LA GRANDE — Good Samaritans are showing that every donation, even from the other side of the world, makes a difference.

La Grande resident Anne Morrison was one of the organizers of a recent demonstration at Max Square to raise funds for those in need in Ukraine. Her family connection to the frontlines in the war-torn country is ensuring that contributions from rural Oregon have a far-reaching effect.

Morrison organized the demonstration on March 12 alongside Kate Gekeler and Cheryl Simpson, with live music from Al MacLeod. The event raised $21,000 for Ukrainian citizens in the country as well as refugees fleeing the war. Local fundraising efforts continue that will put supplies and aid directly into the hands of those in need.

Morrison’s cousin Ian Dempsey, of Colorado, met his wife, Sofia, while on a mission trip in Ukraine nearly a decade ago. The couple have numerous existing connections in war-torn areas of Ukraine, one of which involved assisting Sofia Dempsey’s sister and young nieces in fleeing to the United States.

Inna Stasiuk and her daughters, Valariia and Alina, fled Kyiv in late February, relying on help from the Dempseys in their travels through Poland, Italy, Spain and eventually to Mexico. The family was able to link up with Ian Dempsey at the California border in early April after staying at refugee centers in Tijuana. Stasiuk and her daughters, ages 10 and 2, have since taken shelter with the Dempseys in Colorado.

“A big thing was not knowing what the process would be once they got to Tijuana,” Ian Dempsey said. “That was a bit of a challenge, because I did not want to scare them from not making the trip. I really thought it was the best thing to do.”

Reaching out

The Dempseys are exhausting all resources to help other people fleeing Ukraine and those still residing in the country. The couple are working with friends in Ukraine to get donations, such as those collected in La Grande, to those leading humanitarian efforts in the country.

“The folks that we’re connected with in Kyiv are church organizations mostly,” Ian Dempsey said. “We’ve given some money to friends in need, like a friend who has five kids. When they evacuated, they were not able to bring most of their clothes and most of the kids did not even have a pair of shoes when they left.”

One of the church organizations, in West Ukraine, is housing roughly 60 refugees from the eastern side of the country. Another church receiving funds is holding more than 400 refugees and loading vans full of supplies to take into the most dangerous and devastated areas of Ukraine. The Dempseys are also assisting refugees who left everything behind to escape to freedom.

“I think what people like about the way we’re sending money is that it’s really cool to see the pictures of these people that have specifically received money,” Ian Dempsey said. “To be able to see things getting directly into the hands of the Ukrainian people gives a full sense of who it’s going to and who it helps.”

The donations are going toward medical supplies, food, gas for supply distribution, bedding for refugees, financial support for individuals fleeing the country and defensive gear for Ukrainian fighters.

In addition to Anne Morrison, other La Grande residents have ties to Ukraine and are putting together efforts to garner donations to reliable sources. Fuji and Jim Kreider lived in Odesa, Ukraine, for a year in 2003, and have stayed in touch with a close friend, Nataly Kartasheva, who is now living in the Netherlands and helping refugees afford transportation, temporary residence and safe traveling.

Arie Farnam, a La Grande resident who came from the Czech Republic, has been helping in efforts to aid disabled individuals in Ukraine.

Continuing the efforts

Those involved and in close contact with frontline Ukrainians see no immediate end in sight to the dispute with Russia,

Ian Dempsey noted that donations go a long way — the average monthly salary in the country is roughly the equivalent of $200 in the United States.

The Anne Morrison-Ukraine Fund is accepting donations through PayPal, which can be sent to amorrison@eoni.com. The Kreiders’ trusted friend helping refugees flee Ukraine can be helped via PayPal at pranzhu@gmail.com.

“No one really knows how this will end, or when,” Dempsey said. “I pray that free countries around the world continue to come together to help these people in need.”