New Jersey nonprofit taking its mission to help Ukrainians to the national level

A New Jersey nonprofit is taking its mission to help the citizens of Ukraine national.
The call went out on Tuesday and four days later a storage unit was packed with donations. A second one is on its way to being filled.
“As the need exploded – there’s so much pain and suffering over there – the response over here has been tremendous,” says Yuriy Boyechko.
Boyechko was born and raised in Ukraine and is now raising his family in New Jersey. He is running a donation drive through his Hope for Ukraine nonprofit. The organization has been helping Ukrainians in need since 2016. The group took on a new meaning two weeks ago when the war with Russia began.
“People left. They left with nothing,” Boyechko says.
At the facility in Florham Park, volunteers are collecting clothing for men, women and children, along with medical supplies and diapers. All of it will be packed into a shipping container and sent overseas.
Hope for Ukraine also has people on the ground, using financial donations to buy and deliver food and other immediate needs.
Boyechko has plans to take his group and spread it as far as it can go by opening similar drop-off stations across the country.
“People who want to volunteer and run these – we will rent storage units and people can drop off donations and we will ship that,” Boyechko says.
He predicts that he will be sending a container a day down the road, based on the generosity he has already seen – a generosity he says blows him away.
“I’m so touched by everyone who stepped in and who really is pushing that darkness out of Ukraine together with us,” Boyechko says.
Hope for Ukraine accepts donations at Extra Space Storage in Florham Park on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The facility is giving them a unit for free.
The group is also accepting financial donations to help pay for more storage units, shipping costs and food and supplies. More information can be found at the Hope for Ukraine website.