Volunteers in Evergreen Park had only three hours Wednesday to pack 600 boxes of supplies on the back of a truck before it had to hit the road. They were done in less than an hour. And Ukrainian refugees in Poland are soon to benefit from their efforts.
That is thanks to the latest response from the community to the calls of St. Bernadette Parish. Volunteers moved a collection of medical supplies and survival items from the church’s Quonset hut to a truck, which will make the first leg of their journey to Poland to aid in humanitarian efforts there.
“All that goodness, generosity and compassion is being unleashed from people with hearts in such a powerful way when the need arises,” said the Rev. Benedykt Pazdan, who organized the collection. “People are good. There is so much goodness in the world. This is proof of it.”
The collection came together quickly, according to Pazdan, who is pastor of St. Bernadette. The weekend before last he started asking parishioners for supplies such as diapers, formula, toiletries, socks and over-the-counter medications to help Ukrainian refugees.
“The word got out,” he said. “People really responded.”
St. Bernadette also raised nearly $60,000 for the Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Rzeszów, Poland, a southeastern city roughly 60 miles from Ukraine. Pazdan said he was overwhelmed by the community’s response.
“I wasn’t expecting us to raise $60,000 in a very short time,” Pazdan said. “I did two collections, then people just kept on coming and donating. It’s still coming. It’s wonderful.”
Pazdan grew up in a village near Rzeszów, where he said the humanitarian needs are particularly great because of the volume of refugees staying there.
“When the war broke out, that’s very close to home,” Pazdan said. “Not that we don’t care about peace all over the world, but when it’s so close to my family and my friends and my hometown, it just takes on another meaning.”
The Rev. Artur Sowa, pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Orland Park, and Pazdan have been friends since they went to seminary together in that region of Poland. A mutual friend of theirs still lives there and runs Catholic Charities in Rzeszów. St. Francis of Assisi has already raised roughly $90,000 for that branch of Catholic Charities.
“We were talking and just wanted to do something,” Sowa said. “In addition to praying for people, we wanted to do something for those people. We decided to do the collection.”
St. Francis of Assisi collected roughly 100 boxes of supplies. Queen of Martyrs and Most Holy Redeemer churches in Evergreen Park, and Evergreen Park High School, also contributed to the effort. And St. Germaine School in Oak Lawn allowed children to come to school out of uniform for a day as long as they wore the colors of the Ukrainian flag. The school took a freewill donation.
“To our astonishment, our school collected $2,400,” kindergarten teacher Peg Donnelly said, noting it was donated to Catholic Charities for humanitarian aid. “Our school also put signs in the windows asking people to pray for peace, and we say a special peace prayer during our morning prayers.”
Members of the Evergreen Park Fire Department, including Chief Ronald Kleinhaus, came out Wednesday to help with the heavy lifting at St. Bernadette. Pazdan asked for assistance, and Kleinhaus was not about to turn him down.
“He’s our fire department chaplain,” Kleinhaus said. “He’s always there when we need him. He needed a little help this morning.”
Firefighter/paramedic Jon Czerwien was among those lugging boxes from the hut to the truck. He said there was no hesitation among the crew.
“We got into this job to give back to the community,” Czerwien said. “It’s just another opportunity to help out.”
Members of the Saint Xavier University football team offered some muscle. The student council from Brother Rice High School also chipped in. Matt Prunckle, the dean of student life for Brother Rice, said the Crusaders’ motto is to “act manfully in Christ Jesus.”
“We really value ourselves as being a community school,” Prunckle said. “When we can reach out to the local parishes and help, we try to step up as best as we can. We’re really excited to play a small part and have a global reach.”
Rotary District 6450 has been using warehouse space to receive, organize and transport donations. It secured cargo space on a weekly flight to Poland for supplies and connects with Rotarians there to make sure everything gets where it is needed, according to Debi Ross, the past district governor for the Chicago metropolitan area district.
“That’s really important,” Ross said. “If you’re giving something, you want to know that it’s going to get where it’s going.”
Ross said it is easy to feel helpless when seeing the nightly news about what is happening, and people have been eager to connect with the Rotary’s efforts.
“I think for everybody, this is just something we can do,” Ross said.
Pazdan said part of the reason many refugees from Ukraine have stayed in Eastern Poland, despite being welcomed all over Europe, is that there are cultural similarities between the countries. But Ukrainians are also trying to maintain an optimistic outlook on the future, he said.
“They’re hoping they’re going to be able to go back,” Pazdan said. “Hopefully it’s going to be the case for them, but it doesn’t look that easy. I’m proud of the Polish people that they opened their homes and their hearts.”
Pazdan said St. Bernadette will continue to collect both money and supplies for humanitarian aid as long as it is needed. He does not want people to forget about what is happening there.
“The need is great,” he said. “The need remains.”
Bill Jones is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.