Oklahoma Woman Helps Take Supplies To Ukrainian Refugee Camps

A Tulsa woman is delivering three suitcases worth of goods to people in Ukrainian refugee camps this week.

Crystal LeGrone said goodies and trinkets won’t replace lost homes and loved ones, but she hopes they can at least provide a moment of distraction.

LeGrone is heading to Europe for the second time this year. She is armed with suitcases full of goodies for kids in a Ukrainian refugee camp in Estonia. She said it’s in a small town just 26 miles from the Russian border.

LeGrone said this location used to be a summer camp for kids, but now much of it has turned into a refugee center for young children and families who have lost belonging, homes, and loved ones. She said since the war began, Estonia has taken in more than 35,000 Ukrainian refugees.

LeGrone said she took a similar trip back in April. She said the devastation in the refugee's lives and on their faces is hard to forget.

“They were really happy to have a secure place where bombs weren’t falling,” LeGrone said. “We had one little boy who cried in the evenings because he was anticipating the bombs would start again.”

She tells us they expect to fill at least 150 backpacks full of crayons, coloring books, toiletries, snacks, and more. While she is there, she said she will spend time volunteering in other parts of the camp as well.

“My goal is to keep going back and not just show up once, show up again and again, and be the face of the Americans who love and care for them,” LeGrone said.

She said she plans to take at least one more trip to the refugee camp in the fall with several more suitcases full of needed items.

If you would like to donate items, you can contact Boston Avenue United Methodist Church HERE.