The response from Long Islanders to help Ukrainians has been encouraging.
On March 3, Suffolk County Legislator Stephanie Bontempi (R-Centerport) and Dr. David Buchin led the Ukrainian Long Island Emergency Response Campaign from their offices, located at 224 Wall St. in Huntington. Local elected officials and community members joined them to collect items such as blankets, medical supplies, sleeping bags and other essentials to send to the beleaguered country.
On Monday, Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr. (D) announced the addition of nearly 450 pieces of body armor from his office to the items already collected in Huntington. Moving company College Hunks helped deliver the items to the New York processing center and from there the items will be shipped to Ukraine.
Donation campaigns similar to Bontempi’s and Buchin’s as well as rallies in support of Ukrainians were held in all TBR News Media coverage areas. The message sent around the world is that we stand with the country in its fight against Russia.
TBR News Media readers also sent letters to the editor condemning Russia’s actions, and another reader shared the struggles his Ukrainian family has faced in the past. He hoped history wouldn’t repeat itself, but he was ready to help any parent who needed his help.
The past few years have been divisive for the United States. Between the political divide and our fight against COVID-19, it seemed we couldn’t look beyond our own borders. Now we see Americans uniting again for a cause.
It’s a shame that it took such a tragedy to bring us all together. It may have taken a war, but Americans once again seem united behind a common theme: the cause of freedom, democracy, and the right of a free people to self-determination.
As US Representative Tom Suozzi (D-NY3) said March 3 outside the offices of Bontempi and Buchin: “We have to follow the old idea that partisanship stops at the water’s edge. We must all stand together as we are today.
As we watch the people of Long Island work together to help those in need on the other side of the globe, let’s remember what it’s like to be united as Americans, not just at the edge of the sea. water, but on our own island.
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