During two recent meetings – one with the Township Council, and the other a joint meeting of the Council and Board of Education – Natalia Sawka shared her family’s personal connection to the war in Ukraine, using it as a way to connect the greater Livingston community with the horrors that are currently ongoing half a world away.Sawka and her family have done incredible things in the past month. They have helped their Ukrainian hometown of Chervonohrad by supplying funds to provide food for three daycare centers that are housing 150 people. Her family also opened their Ukrainian apartment to house nine people and is providing direct financial support to an additional 20 people. This grassroots effort has taken on the name “Friends of Chervonohrad.”And they are just getting started. Now, Sawka is purchasing four tablets with her own money, to provide access to education, as all schooling is currently remote due to the war and not all students have a necessary device. In all, there are 2,000 refugees in Chervonohrad in need of this access to education.She is anticipating that those tablets are the first of many, and that’s where the Livingston community comes in. She is hoping residents, businesses, and classrooms will “adopt” students in Chervonohrad who need tablets to attend school. For each tablet paid, the donor will receive updates about the student they sponsored, to give people a sense, on a very personal level, of the individuals they are helping.Sawka’s family worked hard to afford a home in Livingston so that she and her brother could benefit from the town’s exceptional school system. As a mother of two children and someone who knows the value of education based on the opportunity her parents granted her, she said last week, she feels compelled to help as many children as she can. She hopes others in Livingston feel the same way. After all, few things are more important to stability for a child than a consistent education.The response has already started. At this past Monday’s meeting, Sawka announced that one family has purchased 50 tablets.As we regularly say, Livingston is known for its exceptional volunteerism. From countless charities and organizations, to drives and fundraisers, this community can take up a cause like no other. Let’s make this the latest Livingston initiative we rally around. Let’s be Friends of Chervonohrad.To provide assistance and learn more about this effort, go ...
