CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As the Russian invasion of Ukraine commenced, the founders of The GLOW Mission, a North Carolina-based nonprofit, raced to get Ukrainian orphans and aged-out orphans to safety.
Dar Draper, who founded the nonprofit with her husband, Andrew, spent all of Thursday on the phone with her Ukrainian contacts.
"It's a little maddening and a little feeling of helplessness, but not hopelessness because we do believe we have hope," Draper said. "We always have hope."
The Drapers were living in Kyiv until they had to evacuate and return to the Charlotte region, though many people are sheltering in their basement during the invasion.
She said many of the children and teenagers they care for are in eastern Ukraine, where many of the battles are occurring.
They also help older widows, who live near Chernobyl, which Russian forces now occupy.
"We're just looking for escape routes basically and places for them to be as safe as possible," Draper said. "I'm thankful that I'm able to be here [in North Carolina]. There's a little bit of guilt with not being physically with our kids."
She's asking her fellow Carolinians to have empathy for and pray for the people of Ukraine.
"I remember seeing things before on the news, where I didn't have a personal connection, and can be like, 'Oh, why is this taking up all the news time?' and now I'm like, 'Oh my goodness, that's all I want to see,'" Dar said. "We're just doing the best we can to get people comfortable and fed in places and [get them] to safety, as best we know."
Anyone interested in learning more about The GLOW Mission can visit their website here.
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