Christiana Gorchynsky Trapani is Ukrainian. she was born here in the states but was raised with Ukrainian being her first language and attending Ukrainian school.
all of her grandparents lived in Ukraine and she still has family there now, who
she checks in on every day, as the war rages in their homeland.

“Every morning we talk to my aunt and just check in and yesterday morning, the conversation was mostly just that innocent people are dying, and this didn’t have to happen,” Trapani said.

She told Erie News Now it's a similar conversation with her aunt every day.
So, this 28-year-old knew she had to do something to help. She owns Door County Candle Company in Wisconsin and created and is selling what they are calling the “Ukraine Candle,” a vanilla fragranced candle that costs about $29.

“I knew I had to do something because there was no way I could just feel helpless and not do something from here,” Trapani said.

Helping is exactly what she's doing. With a goal of selling 200 maybe 300 candles, she is now up to over 11 thousand, which adds up to be well over 80 thousand dollars just in the past 5 days alone.

“I knew people wanted to help but I didn’t realize it would take off,” she said.

The money is going to the nonprofit, Razom for Ukraine which is using donations to provide critical medical supplies for Ukrainians injured in the war.
Trapani has received online orders by the hundreds but also has met people who are traveling great distances to purchase these candles, from other Ukrainian families, to someone who fought in Ukraine, and so many more.


Trapani is not done. As the war continues in Ukraine, she will continue working away to create these c candles and make a difference.

“In such a horrible time of what’s happening, people coming together like this to help is truly remarkable,” Trapani said.

To order a Ukraine candle, visit Door County Candle Company’s website here.