From Strangers to Family: How Volunteers Help Ukrainian Newcomers Find Belonging in Rochester, New York
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Jackie Rogers didn’t quite know what to think when her new Ukrainian friends showed up to go camping. She and her husband, Royce, volunteer with World Relief Western New York’s English program. During one of the classes, they mentioned their weekend plan to Viktoriia, a young mom from Ukraine. She asked if she and her friend, Vasylyna, could join, and the Rogers said yes.
Jackie remembers the two ladies arriving with their children and what seemed like enough kielbasa (a sausage popular in eastern Europe) to feed a town. They had a wonderful day together. The kids played on the playground, and Royce showed them how to roast marshmallows. But as evening drew near, Jackie worried about where they would all sleep. As it turned out, Viktoriia and Vasylyna hadn’t planned to stay the night, and they headed home with warm hearts and new memories.
Not long after, Viktoriia and Vasylyna brought another friend, Tanya, along to a fish fry with the Rogers. And from then on, their friendship with Jackie and Royce was sealed. “I call them the three musketeers,” Jackie laughed. “We’re family,” Royce said.
Forced to Flee Ukraine
Like so many displaced families around the world, Viktoriia, Vasylyna and Tanya’s journeys to the U.S. were difficult. “I never wanted to live in another country,” Vasylyna shared. “In Ukraine, we had everything. We had a good life.”
Before the war, the three friends didn’t know each other. They lived in different towns and had thriving professional and personal lives. Tanya and Vasylyna had worked in the medical field and Viktoriia was an accomplished interior designer and ran her own business with her husband. All three had young children. And they loved their home country — the cities, the mountains, the way of life. They never imagined war would come to their doorsteps.
But in February of 2022, war did come. As rockets began to fall, they each made the heartbreaking decision to flee. “We were in shock,” Vasylyna remembered, “We just took one suitcase and left.”
“I just took a lot of clothes for my son, not for me,” Viktoriia added, “He’s my first baby.”
They each fled to nearby countries in Europe, eventually converging in Rochester, New York, thanks to the Uniting for Ukraine program. The program allowed those with U.S.-based sponsors, such as relatives or friends, to receive temporary residency status, work authorization, and access to benefits.
Starting Over in Rochester, New York
Their early days in the U.S. felt isolating. Life was so different from what they had known in Ukraine. One of the first things Vasylyna noticed was how few people she saw walking. “Where are the people?” she remembers asking.
In Ukraine, people often got around on foot or by public transportation. But in the U.S., everyone seemed to drive cars, and when they first arrived, none of the ladies had a U.S. drivers license. But thanks to World Relief and each other, they didn’t have to walk alone for long, physically and emotionally.
The three women ended up living in the same neighborhood, and they got to know each other through the World Relief programs they participated in like a Ukrainian women’s club, a fitness class, and English classes — where they met Jackie and Royce.
From Strangers to Friends to Family
The Rogers have always loved connecting with people from other countries. Together, they’ve served on their church’s missions team for a combined 60 years. When they learned about World Relief and the opportunity to walk alongside their newcomer neighbors, they were eager to get involved.
Jackie’s mobility limited which volunteer opportunities she could participate in, but the English classes stood out as a natural fit. “I can talk, and occasionally I can listen,” she explained with a smile. “So this seemed like my kind of mission.”
Jackie and Royce started volunteering two nights a week, helping students like Tanya, Viktoriia and Vasylyna learn English. Soon, their friendship began to bloom outside the classroom, too. There was the camping trip and the fish fry. As the holidays neared, the Rogers opened their home to their Ukrainian friends, inviting them to celebrate Thanksgiving with them.
It was Tanya, Viktoriia and Vasylyna’s first American Thanksgiving. Jackie, who used to work as a florist, decorated the table and had music playing when they arrived. And of course, they had all the Thanksgiving fixings. When the Ukrainian ladies saw the table covered with food, it reminded them of home because, in Ukraine, hospitality is often expressed by a table full of different foods.
Vasylyna remembers thinking, “This is a fairy land!”
The sweet friendship continued to grow, and in March 2025, the friends gathered for a very special occasion. Two years prior, the Rogers had been gifted a Ukrainian flag, which they flew in front of their home, just below the U.S. flag. Over time, it became worn and needed to be replaced. Jackie researched how Ukrainians respectfully dispose of a flag and invited her friends over to retire the flag. Together, they listened to the national anthem, folded the old flag and placed it in a fire, according to tradition. Today, a new Ukrainian flag flies in its place, a sign of solidarity and love for their neighbors.
“We were very proud,” Vasylyna said. “We’re here in the U.S. and an American family does this for us. They stand with Ukrainians. We feel like one big family.”
Walking Together Through Uncertainty
As they’ve walked together, the Rogers and their Ukrainian friends have shared in one another’s highs and lows. As the war in Ukraine continues, the future remains uncertain for Ukrainians residing in the U.S. with temporary protected status (TPS). Currently, their status has been extended through October 2026. But in recent months the Trump administration has sought to end TPS for some immigrants.
Families like Tanya, Viktoriia and Vasylyna’s are left in limbo, not knowing when it may be safe to return home or how long they’ll be able to stay in the U.S. This is a hard reality for Ukrainians and those who have welcomed them, like Jackie and Royce.
“A couple times you have said, ‘If we get to stay,’ and it makes me cry,” Jackie said.
Tanya nodded, “But it’s true. Sometimes I think, maybe I want to go study in college. Maybe I want to be a nurse here. But I don’t want to spend time studying because I don’t know how long I can stay here … We always think that one-time we [will] need to take our suitcase and move again.”
“But we don’t know where,” Viktoriia added. “We live year-to-year. We can’t relax because we don’t know what will be in the future.”
For Royce, the answer is clear: “Their country has been torn apart … If we can help them and they need to be away from their country for their own safety, who’s going to take care of them? America is a country of immigrants anyway. We need to make them feel welcome and that they can fit in with our culture. Like these ladies are doing very well.”
Volunteers Create Communities of Belonging
What began as English lessons and a simple extension of hospitality beyond the classroom has grown into something much deeper — a friendship that spans cultures, languages and life experiences.
Stories like theirs reflect the heart of World Relief’s work in the U.S. Every day, volunteers and newcomers walk alongside one another, building relationships that transform lives on both sides. Through English classes, shared meals and everyday moments of connection, strangers become neighbors and neighbors become family.
For Jackie and Royce, volunteering is an expression of their faith. “I don’t believe that good works save us, but I believe that once we become Christians, the Holy Spirit gives us things that we should be doing in gratitude for what Christ did for us,” Jackie shared. “So this is one thing that we do — we volunteer to help beautiful people like this be comfortable in America.”
Royce agreed. “We count it all joy.”
Their friendship with Tanya, Viktoriia and Vasylyna is a reminder that welcoming newcomers is never a one-sided act of service. It’s a shared journey. As friendships grow, cultures are shared, burdens are carried together and communities become stronger.
This Volunteer Appreciation Week, we celebrate volunteers like Jackie and Royce and the neighbors they walk alongside every day. Together, they are creating communities where newcomers are welcomed, friendships flourish and everyone has the opportunity to belong.
You can be part of the journey toward belonging for your immigrant neighbors. Find your nearest World Relief office.
Kelly Hill is a Content Manager at World Relief. She previously served as Volunteer Services Manager at World Relief Triad in North Carolina. With a background in International and Intercultural Communication, she is passionate about the power of story to connect people of diverse experiences.