STRONGSVILLE, Ohio — As of earlier this year, more than 7 million children have been affected by Russia’s war in Ukraine, which is part of the reason two teens made it their mission to help the children affected.
During the holidays, many 16-18-year-olds usually enjoy their Christmas gifts, but David and Edward Seredenko are busy organizing bins.
Bins filled with donations for orphanages in Ukraine.
“The idea was kind of both of us. The war's been going on for a while, and these kids they don't deserve what's happening and they really need the help. So, we wanted to help, and then we have some relation to Ukraine, our dad's Ukrainian,” said David and Edward.
A few months ago, the brothers decided to give back. To do it, they used their family connections, especially their grandma.
“She lives in Parma, and in Parma, there's a Ukrainian village. Our grandma has a lot of connections. Her cousin is [the] bishop who found us these two orphanages,” David said.
They picked two orphanages, Saint Nicholas and Mother and Child. They were put in contact with the orphanages and given a list of 48 kids between the ages of 4 and 16.
The boys then put a call out to friends and family on social media for clothes, shoes and toys for the children on that list. Before they knew it, donations started coming in fast.
“Every morning, we'd wake up, and then there'd be like a bag of clothes at our front door, and it just started piling up,” David said.
They filled nearly a dozen bins with donations, and more keep coming in.
“It’s just kind of surreal, all of these clothes. I’m going to be honest; we only expected to see four of these bins filled, and that’s about it,” Edward said.
The brothers say it was important to remind the children in Ukraine they are not forgotten.
“Imagine if you were the person in that orphanage and you got donated all these things like that would make you so happy. That's what I like to think about when I’m doing this,” Edward said.
They also want to remind everyone it doesn't take much to make a difference.
“Everything counts, and there's so many people that are struggling that people don't know, so it's like even if you have just a little bit to give, you should give it,” David said.
The Seredenko brothers hope to ship the bins in January, but they are still looking for a sponsor. They plan to do something similar every year.
For more information or to donate, Edward and David can be reached at the following emails:
seredenkofamily@gmail.com
censai14sere@gmail.com
