At the NH Relief for Ukraine night at the NH Fisher Cats, the first pitch was thrown out by nine-year-old Lev Shapkin who was brought to safety in New Hampshire from Ukraine by his aunt, Nataliya Androsovych, a U.S. citizen and resident of Derry. They were joined by Katherine Samaruk, a third grader from Bedford whose parents came to New Hampshire from Ukraine in 2013, and former New Hampshire Governor John Lynch, representing the NH Relief for Ukraine fund. More than $10,000 was raised for the fund that evening. (Courtesy photo)

ASHLAND – With more than $600,000 raised thanks to the generosity of more than 2,200 donors, the New Hampshire Relief for Ukraine Fund has exceeded the halfway mark to a $1 million goal.

The Common Man Family is matching every donation, dollar-for-dollar, up to $1 million, with the ultimate goal of sending $2 million in donations to be allocated to critical humanitarian relief efforts in Ukraine and Poland. The funds are distributed by Polish Rotary District #2331 for secure and reliable control that ensures funds go to their intended purposes.

Started in May by The Common Man family of restaurants and their owner Alex Ray, the fundraiser, which hoped to assist Ukrainians living in their war-torn country and those who fled to safety in Poland, morphed into a statewide effort with additional partners including former New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch, WMUR-TV, iHeart Media, Granite United Way, New Hampshire Fisher Cats, and the Rotary Clubs of Plymouth, NH and Warsaw, Poland.

The fund has already made it possible for the Rotary Clubs of Poland to purchase and distribute more than 200 tons of food to refugees in Poland and to Ukrainians still living in their home country. Other critical programs the funds are supporting include the purchase of a Bloodmobile to serve as a field hospital in Ukraine, a day care and trauma counseling center for Ukrainian refugee children in Poland, and an orphanage/safe housing for children in Ukraine.

A benefit night held in early August by the New Hampshire Fisher Cats raised more than $10,000 for the fund, with the team donating 50% of individual ticket sales. In addition, 100% of the 50/50 raffle was donated back to the fund, 50% from the Fisher Cats and 50% from the winning ticket holders, Lansing Building Products.

“The war continues to rage in Ukraine and we need your help to keep the important work going to support the people so deeply affected by this crisis,” said Common Man owner and founder Alex Ray. “We are touched by the donations from New Hampshire citizens and businesses that recognize the critical importance of this humanitarian aid.”

A member of the Plymouth, NH Rotary Club, Ray and project leaders spent a week back in May meeting and traveling with Rotarians in Warsaw and Zamosc, Poland. They crossed the border and traveled to Lviv, Ukraine where they met Ukrainian Rotarians as they delivered food supplies to an orphanage and visited refugee centers. The group visited a convention center that was converted into a shelter, a Soviet-era military barracks turned into a refugee center, a proposed children’s day care and trauma counseling center, and a warehouse coordinating emergency food deliveries into eastern Ukraine.

Donations to NH Relief for Ukraine can be made online via the fund’s fiscal agent Granite United Way at www.graniteuw.org or by texting NH4UKRAINE to 41444. Checks made out to Granite United Way with NH Relief for Ukraine in the memo line can be mailed to: Granite United Way, 22 Concord St., Manchester, NH 03101. Information about effort and a donation link can also be found at www.cman4ukraine.org .