F45 In Frankfort, Park Ridge Collecting Donations For Ukraine

Frankfort IL

07 March, 2022

2:32 PM

Description

FRANKFORT, IL — Yana Tymoshenko is on a mission, one that is shared among many across the globe: to get much needed supplies to Ukrainians who are under siege from Russian forces. Tymoshenko is using her F45 Training studios in Frankfort and Park Ridge as donation sites for those who want to help her in her mission. Tymoshenko said the items most in need are medical supplies, which area hospitals have been helping out with, and supplies for children, such as warm clothing and diapers. "It's very cold there right now, and people are in basements (seeking shelter), so any warm clothing — blankets, jackets, shoes. … Everything is needed." Tymoshenko's husband is collecting military surplus supplies to send over and help the Ukrainian forces. Tymoshenko is partnering with shipping companies to get the much needed supplies into the hands of Ukrainians. Shipments go out each Thursday, and Tymoshenko said they will continue to do so for as long as is necessary. "Even if the war stops today, it's going to take years to rebuild the country. Everything is demolished: the stores, the banks, the schools. It's going to take years, so we're not planning on stopping anytime soon." Ukrainian-born Yana Tymoshenko is using her two F45 Training studios, one in Frankfort and the other in Park Ridge, as collection sites for donations to be sent to Ukraine, where citizens of the country are besieged by Russian forces. (TJ Kremer III/Patch) Tymoshenko was born in Crimea in Ukraine, which was occupied by Russia in 2014. She has lived in the U.S. for the past 22 years. She has family and friends who still live in Ukraine. Her husband was also born in Ukraine. He still has family there, too. Tymoshenko said that when she first heard the news about Russia's invasion of Ukraine, "My heart just sunk." "You always hear people talking about how they feel when there's a war in their country," she said. "But you just don't realize how painful it is when you're the one experiencing it with family back home, with friends back home, with young kids — basically teenagers, 18- to 20-year-old guys — going to defend your country." Tymoshenko said she has spent the days since the Russian invasion "in a fog." "We can't really work. We can't really say 'Good morning' because it is not a good morning," she said. "It is us waking up and making sure everyone is alive in Ukraine, calling everyone, checking in on social media." Despite the anxiety and fear Tymoshenko feels for her family and loved ones back home in Ukraine, she said the support from the Frankfort and Park Ridge communities has helped. "The support in Frankfort and Park Ridge has been so amazing. It's very touching," she said. "Every time I come into the studio in the morning and I see the many donations that we're getting, it just makes me cry. I feel like I cry every workout and every morning when I get to the studios to see all of the support." F45 Training in Frankfort is located at 11043 W. Lincoln Highway. The Park Ridge location is 948 N. Northwest Highway. Related: Downers Grove Church Helps Move Ukrainians To SafetyHelping Ukraine: Maple School Club Seeking SuppliesENA Donates $25K To International Red Cross Efforts In Ukraine