Anna and Masha start their lives in New York

In March 2022, Anna and her two-year-old daughter Masha left Ukraine a month after the Russian attacks began on Kyiv. They left behind Anna's parents and Masha's father, who was first a civilian volunteer and is now part of the war effort. Before the invasion, Anna worked as a wedding and events planner and she and her husband had just bought a new apartment in Kyiv surrounded by their friends and family, but all of this was taken away from them when the war began. After a brief stay with a host family in Spain, they traveled to the U.S. under the Uniting for Ukraine program which provided them with humanitarian visas. Unfortunately, their original sponsor in Miami was unable to support Anna and Masha, so in June of 2022, Masha and Anna arrived in NYC! I met Anna and Masha within their first week in New York and we have become very close friends. Anna has jokingly started calling me her social worker as I just love working on bureaucratic projects to make her and Masha's lives easier. This GoFundMe is definitely part of that.

With the help of generous new and old friends (thank you Sofiya, Patrick, Samuel, Abby, Mia, Esther, and Flannery!), Anna and Masha were able to spend their first 7 months in the city living for free. They moved apartments 6 times in just 7 months - despite all those changes (and lots of stairs!) Anna has found great daycare for Masha, begun working a part-time job, and built a community of new friends. Now, it is time for them to move into a home of their own. Anna and I have signed a year lease for a great apartment in Queens. Anna has her work authorization and is actively interviewing for full-time positions while also working part-time at Goodness Spa in Greenpoint. Masha is loving her new friends and teachers at her free daycare program in the Lower East Side. But they need our help!

Our goal is to support Anna and Masha as they keep working to build their lives in New York. The rent for their new, rent-stabilized 1 bedroom apartment in Woodside is $1725/month. Their move-in costs included a one-month broker's fee, a refundable security deposit, and the first month's rent which Adam and I paid upfront. The Ukrainian Habitat Fund (ukrainianhabitatfund.org) has generously agreed to cover $500/month of Anna's rent for the year. We are also working with Catholic Charities Immigration and Refugee Services of New York and have helped Anna apply for SNAP and other benefits. All of the funds we raise will go directly to Anna and Masha's rent and living expenses while Anna finds full-time work.

Thank you so much for anything you do to help Anna and Masha build their lives in the city they have come to love so much. I am always amazed by Anna's optimism and resilience, her great sense of humor and her determination to succeed under any circumstances. Even when she tells me about the terrifying attacks that her friends and family still live through, and despite all the challenges that accompany moving to a new country, Anna has remained positive and hopeful about her future. Spending time with Masha has been a gift and her spontaneous joy and endless energy really embody the city she's growing up in. On February 5th, Masha will turn 3. I could not be happier that she gets to do so in her new home.