CHICOPEE – Students at Paulo Freire Social Justice Charter School lent a helping hand to the ongoing turmoil occurring in Ukraine through a donation drive.

Brianna Rivera, Tyler Jones and Tevaughn Smith serve as some of the essential voices empowering the charitable endeavor. As members of the school’s social justice panel, Rivera and Jones shared that the group were in the process of organizing a charity drive for the local area when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine took place.

“This is our first taste of war unfolding before our eyes, it’s really horrifying to see everything going on,” said Jones.

Jones said the panel initially discussed supporting Ukraine through wearing the flag’s colors in a day of school-wide support, but the group ultimately expressed support for organizing a drive to provide tangible donations for the Ukrainian community. The students collected clothing, toiletries and non-perishable food items for the drive.

Smith said he discovered a flyer for the event and decided he wanted to get involved. “Wherever I can lend a helping hand, I am proud to be a part of it…It’s a sad time we’re living in, so it’s nice to extend an olive branch,” said Smith.

Rivera shared that the trio and the social justice panel started the process by reaching out to local organizations running donation drives to Ukraine. Once they discovered an accepting outlet, the panel raised awareness for the drive by creating flyers that provided information on the ongoing Ukraine situation. After intending for the donation drive to last three days, the students shared that panel extended the drive to last the remainder of the week.

The Ukraine drive reflects another example of students taking action during complicated social times. Jones discussed how the situation mirrored experiences with the George Floyd movement, with both situations inspiring him to get involved as an activist.

“One of the biggest pillars of the school is activism and social consciousness…I felt like we had to do something for Ukraine, as social justice can have a giant role in helping Ukraine.” said Jones.

For Rivera, she said social justice remains important to her as a member of the panel and the student council “It’s not only about showing support but taking action…social justice motivates me to help people any way I can,” said Rivera.

Readers can learn more about the Paulo Freire Social Justice Charter School at https://www.paulofreirecharterschool.org/.