GREENFIELD — As the war in Ukraine rages on and the humanitarian crisis grows, more and more local churches have started fundraising events to support the besieged country and its neighbors.
The Agape Moldovian Baptist Church on Silver Street joined the cause Saturday with a tag sale in hopes of raising money to send to Moldova, which is seeing a staggering influx of Ukrainian refugees, according to the church’s Pastor Peter Cioclea.
“It’s overwhelming,” Cioclea said, adding that many people are staying in strangers’ homes while they wait for a shelter. “They stay 12 hours and just need a warm place and food.”
Cioclea has family members and friends in Moldova who have been helping the country deal with the surge of refugees and he wanted to find a way to help, despite being thousands of miles away.
“We want to contribute,” he said. The church has been donating any money it has collected during services over the past few weeks, but Cioclea wanted to take it a step further and involve the entire community. “We thought of a tag sale. … We’ve all got stuff in our house we can share.”
With all sorts of household items and an abundance of clothes set up throughout the church on Saturday, folks had a wide spread of options to choose from. And if they didn’t find anything they wanted to add to their wardrobe or their home, there were sweets and baked goods available, too.
All proceeds from the tag sale, and any additional money collected, will be donated to the Keys Connection, an organization that raises money and provides support for people living in eastern Europe and western Asia.
Gary Bourbeau, pastor of the First Congregational Church of Gill, was strolling around the tag sale and said his own church has been collecting donations for the same organization.
“We’ve been doing normal collections,” he said. “It’s gratifying because we know it’s not going to some sort of administration, it’s going for humanitarian refugee relief.”
These churches are joining several others in the Pioneer Valley, such as parishes in South Deerfield and Ludlow, in sending money to Ukraine or its neighboring countries as a way to provide support for those affected by Russia’s invasion.
Other churches holding donation or fundraising drives include the First Congregational Church of Montague, which is seeking hygiene kits or monetary donations for the Church World Service’s Ukraine Emergency Response Fund; and the Sunderland Congregational Church, which is seeking medical supplies to send abroad.
Cioclea said these charity programs help keep him and the rest of Franklin County’s Moldovian community connected to their native region, while also supporting a good cause.
“It keeps a sense of attachment and connection. It’s something that at the end of the day, I feel good about,” he said. “We’re just trying to share our love for people.”
Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.