Tim Bailey: “I’m blown away, grateful, humbled and so proud of my community and the fantastic individuals that make up the Webster City Rotary Club!"

By DOUG BAILEY

“On the five hundredth and fourth day of the war that Russia has brought to Ukraine I can tell you that the money you and the greater community have contributed for refugee relief and aid to Ukrainians, still in country, is as important today as it ever was — it’s just the use has changed,” Webster City native, Tim Bailey speaking to the Webster City Rotary Club.

Bailey and his spouse, Caroline, are both missionaries with Youth With A Mission — YWAM — an international mission group with bases throughout the entire region affected by the war, including Ukraine and all its bordering nations. The Baileys have lived in Romania, which shares a large border with Ukraine, for 11 years. The last nine of those years have been in the small city of Sighisoara where they work in mental health, supporting fellow missionaries, foster and adoptive families, and work with a national movement called Romania without Orphans.

When the war broke out, members of the Webster City Rotary Club reached out to the Baileys to see if funds raised from the club could be quickly directed to relief efforts in Ukraine and used for the refugees that were crossing the border into Romania. The Baileys were actively involved in both of those areas from the very first day of the war so the answer was an easy “Yes!”

A committee had been formed in Sighisoara to provide aid to Ukranians and to prepare for refugees that were already arriving. Organized by and paid for by the individuals on the committee, their ministries and the generosity of those they knew, vans and trucks were filled with food, water, medicine, diapers, generators and sleeping bags in Sighisoara and sent to the YWAM base in Kyiv. From there the supplies were sent to areas most affected by the war.

When the vehicles were emptied of supplies they were loaded back up with people fleeing from the fighting. Thousands of these people came back to Sighisoara temporarily and others stayed long-term.

Funding from the Webster City Rotary Club was more than welcome and could be put to use in a matter of hours, once received in Sighisoara.

In the early days of the adhoc relief efforts funding was coming from individuals, local churches and mission groups and then ultimately their connections outside of Romania, like the Webster City Rotary Club.

“We knew in time that the larger international relief groups would become involved, but the need was urgent, people were desperate right now and we had a way to help, quickly,” Joel Peterson, a member of the Webster City Rotary Club, said.

Dalene Schlitter, secretary of the Webster City Rotary Club, said, “Once the word got out that we had a way to get help directly to those in need, the donations began coming in from the community and other Rotary clubs throughout Iowa. What was amazing with this effort, there were no administrative fees of any kind charged. Every penny went directly to providing help to refugees and those in need in the Ukraine.”

The Russian invasion began on February 24, 2022. By March 21 that year, $5,000 from the Webster City Rotary Club was received in Sighisoara for relief efforts. By the end of that March the total had grown to more than $19,000. At the end of April 2022 the total amount of funds delivered was just under $42,000. As of June 2023 the total has reached over $59,000.

“I’m blown away, grateful, humbled and so proud of my community and the fantastic individuals that make up the Webster City Rotary Club! It’s Incredible. What a legacy they have all left directly on these people’s lives. Food and supplies that I bought with your money went straight into the hands of people in villages that were under attack. Those cars that your money put gas in carried people from those same places to safety. Some of those people now live in our town where your money started and continues to fund the Food Bank that helps meet their families needs. Can you believe that!?!” Bailey said when he was back in the U. S. this summer. “Way to go Webster City, what an impact you have made! It makes us feel like we can do anything knowing that we have such wonderful people back home willing to get involved and support us, and the work we are doing for people in need.”

Which brings us back to Tim Bailey’s recent report to the Rotary Club:

As the large international relief organizations and governments began to meet more needs on the borders and take an active role in settling refugees, the large financial needs of the local relief committee in Sighisoara began to decline. While the committee is still actively sending supplies into Ukraine as money is available their efforts are primarily directed at caring for the refugees now in their city.

“There are currently about 550 refugees in Sighisoara with that number expected to rise over the next several months. The one key need that is not being met by government or relief organizations is food — more specifically, our local Food Bank which your funds started and funded exclusively for the last year,” Bailey explained.

He said it takes an average $1,200 a month to meet the current needs of those refugees who qualify.

“The check I wrote for August was the end of your funds,” he said before playing a video request from the chair of the Sighisoara Relief Committee and a Ukrainian mother explaining how important the Rotary Club’s support had been and how critical continued support of the Food Bank would be to the refugee community.

When he was in Webster City, Bailey answered many questions about the war and said his greatest concern now is a Russian-launched munition landing in a NATO country.

“The longer this war goes on, the odds of an ‘accidental escalation’ drawing NATO into the war only go up.”

At the Rotary meeting following Bailey’s presentation, commitments were made by individual members to cover the next three months at $1,200 per month. Subsequently, the Rotary board decided to attempt to cover a total of 12 months of food expenses for the ‘Food Bank’ in Sighisoara.

“As before, the club can’t do this by itself; we need to reach out and ask the community to join us in this effort. Hopefully, this war will be over in less than a year, but we have to be realistic. We are looking at a total of $14,400 and we already have $3,600. So we invite the community to join us, cover a day, a week, a month or any portion there of,” Stephanie Hill, president of the Webster City Rotary Club said.

If you would like to join the Webster City Rotary Club in this endeavor, make your tax-deductible donations to the Webster City Rotary Club, which is a 501(c)3 organization. They should be made payable to Webster City Rotary Club, with a notation of “Ukraine,” and mailed to P.O. Box 265, Webster City, IA 50595.