Community thanked for welcoming Ukrainian families

I wish everyone had been able to see the smiles.

Like Nastya’s when her father drew the Old Maid. Or Oksana’s when she proudly displayed her new driver’s license. Or Viktoria’s when she responded, “I am fine. How are you?” in perfect English.

The team that brought two Ukrainian families to Dixon late last year was blessed to see those smiles and many more. None of those smiles would have been possible, however, without the support of many people.

As the team winds down its work, I believe it’s important to thank all who helped.

Several models exist for sponsoring Ukrainian refugees. Some people (somehow) do it by themselves. Others work through a civic or church group and share the tasks among the group’s members. And others – like ours – strive to involve an entire community.

Every team needs leaders, and I am lucky to know some of Dixon’s finest. I started with Dave Schreiner and Rick Curia, who were enthusiastically supportive. Dave then made the project immediately viable when he donated two apartments in KSB Hospital’s resident housing for six months.

From there, we added Nancy Varga to lead our fundraising, Andrea Cook to ensure our families received appropriate benefits and health care, Margo Empen to handle education-related issues and Mary Oros and Amber Schmidt to coordinate our welcoming and orientation efforts.

Our to-do list grew as we identified the two families we were sponsoring, and so did our team. Eventually, the team included Stepheni Chandler, Jennifer Dallas, Aaron Fox, Linda Hellmich, Mandy Curia Hinkey, Ann Lee, Ermir Ramadani, Sarah Vogeler and Megan White.

We also called frequently on Dr. Stanislav Brandis, a local anesthesiologist and native Ukrainian who provided invaluable cultural perspective and translation.

Our first family – Oleg, Oksana, 7-year-old Nastya and twin 3-year-olds Bogdan and Roman – arrived Nov. 22. Our second –Oleg and Viktoria – arrived Dec. 29. Because of the team’s efforts and the community’s support, each family’s first experience in Dixon was moving into a comfortable, furnished apartment with a well-stocked refrigerator and pantry.

In the months that followed, our goal was to help the families achieve their goals: security, stability, independence and opportunity. Thanks to many, those goals have been reached.

To properly thank the members of our team, I would need to list everything they have done, an impossible task given the desired length of this column. I can note, however, that all approached their roles with kindness, patience, dedication and devotion. While all have demonstrated commitments to this community in many other projects, I hope this effort provided them rewards unique among the many trophies, plaques and accolades they’ve collected over the years.

We also must thank our two families. Whatever leap of faith we made when we started this project pales in comparison to the leaps of faith they made when they left everything they knew and journeyed to Dixon. Thrust into a place they’d never known and surrounded by a new language and strange culture, no one would have blamed them if they’d sat shocked and silent in their new apartments.

But they didn’t. They embraced their new challenges, found meaningful employment and demonstrated a courage and resilience that have inspired us since they arrived.

We also have been inspired–and humbled–by the community’s support. Many donated money, the significance of which cannot be overstated. Our families would not be independent today without cars and the ability to pay rent. Thanks to the tens of thousands of dollars donated, our families can meet those expenses. Others gave furniture, toys or clothes, which also were deeply appreciated. Others offered a smile, a welcome or a word of encouragement, all of which were important in helping our families feel comfortable here.

Among the many community members who helped our families, some repeatedly offered to provide whatever we needed, and we weren’t bashful about asking. Two of them were Deb and Bill Crowson. I won’t embarrass them by listing everything they contributed, but I hope their involvement in this project brought them the pride and satisfaction it should.

From its inception, this project has been about dreams. Our families dreamed of peace, safety, freedom and a second chance at the life ripped from them by foreign invaders. Our team dreamed of making this possible, of leading an effort to make our home a place that some of the world’s most frightened, desperate and deserving could call their home, too.

Thank you, Dixon, for making all those dreams come true.