At St. John Byzantine Catholic Church in St. Catharines, emotions and frustration about the unjust conflict in Ukraine are running high.

“It’s not a war, it’s an invasion,” Rev. Anton Szymychalski said at the church on Wednesday morning.

But there is also an air of hope as donations pour in from across the Niagara Region to support the people and soldiers defending the democratic nation.

“It’s been amazing, really, the turnout for volunteers and people donating. Everyone’s got some sort of a connection to Ukraine right now, whether they are Ukrainian or not,” donation organizer Laryssa Doig said.

The church has been collecting medical, military and cash donations to send directly to Ukraine. It raised more than $60,000 in five days to pay for shipping, buy supplies and make direct donations to Ukrainian charities.

They have already shipped 600 boxes of supplies to the embattled country, Doig said.

But they will be doing this until the war is ended and need to tap into Niagara-on-the-Lake’s generous spirit to help as many people as possible, she said.

“If we can rally as a community in Niagara-on-the-Lake, that would be amazing,” Doig said.

She referenced NOTL's distinct military history in Canada and said residents should see their desire to help Ukraine as an extension of that past.

“The war history is there. I know no one has lived through it like this. But, you go to the museum, you go to Fort George, it’s all part of the history, regardless.”

The church is looking for specific supplies right now in the form of military, medical aid and cash donations.

Items include: trauma medical supplies, Polysporin with antibiotics, Kevlar helmets and bulletproof vests, among many others.

A full list can be found on the church’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/stjohnukrainian/.

Doig realizes not everyone has Kevlar helmets and vests lying around their home and encourages individuals to join with their neighbours to purchase such supplies.

“Anyone from Niagara-on-the-Lake, if you want to match up with your neighbour or bring in a monetary donation. Money is huge, because it’s going there almost immediately,” she said.

Doig said a "crazy" number of people have been reaching out to the church asking how they can help.

“It’s incredible. People are calling the office here saying they can host a family,” she said.

“It’s like, 'We don’t speak the language but we want to help out, any way we can.' ”

Scott Thompson and Holly Stewart pulled up to the church in a large van loaded with dozens of boxes of hydrogen peroxide and rubbing alcohol to help the wounded.

“It seems like an unjust war and that’s where the compassion is coming from for the whole world right now,” said Thompson, who has no direct ties to the country.

“It seems, from an outsider's perspective, that this is an act of pure aggression,” he said.

“It’s scary to say the least and donating is the least we can do,” said Stewart.

They both work for Avondale Food Stores and Stewart said stores across the region can now accept point-of-sale donations that will be forwarded to the church.

It is up to individual managers to determine whether their store will accept the donations but they all have the option, Stewart said in an email to The Lake Report.

Sharon Faulkner walked into the church supported by a cane in one hand and carrying a box of medical supplies in the other.

The senior barely spoke a sentence about the invasion of Ukraine before she broke into tears and could not continue with an interview.

“You know I can’t (speak about it) because I’ll cry,” was all she could manage to say before her eyes filled with tears.

Church member and volunteer Bryan Trush spoke about the prolonged difficulty the last few years have presented.

“It’s devastating. Basically, we’ve gone from a pandemic to a war and in my lifetime I never would have expected this,” he said.

“It’s unbelievable, to be honest.”

He encouraged people to donate, no matter how little. “Every bit helps, right? Look at all this stuff. It’s incredible.”

The church’s auditorium is lined with boxes and supplies for a hundred feet in either direction.

Szymychalski said he understands people feel helpless in Canada.

“What can you do? Well, this is all that we can do,” he said, gesturing to the supplies around him.

“So, we try to do it the best and we say we are here as long as they need us.”

“It’s completely unprovoked. It amazes me that it is even happening,” he said.

One donor, who wanted to remain anonymous, said, “I cannot believe, in 2022, that this is happening. Putin's got to go. He is threatening the whole world. He is threatening democracy everywhere.”

“It’s disgusting. (Ukraine President Volodymyr) Zelensky is the true hero right now,” she said.

Doig has family in Ukraine and has been in constant contact with them as they try to cross the border into Poland.

“We have one cousin who has a two- and seven-year-old. She tried to cross the border by herself because her husband couldn’t leave,” Doig said.

“She was waiting for over 24 hours to cross the border. So, she decided to go back because her kids were not doing very well.”

Doig said her cousin is in a safer area of Ukraine than many others, but noted she still feels “helpless.”

“That’s how this whole thing got started. I was sitting on the couch watching CNN for those first 36 hours and, like, you’ve got to do something,” she said.

“When I started, I was selling T-shirts and baking cookies to sell and now I’m shipping boxes halfway around the world.”

Doig said most of her extended family is in Lviv, but has now travelled to smaller northern villages for safety.

“They’ve been in touch via Facebook every day, which is great.”

Doig quoted the adage “it takes a village.” In this case, it will take the whole region of Niagara to help those suffering from the Russian invasion.

Donations can be brought directly to the church, at 91 Lakeshore Rd. in St. Catharines, between 8:30 a.m. and 8 p.m. until Saturday, March 12.