Ukraine war: American teenager transports 54 bags of medical supplies for Ukraine military
Geiling drove the supplies into Ukraine from Poland with help from his family
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A 17-year-old from New York City helped organize and deliver medical supplies to Ukraine in an effort to bolster support for the country’s defense against Russian invasion.
"I was looking to help refugees," Matthew Geiling told Fox News Digital. "That was what I was looking to do with ‘Ukraine Friends,’ but then as I learned more about the military side of it … how important the troops are to saving lives … I realized how much impact the medical supplies had on the military's humanitarian operations."
"That was one of the things I was pleasantly surprised with."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Geiling initially raised money through a baseball fundraiser called "HITS 4 HOPE," which directed its fundraising towards helping the Ukrainian refugees. Geiling is of Ukrainian descent, making the cause near and dear to him.
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Once he had the money, Geiling needed a way to direct it, which is how he linked up with Ukraine Friends. The group, founded shortly after the invasion began in 2022, consists of veterans, healthcare professionals and entrepreneurs who donate time and effort to supporting the Ukrainians through whatever means available.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I stumbled across ‘Ukraine Friends,’ and I wanted to go and do more," Geiling explained, saying a family friend pointed him in their direction. "I wanted to go and do more, so I gave my money to that organization and took a trip to deliver medical supplies."
Geiling wanted to first support refugees, but the need for military medical supplies appeared more pressing. He traveled to the charity's warehouse on Long Island over the course of a week, where he helped pack and prepare the supplies for transport before setting out to Poland and Ukraine to deliver the supplies himself.
From there, he drove the supplies into Ukraine from Poland, where he saw first-hand how the refugees suffered from the traumas of the war.
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The hardest part for Geiling was communicating throughout the process.
"I do a lot of volunteer work within my own community, and it's generally pretty easy because we share a common language," Geiling said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"In Ukraine, it was challenging to communicate at the beginning, but I think we were able to overcome the language barrier towards the end of the mission at the Children's Hospital ... generally we were able to communicate through compassion and just being there for people," he added.
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Geiling's trip took place from June 24 to 30, and now that he is back in New York, he plans to continue helping when possible – including another trip to Ukraine this summer.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I'm going to go package and load bags for more Ukrainian troops over the summer and just continue to help relief efforts out," he said.
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Ukraine Friends has booked close to 100 commercial flights to courier over 100 tons of medical supplies to Ukraine, including over 25,000 individual first aid kits to the front lines. The Geiling family delivery is the fourth such delivery the charity has organized, a spokesperson told Fox News Digital.