Newton’s sister city organization plans ways for community to show support, donate to Ukraine

Members of Newton’s sister city organization want to help the people of Ukraine and also facilitate means for the community to give back.

Jane Ann Cotton, chair of the Organization Promoting Everlasting Neighbors (OPEN) board, said the community has reached out to the nonprofit and wanted to know how it would respond to the crisis in Ukraine. The board held a meeting March 9 to address and communicate ways it could help the country directly

“I’ve had some contact with Newton residents that would like to donate money to Ukraine and they would like to know how to do it safely,” Cotton said.

In addition to approving a $1,000 donation to Ukraine, OPEN board members said they could solicit donations from local businesses through a letter to the chamber of commerce, possibly contact legislators for further support and encourage downtown retailers to post small Ukrainian flags on windows.

Marvin Campbell, a board member and co-founder of OPEN, said Newton has a long history of supporting the Ukrainian people, largely through its sister city relationship with Smila, Ukraine. In the past, OPEN members have personally provided much of the leg work to generate support or donations for Ukraine.

To further show the community stands for Ukraine, Campbell pitched the idea of flying an American Flag, the Iowa flag and the Ukraine flag together the Jasper County Courthouse flag poles. Campbell wants to visit businesses in town to post banners of Ukraine flags with the phrase: “We support the Ukrainian people.”

Campbell said, “How many business people have hosted (students)? My gosh it’s an unlimited number. The mayor would go to great lengths every time we would have someone come in and devote some time to meeting with them … Let’s just get out there and work and educate the people.”

John McNeer, an OPEN board member, drafted a proposed letter to the Greater Newton Area Chamber of Commerce asking for the organization’s cooperation with distributing the Ukraine support banners at business locations and later participating in a support drive. The board voted to proceed with the idea.

“We’ve had great community support at all levels, and I would like to see us have even better support with this project — I know it can be done,” Campbell said.

The $1,000 donation from OPEN will eventually be distributed to a website approved by Sveta Miller, a Newton resident who was born in Ukraine. The site can be reached at: www.ukraine.ua/news/stand-with-ukraine. Visitors of the site can donate, provide humanitarian aid or find out ways to host refugees.

The OPEN board also passed a motion to get information out to people who want to give checks to the organization, which will donate the funds directly to the aforementioned website or other groups supportive of Ukraine. OPEN will also create a committee to plan a community fundraiser for its sister city.

Board members reached out to their Ukrainian contacts when the invasion occurred. They learned many are displaced from their homes or separated from their families. OPEN board member Jeff Price expressed in a letter a desire to create a focus group that could possibly lead to refugees coming to Iowa.

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext. 6560 or cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com