Dear Parents and Students of SJJ,

Saint Joseph Parish has recently taken part in helping to bring a refugee family from Ukraine to the US. Currently, the family is getting settled in a home and beginning to adjust to their abrupt, new normal.

As you recall, SJJ school took part in a Lenten Service Learning Project to help this family. Monetary donations were collected each Friday during Lent and your generosity was overwhelming. In addition to the weekly collections, SJJ students had the opportunity to participate in creating and participating in spiritual bouquets for the family in their Religion classes and creating pictures and cards for the three children as well.  As Mrs. Estephan originally stated  “We want them to feel loved and welcomed by our school community and feel that this way of children helping children is an awesome chance!”

On Holy Thursday, we were able to bring the cards, bouquets and a monetary donation to the house. We visited with the family and talked with them about life in the States. We enjoyed hearing about the kids’ schooling and how well they have adjusted to being here.

This was an extremely humbling experience. Tears of joy, gratitude and love were shared by all of us! We were extremely proud to present the gifts to the family, but most importantly to see the joy on their faces was priceless. Their gratitude was hard to put into words at the time.

A few days later, we received this letter from 10 year old Sasha, written to the the families and students of SJJ:

Hello, my name is Sasha, I am writing you a letter from myself, my sister Diana and my brother Mykola. We are sincerely grateful to you for your letters. After reading them, we felt your support. Thank you so much for your kindness, sincerity, time and resources. Thank you to your parents for raising such kind, sensitive children. Let everything you do for us return to you a hundredfold. We will definitely use your gift for a useful introduction to your country and culture (we will go to the zoo, visit cultural places). Peace, health, goodness, success in studies, good and faithful friends. The Polyanchuk family is sincerely grateful to you.

Sasha Polyanchuk

Again, we are so grateful to you for your generous and kind spirit.

Thank you again for the kindness you showed to this family.  

Sincerely,

Mrs. Francis
Mrs. Estephan