Wichita restaurant owner who grew up in war-torn country launches fundraiser for Ukraine
.jpeg "Meddys will give away T-shirts to the first 1,000 customers starting Saturday who make a donation to help the people of Ukraine.")
Meddys owner Alex Harb grew up in Lebanon during the Lebanese Civil War, and seeing footage from Ukraine this week has brought back memories of those often scary times, he said.
He felt the urge to do something to help and has decided on a weekend fundraiser. Starting on Saturday, in exchange for a donation, he’ll give away custom T-shirts that read “We Stand With Ukraine” and feature the image of the country colored yellow and blue like its flag.
Harb said he will donate money raised from the T-shirts along with 10 percent of revenue from his five restaurants’ sales on Saturday and Sunday to the Salvation Army, which is collecting money for Ukraine as it continues to come under attack from Russia.
Harb said he’s been impressed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who last week rejected an offer from the United States to evacuate the city of Kyiv, saying he needed ammunition, “not a ride.”
“I’m used to government leaders grabbing a suitcase full of money and getting on the first plane out whenever there’s turbulence,” Harb said.
Harb said the T-shirts would be available starting Saturday at all of his local restaurants: 120 S. Washington, 2300 N. Greenwich, 7906 E. Harry, 560 Ridge Road and 2441 N. Maize Road.
This story was originally published March 1, 2022 at 2:19 PM.
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