The Barrington High School community is doing what it can to help Ukrainian refugees.

BHS teachers Suzanne and Steve Pickford organized a donation drive late last week that resulted in dozens of boxes of goods being shipped to Poland for the war refugees. Another Barrington High School teacher, Patrick Scott, is helping organize a special Ukraine relief dinner, which will be held on April 1. 

The idea for a donation drive surfaced last week when the Pickfords were watching the nightly news. When they got to school the next day, they told their students about the drive and Wednesday through Friday, the students brought in countless items. 

“It’s incredible. I’m really so overwhelmed by my students. I told them that today. My room was full and my heart was full,” Mrs. Pickford said. “They were so thoughtful with what they brought. There were kids who went out and purchased diapers. They purchased all sorts of products for children. They were really thinking about the refugees.”

On Friday afternoon, shortly after classes dismissed, students arrived in the Pickfords’ classrooms and began boxing up the donations and then packing them into vehicles. 

Daria Smuk was there. The war in Ukraine has hit home for the Barrington High School senior — her father’s family is from Ukraine and her mother’s family is from Russia. 

Daria said her father flew to Poland on Wednesday to help his mother, who lives in the western part of the country. 

“My dad’s actually in Poland now helping my grandma move in with my uncle in Sweden,” Daria said. 

Daria was very happy with the response to the donation drive. 

“I didn’t expect this big of a turnout, especially in terms of supplies,” she said. “It was pretty last-minute. I’m very surprised about how much stuff has been donated. 

“I’ve been looking for things I can do to help. I can’t really help directly, but I’ve been looking for places to donate. I’m glad that the Barrington community has put this together to help.”

Daria said the refugees need all sorts of supplies. “I have family and friends who literally packed a backpack and that’s it,” she said.

Jane Small was helping pack boxes on Friday afternoon. The Barrington High School senior said she posted a notice to the National Honor Society Google page and a number of students responded. 

“It was definitely surprising — they told us about it Wednesday afternoon. I went to Shaw’s that night and I got some stuff to donate,” she said. “They (the Pickfords) just told their classes… Thursday morning, I was ‘Wow, we had a lot.’ I came in this morning and I was ‘Oh my goodness, so much more has been donated.’”

Jane, like many other students at Barrington High School, was looking for a way to help. 

“I think that’s why we got so much… as soon as they announced it, I went out” to the store, she said. 

After about 45 minutes of packing vehicles on Friday afternoon, Mr. Pickford announced that more cars were needed to help transport the donations. Jane said she would get her family’s SUV to carry some boxes. 

On Saturday morning, they brought the donations to the Cardi’s Furniture store in Swansea. From there, all the items would be loaded onto freighters and shipped to Poland.

Relief dinner planned

BHS English teacher Patrick Scott is helping organize a Ukraine relief dinner, which will be held on April 3 at 6 p.m. Tickets for the dinner will be available at the school starting March 21. 

“This kind of event is as important as anything we teach,” Mr. Scott said. “The ideas of empathy and perspective are crucial in our world today.

“It is the right thing to do. We have to be part of the solution.”

A number of different student groups are involved in helping organize and run the dinner, including the class officers for the senior class, the National Honor Society and the student council. The group is looking for corporate sponsors or community partners who would like to donate or match funds. There will also be a 50/50 raffle and silent auction held during the dinner.

Money raised through the event will go to Unicef, which is helping with the relief effort. 

For more information, or to donate, contact Mr. Scott at scottp@barringtonschools.org

Neighborhood pitches in

A group of children in a Hampden Meadows neighborhood put together an impromptu fund-raiser for Ukraine refugees last week — the children set up a roadside table in their neighborhood and collected donation. The group raised more than $250. The money was used to buy supplies and other items which residents delivered to Cardi’s Furniture on Saturday.