Hugs From Friends is an all-volunteer initiative based in Bentonville, Arkansas that was started by Trevor Dane after his experience volunteering with World Central Kitchen in Przemysl, Poland. While in Przemysl, Trevor visited the Tesco building, a large shopping center that had been converted into the Humanitarian Aid Center where refugees stay temporarily after crossing at the Medyka border crossing.

Being at a refugee center is very powerful and invokes many emotions. You truly see the human toll of war first hand. What surprised Trevor the most was the amazing children’s artwork that covered the walls of the building. Some of the artwork was created by children in the Center but other artwork came from kids in other countries. The art was a visible sign of support and solidarity and friendship to the Ukrainian people. Unfortunately Trevor didn’t see many pieces of art that looked like it came from kids in the United States, so he wanted to do something about that.