INDEPENDENCE, Mo — Eclairs De La Lune, a local French bakery in Independence, is leading a community-wide fundraiser to help restaurant owners in Odessa, Ukraine with their relief efforts.
Owner Erin Luttrell said one of her regular customers, an immigrant from Ukraine in the 90s, came to her asking for help. Lana Viron explained to Luttrell that she wanted to start a fundraiser to help raise money for her two friends in Odessa, Ukraine.
“We slept on it and the next morning, the Ukraine box was born, and we came up with seven different pastries,” Luttrell said. “It was a way that we could actually feel as if we were making a personal connection.”
They ended up selling 206 boxes of pastries and donated over $13,000 overseas.
It created a chain reaction within the community, prompting others to donate t-shirts and candles to the bakery for Luttrell to sell. Families around the metro even started their own fundraisers and donated the proceeds to help the cause as well.
“People still ask everyday — can we donate money still, can we buy a box, are you gonna do anything for Easter?” Luttrell said.
Lana Viron says her two friends, Svetlana and Roman Vinogradov, closed down their restaurant when the war began. They have been using their life savings to feed soldiers, orphans and elders coming through their doors.
“They have been in the restaurant business for 29 years. They have fed Ukrainians through thick or thin and they continue to do so,” Viron said.
Viron says her two friends are extremely humble and grateful for all the donations that have reached them overseas. The Ukrainian couple has been sending photos and videos of their meals and purchases bought by their monetary donations.
“Thank you very much from all Ukrainian people, from all my big family. Thank you for your help for us,” Svetlana Vinogradov said.
