Grande Prairie teacher organizes Christmas Boxes for Ukraine to help kids and seniors

Nov 2, 2022 | 2:21 PM

A Grande Prairie teacher is organizing an effort to help seniors and kids in Ukraine.

Christmas Boxes for Ukraine would see boxes filled with various items and sent to people there.

Bilyana Coburn teaches at St. Catherine School and says some of the students from there have taken boxes home that they and their families can fill.

“With items that are very much needed in Ukraine right now like a flashlight with batteries or stuffies for kids. The boxes themselves are a little bit bigger than a shoebox.”

The items that would be included for kids would be socks/hats/gloves, sweets, hot chocolate, soft toys/plush toys/stuffies, a small flashlight with batteries, markers/colour pencils, craft items, and a soft blanket.

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Coburn says one of the things that would be included in the senior’s boxes is vitamins and painkillers like Advil or Tylenol.

“I also got in touch with a pharmacy because I am that person, so I called a pharmacy and all I was asking was what do you have in the pharmacies? How much are things and so on and so forth.”

“One of the ladies, the pharmacist, was super-sweet and took me on a tour through the pharmacy she works at and one of the most expensive things was vitamins and painkillers.”

Coburn says electricity and water will be hard to get this winter and there are no fruits or vegetables coming in.

The list for seniors also includes socks/hats/gloves, sweets, hot chocolate, a small flashlight with batteries, tea, hot chocolate, instant coffee, and pillowcases or bedding.

The boxes would be delivered to an orphanage near Lviv and a seniors care home also located in western Ukraine.

Coburn says that the orphanage takes in kids with disabilities, and it is at capacity with 300 kids in an old building.

She adds she would print labels in a language the people there can understand that would be placed in the boxes.

Coburn says the collection end date will be November 20.

“We would love to get them there by December 25, between (the) 25th, New Year’s, and January 6 because that’s when their Christmas is.”

“New Year’s is also a big deal in Ukraine, so any (time) at that point would be fantastic.”

Donations can be dropped off or boxes picked up at St. Catherine School located at 12815 104A Street Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. or at the Troyanda Dance Studio located at #110 8716 108 Street Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 4 to 7:30 p.m.

Coburn says anyone who might want to fill a bunch of boxes can also email gpforukraine@gmail.com

Coburn also organized an effort called Easter Baskets for Ukraine earlier this year.