Shoe collection to help Ukrainians

A 4S Ranch resident is leading a shoe drive throughout the area to help those in her native Ukraine.

Donated new and gently used shoes are being sold, with the money used to purchase medicine and medical supplies for Ukrainians impacted by the war in their homeland.

Shoe drop-off collection bins have been placed throughout North County, including in Poway, Rancho Bernardo and 4S Ranch. The deadline to donate shoes is June 30.

“I’d like people to open their hearts and closets,” said Yuliya Novak, a pharmacy manager with Scripps Health and a COVID-19 vaccinator for San Diego County. “A lot of people have kids with shoes that no longer fit. Many secondhand stores do not accept used shoes, so they are thrown in the trash.”

Novak, 50, said she has volunteered with the nonprofit organization Nova Ukraine for two years. Before Russia invaded Ukraine, she said the group’s recent focus was on helping orphanages during the pandemic.

But after the war started on Feb. 24, Nova Ukraine’s efforts have changed to humanitarian help for those displaced and those on the war zone’s front lines. They are Ukrainians like Novak’s parents, whom she has not been able to reach for a month. They did not evacuate from their home on the outskirts of Mariupol.

“I have family in Mariupol. It is destroyed. My parents are still there, it is their roots ... I don’t know if they are alive,” Novak said.

Shoes collected by Nova Ukraine volunteers are being purchased by Funds2orgs. It distributes the shoes to many developing nations where people do not have shoes, Novak said. Some could also end up going to Ukrainians who had to flee their homes, leaving all their possessions behind.

Since the war began, Nova Ukraine has provided nearly $9.2 million in medical aid to 68 hospitals in Ukraine, Novak said. This includes medical equipment, medicine, firstaid kits, trauma kits and X-ray machines.

“There is no middle man,” she said. “Nova Ukraine has people in Poland and Ukraine who are distributing the humanitarian aid, so all the funds are used appropriately. The priority is for moms with kids.”

The group is fundraising with a shoe drive because a lot of people have been asked to donate money recently for various causes and are getting donation fatigue, Novak said.

People likely have many pairs of shoes they no longer wear or that their children have outgrown, so this is an easy way to help, she said.

“It is a win-win,” she said. “The shoes go to countries that need them the most ... and by converting the donation, Funds2orgs gives money for medical supplies.”

In Ukraine, Novak was a chemist. She immigrated to the United States in 1996.

“I am heartbroken to hear about lost lives of those who I grew up with,” Novak said. “I keep thinking of how blessed I am to live in this beautiful multicultural city of San Diego. I want to help my countrymen as much as I can and hope San Diegans will join me.”

She added, “We did not think the war would be this long.”

Local shoe drop-off locations through June 30 are:

• Jimbo’s 4S Ranch, 10511 4S Commons Drive, Suite 155.

• RB Swim & Tennis Club, 16955 Bernardo Oaks Drive.

• The Dentistry Collective, 11610 Iberia Place, Suite 202 in Rancho Bernardo.

• Fish Delights European Market, 12222 Poway Road, Suite 1 in Poway.

• DJ Guy Disc Jockeys, 16626 Deer Ridge Road in 4S Ranch (leave on porch).

Novak has also been hosting shoe driveup events outside some stores, such as the Jimbo’s in Del Mar and Carmel Valley earlier this month.

During these shoe collection events under a blue tent with a Ukrainian flag there are free samples of vegetarian Ukrainian borscht. There is also music and dancing, Novak said.

Novak said she is looking for more businesses, schools, religious facilities and community organizations to host shoe drop-off donation bins. Those interested in volunteering their location can contact her at (858) 337-0575 or yuliya.novak@yahoo.com.