SCRANTON, Pa. — The Diocese of Scranton is just one of the many places now displaying the Ukrainian flag. A special mass was held at St. Peter's Cathedral Friday afternoon to allow parishioners to pray for peace in Ukraine as Russia's war continues.
This is a citywide effort that came out of a desire to do something to help.
Nada and Company on Capouse Avenue was one of the first to make a storefront statement when a shipment of blue and yellow dresses came in almost a month ago. Since then, there's been a snowball effect.
"It just says so much about how much this community cares. Sadly, this has united us, and I think so much we are divided anymore, and I think we're just realizing that our hearts are breaking," said Nada Gilmartin
The effort to show support for Ukraine was spearheaded by the nonprofit Scranton Tomorrow. You can see the country's colors on just about every downtown street. Businesses are showing their support and creativity at the same time.
Christine Medley owns The Workshop on Adams Avenue. She's giving away letterpress prints of the Ukrainian flag.
"At this point, I'm just handing them out for free. If you want to show your support, here they are. Makes me feel a little bit better that I'm doing something, even though you feel helpless and you can't do much from Scranton," Medley said.
The city also got in on the effort, hanging the Ukrainian flag at Scranton City Hall.
One of the more vibrant displays is on the corner of Wyoming Avenue and Biden Street at Noteology. The owners upped the ante by selling a candle that raises money for humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.
"I have this one left, and that's it, and we're sold out until next week. We'll be getting more. We're preselling right now, but there's a huge amount of people who are actually gifting them. So, that's a great thing. It's great to support the charity and the people, but it's also great to support a small business," said Mark Bonfiglio.
The shop owners we spoke to say they'll keep the displays up as long as they need to – hopefully, not too much longer.
See more videos on our area’s connection to the Crisis in Ukraine.