Atlanta residents show support for the people of Ukraine

ATLANTA - The past 52 days have been anxiety ridden for those with loved ones living in Ukraine.

"Every morning I just send a message and ask are you still alive, this is the best question I can ask," Olga Gorman said.

The moments she waits for her brother to reply to her message are agony.00

While the past several weeks have been heart-wrenching, time surrounding what is typically a joyous holiday is difficult for many.

"People don't have the ability this time to go to church, to prepare for the holidays. I can't say that that's the worst thing. We have much worse situations in Mariupol, in Kharkiv where people can't go out, they're just trying to survive to the next day. So we can't talk about any kind of celebration, we're talking about survival. Pure survival for many cities in Ukraine," Mila Zapukhliak said.

"This weekend definitely doesn't feel celebratory. What we would typically do on Easter, do the egg hunt for the kids and all of that. It's definitely not on my mind. I barely even remembered it was Easter. All of my thoughts are with Ukraine and what's happening there." Olga Antonyuk said.

Many Ukrainians in Atlanta are doing what they can to help by raising funds to send to organizations helping in Ukraine, and by raising awareness in the community.

On Saturday, an event was held to support Ukraine in Future Atlanta in Underground Atlanta. The organizers did not have personal ties but felt compelled to get involved.

"I wanted to show the state and the country that this isn't an issue that is out of sight, out of mind. I wanted to bring the beauty of Ukraine, its history, its culture, art, the people here. To show these are real people being killed. Real innocent men, women, and children," Chase Staub said.

"We wanted to do something more. More, not just for the people in our country, but the people across the world," Ronnie Medina Jr. said.

State Senator Nan Orrock also attended the fundraiser on Saturday. She said it's important for local leaders in Georgia to be involved.

"Elected officials in the United States and elected officials here in Georgia should stand together, embrace the blue and yellow flag of Ukraine, and fight for democracy." State Senator Orrock said.

The community support has been a big help.

"If we all send our love, help, money, donations, it helps. Only collectively can we help," Nataliia Onyskiv said. Onyskiv is the President of the Ukrainian Congress Committee's Georgia Branch. She says their organization has raised more than two hundred thousand dollars. Most of the money has been dedicated to buying medical equipment for those in need in Ukraine.

Despite the pain this year, there's a lot of hope as well.

"So instead of being sad, we're just shifting our anger to mentally complete the picture of what is waiting for Ukraine. So we will celebrate, we will celebrate it," Ira Ponomaroea said.

If you want to learn more about how you can get involved, you can go to UkranianAtlanta.org.