Students will be heading back to school soon. For many families, this means shopping for classroom supplies, items, and clothes.
But it isn't just students in our state gearing up for the school year, it's students around the world including those in war-torn Ukraine.
A little girl from New Britain is making a big difference before Ukrainian students start school.
"Whenever I go to school, I notice that we have a lot of supplies [in order] to learn, write and color, and so does all the other school's need that," said Anna Dmytryshyn.
Get top local stories in Connecticut delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Connecticut's News Headlines newsletter.
At 7 years old, Anna thought to donate supplies to a school in the Borozenske village, located in southeastern Ukraine. The building itself housed students in first grade through high school.
These pictures show some of the heartbreaking damage. Shattered windows destroyed classrooms, and a partially collapsed roof.
"Anna said she wanted to do some fundraising. One day, she was like 'Mom, can I help do some fundraising to help a Ukrainian school," said Anna's mother Iryna Dmytryshyn.
Local
Quickly, this mother-daughter duo got to work. Iryna contacted the school principal in Ukraine to ask what her students need. She was told the students are learning remotely so laptops are highly needed.
"Even though part of their childhood was taken from them, we won't be able to make up the years that have been taken from them, but we can bring them just a little bit of joy," said Iryna.
And they are. They're spreading lots of joy.
"We got lots of things for the school, like crayons, colored pencils, glue, scissors," said Anna.
They've also collected backpacks and notebooks. That's thanks to the Ukrainian Orthodox League who helped get the message out to the community.
"We've already sent out five boxes already, four Chrome Books. It's been a very good response. What we have here is what people recently just sent," said UOL Senior President Katheryn Bailly.
The supplies will go to the school principal to hand out to students. NBC Connecticut got to Facetime her Sunday morning. When asked how she felt about this project, she said it brought tears to her eyes. Moments later, she cried again.
Ukrainian students officially return to school September 1, but before that, people in Connecticut are working to make sure they start off on the right foot.
Project leaders say they'll be collecting donations for another two weeks. If you're interested in helping, you can drop off your supplies or monetary donations at Saint Mary's Ukrainian Orthodox Church in New Britain.
