The letters were collected by Bloomingdale resident Justyna Babcock last week before she flew to Lodz, Poland.

Babcock was born in Poland and grew up there. She moved to the Adirondacks 20 years ago and made it her new home. Her family lives in Poland, and she visits them as often as she can. As her most recent trip approached, she was horrified to see Russia invade her home country’s next-door neighbor, Ukraine. From that moment, the nature of her trip changed from purely a family reunion, to a mission of helping families displaced and separated by war.

She’s volunteering with the Catholic charitable organization Caritas Internationalis to prepare care packages full of essentials, which are shipped to Ukrainian refugees around Poland, and across the border, where people are still living and fighting in Ukraine.

Letters from the Tri-Lakes brought by Babcock are being laid at the top of those packages. She estimates that she brought around 50 letters and 100 drawings with her.

Letters and drawings from the Tri-Lakes showing support for Ukraine are being placed at the top of care packages going to refugees in Poland by Justyna Babcock, a local woman who grew up in Poland and is volunteering with the refugee relief effort there on a trip to visit family. (Provided photo — Justyna Babcock)

“St. Bernard’s School sent some beautiful drawings, and sixth graders from Petrova sent letters as well,” Babcock wrote in an email. “There is some that are written in Cyrillic alphabet! Pretty cool!”

She said she cried reading the letters.

“They said, ‘be strong, you will win, we pray for you, glory to Ukraine,'” Babcock said. “Kids made them blue and yellow. And the adults wrote how much they admire Ukraine for their fight, how inspiring their bravery is, and that they are praying for them all and wish them to come back home soon and be safe and don’t give up.”

She also managed to fit two care packages with candy, socks for kids, vitamins, stuffed animals, crayons, coloring books, games, pain medications and pairs of small blue-and-yellow mittens in her suitcases.

The letters started to be shipped out on Thursday.

Millions of refugees are traveling to Poland to find safety. Babcock said Polish people are opening their homes — even small one-bedroom apartments — to Ukrainians.

“Things are good in Poland. Life goes on and it seems that war is far away,” Babcock said. “There is a lot of Ukrainian language around, the streets, in the public transportation.”

Babcock’s son Jacob, 14, traveled with her and has been helping with the effort, too — stocking boxes of supplies and organizing the massive amount of donations.

“We did everything together,” Babcock wrote.

They have spent several days of their trip working in a big warehouse packaging all the supplies up.

“Everyday there is a line out the door of people, not only from Ukraine, that are receiving those,” Babcock said.

She thanked everyone for taking the time to write letters.

“I know they are from the heart and those words are honest,” Babcock said. “I am very proud and so impressed how much American people care for this far, far away land.”