--- title: "This airman helped gather 1,500 pounds of food and supplies to help Ukraine" description: "An Airman born in Poland helped organize a donation drive and raised over 1,500 pounds of clothes, medical supplies, and food for Ukraine." date: "2022-08-11" modified: "2022-08-11" authors: - name: "Haley Britzky" job_title: "Former Army Reporter" link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/haley-britzky.md" url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/polish-american-airman-donations-ukraine-russia/" categories: - "Culture" --- # This airman helped gather 1,500 pounds of food and supplies to help Ukraine ![]() *U.S. Staff Sgt. Adrianna Choluj, 1st Special Operations Wing noncommissioned officer in charge of protocol, left, and Tech. Sgt. Ian Gateley, 325th Civil Engineer Squadron explosive ordnance technician, right, pose for a photo with goods collected for a donation drive for those in need after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. (Courtesy Photo/325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs)* For one Air Force staff sergeant, Russia’s invasion of [Ukraine]() earlier this year has hit very close to home. Staff Sgt. Adrianna Choluj, the 1st Special Operations Wing noncommissioned officer in charge of protocol at Hurlburt Field, Florida, was born in Poland, according to [a recent news release](). Her family still lives there, so when Russia’s military started [advancing into Ukraine in February](), her “desire to support Ukraine was strong.” In an effort to help, Choluj maintained “an active presence” in social media groups raising support for Ukraine, and even started “several fundraisers to help women and children staying at a hostel operated by her parents,” the release said. And when she learned about a donation drive in North Carolina run by a Polish vehicle shipping agent, she jumped at the opportunity to participate. And she wasn’t the only one. ![]() *In a separate donation drive, airmen from the 129th Rescue Wing came together to build care packages, March 8, 2022, at Moffett Air National Guard Base, California. (Master Sgt. Ray Aquino/U.S. Air National Guard)* “I had posted the flyer on social media as a ‘last call’ for donations,” Choluj said of the donation drive. “Tech. Sgt. \[Ian\] Gateley reached out to me immediately asking for details.” Gateley, who is close friends with Choluj and an explosive ordnance disposal technician with the 325th Civil Engineer Squadron, immediately put out the call for donations to the community on Tyndall Air Force Base. “I wanted to make sure that her original drive was more than successful,” Gateley said in the release. “On top of that, I wanted to make sure this drive had a meaningful impact on the people of Ukraine who were in need.” ![]() *In a separate donation drive, airmen from the 129th Rescue Wing came together to build care packages, March 8, 2022, at Moffett Air National Guard Base, California. (Master Sgt. Ray Aquino/U.S. Air National Guard)* With the help of airmen and civilians on base, and another EOD tech who helped Gateley, Tech Sgt. Edward Gooderham, Tyndall provided more than 800 pounds of donations to the drive, including food, medical supplies, toys, and clothes. Combined with donations from Hurlburt Field, the airmen gathered more than 1,500 pounds of “potentially life-saving supplies,” the release said. Gooderham said ultimately he wanted to help because Ukrainian civilians “were being targeted unfairly.” “They didn’t do anything and now they’re in danger all the time,” Gooderham said, “so any little thing that we could do to help was better than nothing.” ## The latest on Task & Purpose - **Why** [**nobody wants to be a battalion commander**]() **in the Army Reserve** - **The Army has a drone flying over the American Southwest that** [**refuses to die**]() - **We salute the soldiers who named their tank ‘**[**Article 15**]()**’** - **This** [**little-known Air Force jet**]() **just became the most-watched aircraft in history** - **Here’s what all** [**those UFO sightings might be**]() **— and what the military may know** **Want to write for Task & Purpose?**[ **Click here**]()**. Or check out the latest stories on**[ **our homepage.**]() ## Author Haley Britzky was the Task & Purpose Army reporter from 2019 to 2022. She previously worked at Axios covering breaking news. She reports on important developments within the service, from new uniforms to new policies; the realities of military life facing soldiers and their families; and broader cultural issues that expand outside of the Army, touching each of the military services. ### Author social links [LinkedIn]() [Twitter]()