Forsyth County Sheriff's chaplain accepting donations to help fellow Ukrainians

FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. - One of the Ukrainian cities considered relatively safe until now has come under attack.

The western city of Lviv was terrorized Monday by four Russian missile strikes.

According to Ukrainian officials the strikes caused the first wartime deaths within the city, four people were killed when a tire shop was hit.

This attack comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has formally announced that Russia has begun its second massive phase of this war targeting the east, which Xelenskyy calls the Battle of Donbas.

As the war rages on, people in the United States are doing what they can to help the people of Ukraine.

A café owner in Forsyth County is raising money for Ukrainians.

Aleks Gerasimov is also the chaplain for the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office.

He’s collecting donations at Rivermill Bakery in Sugar Hill.

The chaplain of the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office is taking donations to help the people of Ukraine at the Rivermill Bakery in Sugar Hill. (FOX 5)

Aleks Gerasimov saw the daily atrocities in Ukraine. He knew he had to do something. And he’s doing right here in his bakery. He’s raising awareness and money to buy food, medical supplies and protective gear to help people in his homeland.

His family owns Rivermill Bakery in Sugar Hill.

They put out jar to collect donations to help the people of Ukraine.

They’ve raised $3,000 so far. But that little bit is going a long way.

"We paid for gas money to help people evacuate from Kiev. We help some people to purchase basic necessities. People don’t have baby formula for kids. People don’t have money for hygiene items," said Gerasimov.

Gerasimov is also a chaplain with the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office. 

He’s also collecting protective vests from various law-enforcement departments to send officers in Ukraine.

"They actually donate vests," he said. "I live in Forsyth County. I live in Georgia and I’m giving back to this society but also I want to give back to the place where I was born, give back to Ukraine."

Gerasimov will fly to Poland this weekend to hand out medical supplies to people escaping war. 

He is also organizing a benefit concert for May 21 at the Bowl in Sugar Hill.