ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Over half of Ukraine’s 7.5 million children have been displaced since the Russia-Ukraine war started. One Georgia preschool is taking action to raise money to support these children and their families.
Over the past few weeks, kindergarteners from The Primrose School of Alpharetta have collected donations from their community for the Save the Children Foundation, which provides Ukrainian child refugees with psychological and social support, hygiene kits and access to basic necessities.
So far, the school has collected over $14,000.
Irina Bhatia, who was born and raised in Kyiv, Ukraine, is also the franchise owner of The Primrose School of Alpharetta; she explained how they have been able to raise the money through match donations.
“We actually raised from our contributors in our school," she said. "We raised over $7,000. My husband and I, who are the franchise owners, have committed to match every donation dollar-for-dollar. And now we are at over $14,000 total with the matching effort.”
This is not the first time The Primrose School has made a large donation effort like this one. In fact, a big part of The Primrose School curriculum is encouraging students to give without expecting.
“Primrose curriculum for very young children starting at birth focuses on character development, and a large part of that is giving back and learning about the community and ways to be a good citizen,” Bhatia said. “Primrose does a lot of initiatives throughout the year, from food drives to, we’re currently in the middle of a book donation drive.”
Bhatia holds this cause very close with her family still living in Ukraine. She said that hearing of the first missile strikes in the country was “heartbreaking” and “surreal.” It left her worrying about her family and friends' safety. However, even from miles away, she is thankful to be able to help the cause in any way.
“It is extremely important to us that all children have access to a better future and to a childhood that is fulfilled with care and love and safety and education," Bhatia said. "I am very grateful to have an opportunity to be a part of that community and to be able to help children in Ukraine who proudly need it the most.”
Bhatia and her husband will continue to match donations until donations reach $10,000.