For weeks, the Kent State community donated medical supplies to a project organized by university alumna and current graduate student Lydia Lisowsky, ’21, for the people of Ukraine. And on April 30, 2022, the project came to fruition when 150 students donated hours of their time to help Lisowsky pack the supplies and prepare them for transport to Ukraine.
Lisowsky said she is grateful for the help of the Kent State community.
“Because of them, we were able to not only reach, but surpass, our goal of 3,000 kits and make 3,172 kits to send to Ukraine to aid the civilians and soldiers fighting to protect their freedom,” Lisowsky said. “I’m also very thankful for the people we worked with at Kent State to set up donation bins and secure a space for our packing day. It was heartwarming to see how many people care about Ukraine and who wanted to have an impact on the lives of those struggling in Ukraine, whether it was through donating supplies, coming to support us at our fundraisers or helping us pack kits. Everyone’s efforts are greatly appreciated!”
For Lisowsky, 22, of Broadview Heights, the Russia-Ukraine war is history repeating itself. Lisowsky is a second-generation Ukrainian American whose grandparents, Ingrid Lydia Nebesh and Eugene Nebesh, fled the country during World War II.
Although Lisowsky has never visited Ukraine, she feels a deep sense of obligation and responsibility to help those who have been injured in the war. That is why she began the campaign to collect medical supplies on the Kent Campus and in the larger Kent community to send to Ukraine. Lisowsky’s cousin, Kent State alumnus Paul Jatsyshyn, ’21, is also assisting with the effort.
“As a Ukrainian American who is safe here in America, I feel I have a duty to help the country that has given me so much brightness and involvement in my life,” Lisowsky said. “I want to use Kent State’s immense student body and our connections with people outside the college to get supplies donated.”
And Kent State's student body met the challenge. Lisowsky’s collection bins for medical supplies were located in White Hall and in Dunbar Hall and Tri-Towers Rotunda. In addition, there was a bin at the Kent Student Center information desk.
Kent State Is Lending a Hand
University leaders worked with Lisowsky to place bins in high traffic areas, enlist assistance from student organizations, arrange a suitable location for kit assembly and engage the Kent community at large in the project.
Lamar R. Hylton, Ph.D., Kent State’s senior vice president for student affairs, said it was important for the university community to engage in Lisowsky’s project because it demonstrates how Flashes take care of Flashes and how Flashes take care of the wider community. He is thankful for their efforts.
“I would like to thank Lydia and Paul for their hard work and dedication to this effort and thank the Kent State community for their engagement in this project,” Hylton said. “We are a better Kent State, and quite frankly, a better world because of efforts like this and people like you. Congratulations on a successful endeavor.”
Now that the medical supplies have been collected and packed, Lisowsky is looking into creating an ongoing Ukraine relief organization at Kent State at the request of students who helped with the medical supply project.
Medical Supplies Donated
Students, faculty and staff donated the following medical supplies via the collection bins:
- Vinyl gloves (large or extra large)
- Bandages (1 inch by 3 inches)
- Acetaminophen (500 mg packets of two caplets)
- Surgical dressings/combine pads (large or extra large)
- Gauze pads (4 inches by 4 inches)
- Gauze rolls (4 inches by 12 feet)
- Single-use antibiotic ointment (0.9 g pouches)
- Butterfly closures (3/8 inch by 1-13/16 inch)
- Self-adhesive bandages (2 inches by 5 yards)
Hylton admires Lisowsky’s determination to get this project rolling.
“She has been stellar in making sure this effort happens, and making sure she is connecting with students, administration and the broader community,” he said. “I appreciate her passion for making sure that we can help those in need. I’m really excited to see this project come to fruition.”
And Lisowsky rests a little bit easier knowing that she is helping in the small ways that make a difference.
“It gives me a sense of peace to know that I can have an impact,” she said.
For more information, contact Lisowsky at llisows1@kent.edu or Jatsyshyn at paul.jatsyshyn@gmail.com.
Click to view Channel 19's coverage of the efforts of Lisowsky and others to help Ukraine.