Hugs From Friends' mission is to encourage children in the United States to create artwork to show support for Ukrainian children and families that have been impacted by the war.
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.
We have partnered with three schools in Rhode Island, three schools in Northwest Arkansas, two churches in Bentonville and the Bentonville Public Library
We have received 200 pieces of art
We have sent over 130 pieces of art to two locations in Poland and Ukraine. We have sent art to the Humanitarian Center in Przemysl, Poland and an elementary school in western Ukraine.
We are looking to partner with schools and community organizations that are interested in creating artwork. If you are interested in participating, please email us at hugsfromfriends@gmail.com
We are collecting small boxes of crayons to ship to along with the artwork. contact us
We would love to hear from you. You can reach Trevor, Nataliya, Greta and Nick at: