Employees at the Austin offices of a Ukrainian software company are planning a fundraiser in April to help their compatriots more than 5,000 miles away, according to a report from Austin ABC affiliate KVUE. KVUE reported that SoftServe is partnering with U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin) to hold the fundraiser, which is slated for April 8.
Organizers told KVUE that they want to raise awareness in the Texas state capital to the events in their homeland. More than a month has passed since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops to invade the former Soviet republic that's home to 44 million people.
SoftServe was founded in Ukraine in 1993, with Austin serving as its American headquarters, KVUE reported.
The company boasts a workforce of about 13,000, globally.
Chief technology officer Alex Chubay told the station that his parents are still in Ukraine.
"I have my parents there, and it's really hard, emotionally, to see," Chubay said, according to KVUE.
Chubay divulged that his parents are safe, but the war is impacting the company's Ukraine-based employees, who number by the thousands.
"I think we're [living] in a very bad historical moment right now in the world where we see the massacre happening," he told KVUE. "It's, like, [before] our eyes and we see that there is not much we can do about it in the world. That's what Ukrainians feel right now, that they're being left alone in this battle."
SoftServe will hold the fundraiser at its Downtown Austin offices on April 8 from noon to 2 p.m.
Halyna Semenova understands that not everyone can financially help but suggests another way to support Ukraine: Self-education.
"I think what people can do is also educate themselves about the history, about why such things are happening now and how we can prevent it in future, and why it is actually so important that Ukraine does not quit, persevere and eventually wins," Semenova said, KVUE reported.
To learn more about the fundraiser, click here.