A restaurant in Sunriver held a fundraiser Wednesday to help the people in Ukraine with 100% of all proceeds and tips sent to people in need.
“The first couple days have been the hardest because I felt extremely helpless right,” said Marketing Assistant Alina Jacobs. “There was nothing I could do here. I was considering going back and helping.”
Jacobs was born in Cherkasy, Ukraine, about 120 miles from Kyiv.
Jacobs’ parents, grandparents and close friends are in Ukraine right now.
“Almost 24/7 (I’m) checking air-aids, sirens and just making sure I call my family and friends during the night when they are sleeping, double-checking if they heard the sirens and were safe,” Jacobs said.
Thaddeus Lodge, the restaurant owner, says about 25 Ukrainians have worked for him at the restaurant, mostly through the J-1 student exchange program over the past 15 years.
“I came up with the idea of a fundraiser dinner, I proposed it to my Ukrainian friends, they thought it was a great idea,” Lodge said. “I never would have dreamt of the support we are getting tonight.”
“When Thad reached out and just mentioned the idea, I could focus my energy on something different than just worrying about my family all the time,” Jacobs said.
Employees even worked for free Wednesday night.
When the fundraiser was announced the 150 person max capacity was sold out within 24 hours.
“I have been just chomping at the bit to do anything I can besides fundraising, but just seeing the people come together as a collective and that is why when I saw this I got right on it and came down here,” said Jarno, a Bend resident.
Coming together as a community, helping one meal at a time.
“I was thinking it was just one small business right in Central Oregon and the support we got so far is beyond any of my expectations,” Jacobs said.
A message from owner Thaddeus Lodge:
Please use this link (https://bank.gov.ua/…/natsionalniy-bank-vidkriv…) to donate to Ukraine’s Armed Forces or other organizations that help the Ukrainian community:
UNICEF
https://www.unicefusa.org/…/unicef-children…/39542
Doctors without Borders
https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/…/countries/ukraine
Red Cross
https://www.icrc.org/…/wher…/europe-central-asia/ukraine
