LINDEN, NJ — Linden High School came together in a strong show of support for Ukraine on Friday, March 11, as hundreds of staff and students left class to join the Stand Up for Peace event in the school hallways.
Three seniors who hail from Ukraine — Khrystyna Sul, Andriy Martsiyash and Solomiya Malanyuk — were at the heart of the movement, holding a Ukrainian flag and standing by an “LHS Students for Peace” display. The front hallway and lobby were decorated with giant paper sunflowers, and many students held or displayed sunflower pictures that they had colored.
“This is completely a student-led movement,” said Principal Yelena Horre. “Students came to me with the idea of wanting to support the people of Ukraine who have been displaced. They were looking for hope, for a way to do something to help the families and everyone there.”
Many staff members and students showed their support by wearing blue and yellow, the colors of the Ukrainian flag, or lapel pins that students had crocheted and sold as a fundraiser.
During the demonstration, the Ukrainian national anthem was played throughout the school, then everyone observed a moment of silence to honor those who have been killed.
“Some of our students are personally impacted by the suffering in Ukraine, and they want to help their family and friends who are in the middle of the war,” said Superintendent Marnie Hazelton. “But even those students who are just watching on TV or their phones realize the terrible hardships the Ukrainian people are enduring and want to do what they can to help.”
The school is collecting donations to send to Ukraine, including clothes, medical supplies, and nonperishable food. There are collection boxes in the front lobby of each building at LHS, as well as in other schools throughout the Linden Public Schools district. The supplies are going to be given to Meest, a shipping company where Martsiyash works that has halted regular operations to send relief supplies to Ukraine.
Linden High School is also collecting cash contributions to be donated to UNICEF to help Ukrainian children.
“I’m just proud of our students,” Horre said. “It has always been the young voices that have brought about change and social justice. And that’s what this is: student voices speaking up for peace. We want a world that embraces peace.”
School No. 8 in Linden also collected relief supplies to send to Ukraine. The initiative was the idea of third-grader Anna Brum and was undertaken by the school’s K-Kids community service club. They collected first-aid supplies, hygiene products, baby supplies and small food items for Be in Charge NJ, a nonprofit dedicated to community service.
Anna also had the idea of writing letters to the children of Ukraine, “telling them that we care about them and that everything will be OK,” said her teacher, Heather Astalos. Students were invited to the city of Linden’s Ukrainian flag-raising on Saturday, March 5, because of their efforts.
“I want to thank Anna and her family for coming up with such a special and heartfelt idea,” Astalos said. “The School 8 community, especially the K-Kids student group, has been extremely supportive and happy to help the children of Ukraine.”
Principal Michelle Rodriguez said she was not surprised by Anna’s generosity.
“This is the same little girl who, years ago, when we were raising money for a fellow student who was sick, she donated all her birthday money to the cause,” she said. “She is a student who thinks about what she can do for others and thinks even bigger to make it an overall community effort toward a cause. She is aware of how kids may feel during this tough, scary time, and she is selfless in her thoughts and charitable in her actions.”
Photos Courtesy of Gary Miller