Local Catholic school students make cards for young Ukrainian refugees

Students from five Catholic elementary schools in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis crafted about 900 cards that are being sent this week to Ukrainian children in a refugee camp near the Ukraine-Poland border.

Danette Halloran, a parishioner of Our Lady of Grace in Edina, collected the cards this week from Our Lady of Grace Catholic School in Edina, Ascension and St. John Paul II Catholic schools in Minneapolis, and St. Pascal Baylon Regional and St. Peter Claver Catholic schools in St. Paul.

Halloran, 58, is shipping the cards to her nephew Andrew, who asked that his last name not be used for security reasons, and who recently left his job in Washington, D.C., to serve refugees at a camp near the Poland-Ukraine border that is hosting displaced families, mostly women and children. Andrew is serving through Volunteers for Ukraine, a nonprofit that serves and supports the Ukrainian people and victims of the war there through direct humanitarian action, according to its website.

Halloran said her nephew, a former Marine, was saddened by the situation in Ukraine and wanted to do something to help. Once he arrived and started working with mothers and children, he thought cards sent from children in the United States would help the refugee children know that other children are thinking about and praying for them, she said. “(The cards) may help them feel not so alone,” Halloran said, “because their dads aren’t with them and some of the moms are so traumatized they can’t speak.”

Halloran contacted five Catholic school principals she knew and asked what they thought about the idea of making cards. All replied with an enthusiastic “yes,” she said. “The principals are just on fire to help and do something.”

In addition, the family pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church – Twin Cities, in Minneapolis, Rev. Heather Roth Johnson, contributed about 250 cards made by confirmation students, children in Sunday school and other children in the congregation. She heard about the project and suggested the children get involved.

Halloran also collected about 300 cards from St. Mary’s Grade School in Bismarck, North Dakota, where she and her eight siblings attended, as well as some cards came from a drop-off site that Halloran mentioned on a Facebook page for Twin Cities moms.

Andrew told his aunt that the cards will lift the spirits of refugees and volunteers as they learn they are being prayed for and people haven’t forgotten what’s happening in Ukraine. He promised to send his aunt photos when the refugee children receive the cards.

Katy Bland, a fifth-grade teacher at Our Lady of Grace, said making cards for the refugees, “while a very small action on our part, was a tangible way to let them know that we stand with them in our thoughts and prayers.” For the past few months, “We’ve been praying for all those who have been affected by this tragic situation,” she said.

“We were honored when we were asked by Danette to be a part of this project,” said Terese Shimshock, principal of St. Peter Claver Catholic School, where first through fourth graders participated. “It is a great learning tool for our scholars and most importantly, it is part of our mission as Catholic schools to serve others.”

Thousands of refugee women and children continue to come through the camps, Halloran said. Volunteers for Ukraine has set up temporary schools for the children, she said.

Some of the messages the students wrote on the cards moved Halloran to tears, she said. Some tried to write in Ukrainian, and others sent messages about “how God loves you” and “we’re praying for you” and “we’re with you,” she said. Many students wrote, “To my Ukrainian friend, I’m praying for you.” Some added artwork.

“It’s quite a lesson for them to know that they’re participating in something so significant,” Halloran said.