Each year, Birchwood Lodge in Sister Bay welcomes some foreign students as summer helpers on our Housekeeping Staff. Students this year are from Ukraine and Russia. Early Sunday morning, June 21, Stanislav (Stas) and Yulia from Russia, landed at La Guardia Airport in New York City for a few hours layover before the next parts of their journey to Chicago and then Green Bay. Naturally, they were exhausted from their long trip and they fell asleep in a waiting area with their bags nearby. They awoke later only to discover that their bags had been stolen with all of their clothes and all of the money their families provided for them. Fortunately, they had their passports on them. Scared, frutrated by the devastating loss and angered by this first unpleasant introduction to America, they continued on to complete their trip to Green Bay, where our General Manager finally retrieved them. He took them to his home where he and his wife immediately gave them clothes, food, and the comforting assurance that they would be all right. When news of this situation was made known to others in Door County the next day, the spirit of generosity and kindness of people here kicked in immediately for these kids. The Business Manager of the Stella Maris Parish in Northern Door contributed some of his own personal clothing for Stas, and the parish also provided monetary gift cards for them to use at the Piggly-Wiggly Store. Lions Club of Northern Door provided cash for their immediate needs. Joanne from Social Services of Door County put through vouchers from the Salvation Army so that they could purchase new clothing at Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart in Sturgeon Bay offered them additional clothing vouchers. First Baptist Church in Sister Bay let them stock up on non-perishable food items from the Community Food Pantry. Anonymous donors provided more cash. Bargains Unlimited provided them with shoes, and the spirit of giving goes on and on. Stas and Yulia are overwhelmed by this outpouring of kindness and the smiles have returned to their faces. They are already working hard here, getting more adjusted day by day, and eager to see more of Door County, USA. Stas and Yulia wish to thank all of those individuals, business establishments, churches and service organizations for reaching out to them in a true spirt of friendship. Their first impressions of America may have been negative but they have formed a positive opinion now because of the people of Door County.
