52 Drones. 20 Bullet-Proof Plates.
2 Rifle Scopes.
And thousands upon thousands of pierogis.
At the time this article went to press, those numbers represented just a snapshot of what Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church, located on the corner of Martha and 16th streets in South Omaha, has been able to accomplish since Vladimir Putin launched a war against Ukraine in February 2022.
Dozens of volunteers gather monthly in the church basement’s kitchen, dutifully donning hairnets and nitrile gloves, to make Ukrainian foods with romantic-sounding Eastern European names. The roster of rotating traditional offerings includes selections like golumpki (cabbage rolls stuffed with ground meat), banderyky (triangular mincemeat pies), borsh (red beet soup), nalysnyky (crepes filled with homemade farmer’s cheese), halushky (egg noodles with bacon and kielbasa), and of course, varenyky, more widely known as pierogis, those dough half-moons typically filled with mashed potatoes and cheese.
For the past two years, they’ve sold this fare during an on-going fundraiser to raise money in support of Ukraine, their beloved Bat’kivshchyna, or “Motherland.” Volunteers began the effort within one month of the invasion, and for a while, held the event weekly before settling into the once-a-month routine. The volunteers, mostly women, begin cooking the Thursday and Friday before Saturday food pickups. They arrive in shifts beginning at 11 a.m. and arrive throughout the day as schedules allow to assist with preparation, which usually wraps up around 8 p.m. Throughout the day, they boil industrial pots of potatoes, blanch scores of cabbage leaves, and roll out endless sections of dough.
Maria Wijtek, 78, volunteers regularly. She arrived in Omaha with her Ukrainian parents in 1951, and although she grew up in the United States, she is ardent in her support of Ukraine. Working briskly to make wedges of banderyky, she estimates that volunteers make approximately 1,500 pierogis per fundraiser. “We raise money for drones, medical supplies for wounded soldiers, for orphans of fallen soldiers,” she said. “A lot of people here still have relatives in Ukraine.”
Marta Bondarenko knows this all too keenly. The 40-year-old mother of three arrived in the U.S. seven years ago, and while she has made Omaha her home, she shows up as often as possible to join in the food preparation. “I do it because I want to help. Ukraine is my Motherland, and it’s a terrible situation,” she explained in a voice softly studded with the percussive consonants of an Ukrainian accent.
As she glanced over at her 9-month-old daughter, Sophia, happily smiling and cooing from her baby walker at the other volunteers, she continued after a deep breath, “President Putin attacks cities all the time, and people are dying. He bombs schools, hospitals—it doesn’t matter. My mother, stepfather, father, stepmother, brother, brother-in-law—they are all in Lviv.”
That familial connection is also what prompted 14-year-old Alex Sharko, an Elkhorn High School freshman, to spend a portion of his spring break filling golumpki. Every two to three weeks, he also assists in packing boxes of medical supplies. One such package, sent in August 2022, contained 100 emergency trauma dressings, 200 tourniquets, 100 individual bleeding control kits, and 100 burn dressings. The food drive had raised $9,484 toward those the purchases, perhaps a drop in the bucket toward what is urgently needed, but a life-saving drop nonetheless.
“My parents are from Ukraine. My grandparents are still in Kiev,” Sharko explained. “I’m here to help out with the effort. I feel like I’m helping the people fighting on the front lines and making a difference.”
That difference comes via working with a network of aid organizations on the ground in Ukraine. Bondarenko pulled out her phone and flipped through texts to show messages of gratitude, all written in Ukrainian. She also shared multiple photos of Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers in combat fatigues, clearly exhausted and somber, posing with boxes of medical supplies and military equipment. She then gestured at a wall displaying the Ukrainian flag, its distinctive cerulean and yellow bands symbolizing the Motherland’s blue skies over golden wheat fields. It includes several signatures in deep black ink, a heartfelt thank-you gift sent from the war-torn Ukrainian front lines to the quiet Omaha church.
“We are buying what the Ukrainian soldiers need,” Bondarenko said, proudly listing humanitarian supplies such as Insulin, glucose monitors, syringes, and other items like over-the-counter flu and cold medicines.
Dr. Olga Taraschenko, 50, is an associate professor in University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Department of Neurological Sciences and the director of UNMC’s Comprehensive Epilepsy Program. Originally from Ukraine, she has been overseeing the gathering and sending of medical supplies—10 packages to date as of March 2024. She is particularly grateful to her fellow volunteers.
“They are dedicated people who are sacrificing their personal and family time,” she said. “Every little effort, no matter how big or how small, advances us toward victory.”
Members of the public who purchase the food are, of course, a major part of that advance. Once a month, the church sends emails and posts links on its Facebook page announcing upcoming menu items. People can fill out an order form in advance and then pick up their food, prepackaged with their names, in the church basement on the appointed Saturday between 11 a.m and 1 p.m. Payment options include cash, check, or Venmo. The first two years of the fundraiser raised close to $310,000, with a running tally not yet available for 2024.
Deren and Hailey Williams of Omaha sampled Ukrainian food for the first time in mid March. “We know what’s going on in Ukraine, and we saw the church’s Facebook page yesterday,” Deren said. “We just wanted to help, and as we started looking into the food, we also wanted to get connected with the culture, so we thought we’d try the pierogis, cabbage rolls, and sugar cookies.”
Also in line was Ken Kielniarz, who said he’s been a patron of the fundraiser since it started. His go-to order includes what he described as “the standard stuff—pierogis, golumpki, and nalysnyky.” Noting that he has relatives in both Lviv and Kiev, Kielniarz said, “Lately, it’s been rough in Kiev. We have family members who had to evacuate to Poland.
“This fundraiser means everything,” Kielniarz explained when asked why he’s been so stalwart in his support. He then paused and inhaled a long sigh. “It’s family.”
To learn about the next Ukrainian food fundraiser and for a link to order forms, visit facebook.com/omachurchua/. For Ukrainian war relief information, visit ukrainiancatholicbvm.org.
This article originally appeared in the June 2024 issue of Omaha Magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.